Age verification laws designed to block children from online porn sites are sweeping the US, Io Dodds writes. But do they actually protect children, or is there another agenda at work?

Summary

Several U.S. states have enacted laws requiring pornography sites, such as PornHub, to implement age verification to prevent minors’ access, prompting the site’s parent company, Aylo, to block access in affected states.

Proponents argue these laws protect children, while critics highlight privacy risks, inefficiencies, and potential censorship.

These measures reflect growing social conservatism, with some advocates aiming to restrict adult content broadly.

While privacy-focused age verification methods exist, regulatory clarity is lacking.

Critics warn these laws may suppress responsible platforms, favoring unregulated alternatives, and escalate broader culture wars around sexuality and LGBTQ+ rights.

  • @[email protected]English
    30•1 day ago

    I rate they’re intending to keep those photos, but will stop when an exec with a little bit of humanity has a change of heart after checking the database when he realises he is looking into the eyes of a unkempt man with visible depression who is going to spend the next 15 minutes trying to settle on a video and another two minutes masturbating.

    • @grueEnglish
      53•1 day ago

      when an exec with a little bit of humanity has a change of heart

    • Nate CoxEnglish
      17•1 day ago

      It might stop when the DB gets compromised and some exec gets threatened with the release of all his weird kinks going public.

    • @Zahille7
      10•1 day ago

      You know you really didn’t have to call me out so viscerally like that.