After blocking access in Utah last May, the adult website Pornhub is now blocking residents of Mississippi and Virginia. Both states recently passed age verification laws, requiring users to declare their age before accessing adult websites that should be blocked for kids.
(Photo : LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)
This photograph taken on May 24, 2022 in Toulouse shows screens displaying a minor child sign and the logo of the pornographic site Pornhub.
Blocking Pornhub in Virginia, Mississippi
Pornhub recently announced that it is now blocking people in Mississippi and Virginia from visiting its website in compliance with the law requiring users to verify their age.
According to The Verge, the recent blockage is part of the company's protest over the unfair enforcement of these new laws.
Age verification laws have been introduced across several states, specifically in the more conservative areas of the United States. This effort will reportedly prevent children from accessing harmful content like pornography.
It will require adult websites to verify their visitors' ages, making them check a box saying they are over 18, with some including checking government-issued IDs.
Instead of complying with the age checks, Gizmodo reported that Pornhub opted for a different approach by featuring adult star Cherie DeVille explaining the risks in a safe-for-work video.
"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," DeVille stated.
Aside from the protest, Pornhub noted that the company hopes its users rallied behind them to reach out to lawmakers regarding the new regulators.
Also Read: Meta Permanently Bans Pornhub's Instagram Account After a Week-Long Suspension
Pornhub in Other States
TechCrunch reported that Louisiana passed a similar law where Pornhub also complained. The company saw an 80% decline in traffic in this state because of the new state-based restrictions that also impacted other companies like Ethical Capital Partners' RedTube, Brazzers, and Mofos.
In March, Arkansas also implemented a similar law that went into effect earlier this year. However, users can still access their daily dose of content in the state as of the moment.
Utah was also not given access by the company as a protest. But users find another way to still watch and access adult content materials. Following the recent blockage of access, it was reported that there was a sudden increase in Google search inquiries for "virtual private network," or VPN, in the state.
The searches mostly came from urban areas, while some were tracked back to smaller towns in Utah, including Magna, Moroni, Mount Pleasant, and Providence.
In 2018, Pornhub officially launched its own official free VPN service called the VPNHub. Aside from state-wide blocks, the company also experienced a blockage in social media after Meta decided to suspend its own Instagram accounts from the platform.
Related Article: Pornhub Blockage in Utah Leads to Increased VPN Access Google Searches
