Media company Aylo is blocking access to many of its websites, including PornHub , to users from Montana and North Carolina as new age verification laws take effect
In addition to PornHub, the company 's Tube8, RedTube and Brazzers websites, which also offer adult content, are also affected.
New age verification laws went into effect in Montana and North Carolina on January 1, 2024. These regulations require adult websites to verify the age of visitors.
Failure to comply with this law could allow individuals to file lawsuits against the companies that run adult sites, such as PornHub.
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“ A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on the Internet, from a website that contains a significant portion of the material, must be held accountable if it fails to perform age verification methods to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the material ,” the new Montana law states
North Carolina legislation proposes something similar, while saying that parents of minors would have the right to bring civil lawsuits against companies.
Similar age verification bills were adopted in Utah, Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas in the past year, with a federal judge later striking down the Texas bill.
If someone tries to visit sites , including PornHub, from one of these states, they see a video of adult film star Cherie DeVillereading a statement from Aylo.
“As you may know, your elected officials in Utah require us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website. While security and compliance are a priority, providing your identity every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution to protecting our users and will actually put children and your privacy at risk,” the statement reads.
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“Furthermore, mandatory age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the option to choose whether or not to comply. As we have seen in other states, this simply drives traffic to sites with far fewer security measures. Very few sites have the robust security we currently have in place. To protect children and user privacy, any legislation should be enforced against all platforms that offer adult content.“.
Indeed, these types of laws lead underage users to resort to VPNs to bypass the restrictions their state has placed on accessing adult websites.
The R Street think tank says this could force adult websites to block VPN traffic as well, as they could still be liable under state laws.
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“For example, in order to ensure perfect compliance with Utah law, platforms would have to treat all users as Utah residents or block VPNs entirely,” R Street reports.
“Not only does the law not explicitly exempt VPN traffic, but it says that “a social media company shall not permit a minor account holder in Utah to change or bypass access restrictions as required by this section.”“.
However, this could lead users to switch to lesser-known and potentially more dangerous VPN products that are not as well-detected but may pose additional risks. Last month, fake VPN extensions for the Chrome browser were installed on 1.5 million devices. Threat actors have also been known to use fake VPN apps to promote information-stealing malware and mobile backdoors.
See also: Louisiana: Access to Pornhub only with ID
Laws and regulations regarding age verification on adult websites, including PornHub, are intended to protect minors. These laws and regulations are designed to ensure that only individuals who have reached the legal age of consent to engage in sexual activity can access such content. This helps protect minors from accessing content that may be harmful to their development.
However, there are some challenges , the main one being the protection of users' personal data . The age verification process requires the entry of sensitive information
Furthermore, the effectiveness of age verification is often questionable. Minors can circumvent the systemby entering incorrect dates of birth or using an adult's details.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com
