The new Utah law SB287, signed by Gov. Spencer Cox in March that creates liability for porn sites that make their content available to people below the age of 18.
To protest the new age-verification law, Pornhub and some of the internet’s biggest adult websites, blocks access in Utah.
Utah is the latest state to adopt an age-verification law, which requires websites that carry adult content to ensure that visitors are over the age of 18.
As a result, Pornhub has since blocked (Opens in a new window) those located in the Beehive State from accessing its site.
They instead see a statement encouraging them to contact their elected officials.
‘As you may know, your elected officials in Utah are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website,’ the message said.
‘While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.’
The statement, accompanied by a video of an adult actor reading the message on-camera, added that the age verification requirement could drive users ‘to sites with far fewer safety measures.’
‘And it called for policymakers to “identify users by their device” rather than by requiring them to upload their photo ID.
‘Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in Utah,’ the message said, concluding with a call for Utahns to ‘demand device-based verification solutions’ from policymakers.
Pornhub and other adult sites controlled by its parent, MindGeek, began blocking visitors with Utah-based IP addresses this week.
Now, instead of seeing adult content when visiting those sites, affected users are shown a message expressing opposition to SB287.
