Pornhub threatens to leave Indiana over new law
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Pornhub, one of the world's largest pornography websites, won't be accessible to users in Indiana starting next week.
The big picture: Indiana joins several others — including North Carolina, Virginia, Utah, Arkansas, Montana and Mississippi — in losing access in response to new state laws requiring porn sites to verify users are at least 18 years old.
Driving the news: The site says it will block Hoosiers' access starting June 27, ahead of a new law set to take effect July 1.
Catch up quick: Senate Bill 17 passed the Indiana Statehouse with overwhelming bipartisan support earlier this year and was signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb.
- The law requires users of pornographic and adult-oriented websites to verify their age by providing their driver's license or registering through a third-party verification service.
- Companies that don't comply will be liable if they're sued because a minor accessed their content.
State of play: When accessed in Indiana, the Pornhub homepage features a letter rebuking the state's mandate on age verification and blaming elected officials.
- "We don't want minors accessing our site and think preventing that from happening is a good thing," the site says. "But putting everybody's privacy at risk won't achieve that."
- The company, instead, suggests device-based age verification.
Zoom out: In Louisiana, where a similar law was passed in 2022, traffic to similarly regulated sites dropped between 80 and 95%.
What they're saying: Alison Boden, executive director of Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry trade association, called the move "state censorship." The group is suing Indiana over the law.
- "We will continue to fight for the rights of adults to access the internet free of shame and surveillance," Boden said. "These laws have been a failure on every front, and we must take action to protect both the consumers and producers of expressive works from this harmful government overreach."
- Traffic is expected to move away from sites like Pornhub to non-compliant, free and easily accessible sites, usually from overseas.
- Pornhub is considered more reputable because it verifies the age of those who upload content, requires model releases and removes content that is flagged for various reasons.
Yes, but: Pornhub has faced scrutiny for having revenge porn and underage videos in its vast library, forcing it to step up its moderation.
The other side: Attorney General Todd Rokita said he will defend the new state law in court, calling the measure "commonsense."