Pornhub to block Florida users, citing age verification law
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The Pornhub logo displayed on a smartphone. Photo: Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Floridians will lose access to the world's most popular pornography site on New Year's Day.
Why it matters: That's one less freedom for those who live in the free state of Florida. The restriction comes as a protest from Pornhub against states that enact age verification laws.
Driving the news: "You will lose access to Pornhub in 13 days," says a popup that greets users in Florida, adding that "your government wants you to give your driver's license before you can access" the site.
- "We don't want minors accessing our site and think preventing that from happening is a good thing," the popup continues, "but putting everybody's privacy at risk won't achieve that."
- Users are encouraged to read an op-ed from Pornhub's Alexzandra Kekesi about the issue but are then allowed to dismiss the popup.
Catch up quick: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 3 this year, which, in part, requires pornographic websites to implement age verification to block access to those under 18.
- The law mandates that adult websites "use either anonymous age verification or standard age verification." It tacks on fines and levies civil liabilities for noncompliance.
- The Free Speech Coalition filed a legal challenge to the law this week, arguing that it creates a "substantial burden on adults who want to access legal sites without fear of surveillance."
Zoom out: Pornhub has pulled out of at least eight states with similar laws, such as Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
What they're saying: Aylo, the pornographic conglomerate that operates the website, tells Axios that traffic in Louisiana dropped about 80% after the state passed a similar law.
- "These people did not stop looking for porn," the conglomerate adds. "They just migrated to darker corners of the internet that don't ask users to verify age, that don't follow the law ... and that often don't even moderate content."
- Aylo argues "the best solution to make the internet safer, preserve user privacy, and prevent children from accessing adult content is performing age verification at the source: on the device."
The other side: The governor's office did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
- State Rep. Chase Tramont, the Port Orange Republican who sponsored the age verification bill, told Florida Politics the site's decision to shut down rather than comply "tells us exactly who their real target audience is."