Pornhub targets age verification laws in Ohio and other states
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Pornhub is pushing back against age verification rules in more than two dozen states, including Ohio.
Why it matters: The battle over requiring age verification to access pornographic websites has been especially complicated in Ohio.
Driving the news: Pornhub sent a letter to more than 300 state lawmakers across the country this week — including Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Andy Wilson — asking them to rethink laws that require adult website visitors to verify their age, Politico reports.
- The laws, in roughly half of all states, "demonstrably do not work" and fail to shield the minors they were written to protect, Pornhub wrote.
Flashback: In September, an Ohio law went into effect requiring age verification to watch pornographic material online.
- It requires anyone selling or presenting material "obscene or harmful to juveniles" to verify users' ages with a service that checks photo IDs or other records.
- The state attorney general can sue businesses that don't comply.
Yes, but: Pornhub, the world's most-visited pornography website, did not block access in Ohio, as it has done in nearly every other state with similar laws.
The company claims it's exempt from Ohio law because it qualifies as an "interactive computer service" (where third parties create accounts and upload content) under the federal Communications Decency Act.
- Sites that qualify as an "interactive computer service" are exempt from Ohio's age requirement law, a loophole that lawmakers have been working to close.
Reality check: Many porn sites remained unrestricted following Ohio's law going into effect last fall.
- Users have also found ways to work around restrictions by using virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide their device's location and bypass firewalls.
And that's kind of Pornhub's point with its letter and push for a law change.
- Instead of site-specific age verification requirements, Pornhub says, lawmakers should put the responsibility on the tech giants — including Apple, Microsoft and Google — to make parental controls the default settings on their operating systems.
The bottom line: It's doubtful Ohio lawmakers will be swayed, judging by their ongoing efforts to stop Pornhub from bypassing state regulations.