Pornhub blocks entire US state from its site in protest over new age verification law

Those accessing the site in Utah were greeted with a message from adult performer Cherie DeVille

Anyone accessing the site from a Utah-based IP address will no longer see the Pornhub homepage, but instead is met with a video of Cherie DeVille, adult performer and member of the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee, explaining that they won’t be able to visit the site.

The state, which is home to 3.4 million people, will adopt new viewing age requirements into law from today (May 2nd).

Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed SB 287: Online Pornography Viewing Age Requirements into law in March.

Welcoming users to the site, DeVille says:

“As you may know, your elected officials in Utah are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website.

“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.”

She continues:

“In addition, mandating age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply.

"As we've seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place. Very few sites are able to compare to the robust Trust and Safety measures we currently have in place.

"To protect children and user privacy, any legislation must be enforced against all platforms offering adult content.

"The safety of our users is one of our biggest concerns. We believe that the best and most effective solution for protecting children and adults alike is to identify users by their device and allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that identification.

"Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in Utah.

"Please contact your representatives before it is too late and demand device-based verification solutions that make the internet safer while also respecting your privacy.”

In 2016, Utah declared porn a “public health crisis,” and "an epidemic that is harming the citizens of Utah and the nation.”

A similar bill proposed in the UK was abandoned in 2019 following a series of setbacks.

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