“We have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our site in Utah”: As of Monday, Utahns can see this message instead of the home page of the porn video site Pornhub. MindGeek, the owner of Pornhub, has decided to block access to the site, as well as the other platforms in its group (YouPorn, Brazzers and RedTube), to all Utahns.
This decision follows the entry into force on Wednesday of a law in the American state regarding the verification of the age of all users of pornographic video sites. This new legislation obliges all platforms that broadcast “harmful to minors” content to verify the age of each user at each connection, in particular by sending a copy of an identity document.
complicated age verification
But Pornhub claims in its lengthy welcome post: “Giving your ID every time you want to visit an adult site is not the most effective way to protect users and, in fact, puts children at risk, as well as your private life”. According to the pornographic site, this measure would have the opposite effect than expected.
The porn video site believes that the best solution to date remains the verification of users through the device used. “We believe that the most effective solution to protect children and adults is to identify users through their device and authorize access to age-restricted tools and websites based on this identification.”
Curfew for minors
Utah is now one of the strictest states in the US when it comes to Internet control. As of March 2024, social networks will need to obtain parental consent before allowing a minor to access their platform. This measure is part of a more comprehensive law, the “Social Media Regulation Act,” which is intended to verify the age of all Internet users in Utah. An elimination of ads for minors and even a curfew for children under 18, with internet access blocked between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., are also part of this future legislation, approved last March.
Other American states, such as Louisiana, have implemented measures similar to those of Utah regarding the control of pornographic sites. However, the southern state of the country has established a special digital “wallet” that acts as an intermediary between the pornographic video site and the Internet user’s identity documents.
In France, the debate on access to pornographic video sites is also very popular. The government also wants to impose an age certification system to block minors from accessing these sites. However, the technical details of the intended digital certificate are not yet known. Arcom, for its part, wants to block connections to various pornographic sites, including Pornhub, starting next July.
Source: BFM TV
