Pornography sites that wish to operate in Missouri must now verify that users are adults before granting access to explicit content, under a new rule that went into effect Monday.
The change caused the porn industry’s largest website, Pornhub, to block access in Missouri, issuing a statement calling the new rule ineffective and a potential risk to user privacy.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, who took over the policy after it was initiated by her predecessor, celebrated the news, calling Pornhub’s decision proof that the rule is needed.
“If a billion-dollar corporation would rather leave Missouri than verify that children are not accessing graphic sexual content,” she said, “that tells you everything you need to know about its priorities.”
It’s already illegal to show children pornography under federal law, however it’s rarely enforced. Various measures exist to verify a person’s age online, such as uploading a government ID or consent to facial recognition software.
The new Missouri rule requires any commercial website or platform to implement some form of age-verification measure if at least a third of the content it offers is pornographic. Platforms that refuse to comply are subject to penalties, injunctive relief, and enforcement actions for engaging in unfair and deceptive practices.
“If you want to operate in Missouri, you must prove your users are adults,” Hanaway said. “If that is too much to ask, then you will not operate here,”
In September, a trade association representing the adult entertainment industry told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that it was considering a legal challenge to the rule, since they were created outside the legislative process.
The legislature has tried to pass age-verification laws, with little success.
A bill nearly identical to the new rule received initial approval from the Missouri House in February but was never brought up for a final vote in the chamber.
The bill faced criticism that it would ultimately do more harm than good by driving traffic to lesser-known sites that don’t comply with the law and have fewer safeguards and rules around adult content than Pornhub. The law is also hard to enforce since users can turn to VPNs, which connect a computer to a server in a different part of the world to make it look like it is located somewhere other than where it actually is.
Privacy is another concern raised by critics of age verification laws, arguing that it is impossible to ensure websites aren’t retaining user data in a way that makes it susceptible to exposure. The regulations could also lead to censorship, critics warn, specifically regarding information about sexuality.
Pornhub has called for user ages to be verified at the device level, perhaps through the app stores managed by Apple and Google.
“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 users,” Pornhub said in its statement, “and in fact, it will put children and your privacy at risk.”
Hanaway said Pornhub is “welcome to leave Missouri.”
“What is not welcome,” she said, “is any company that puts profit above the safety of our children.”
