RALEIGH—Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub and some of the most popular adult entertainment websites in the world, has geo-blocked the entire state of North Carolina in response to a mandatory age verification law that enters into force on January 1, 2024.
House Bill (HB) 8, the law in question, was adopted by the state legislature and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
The geo-block over North Carolina is similar to ones Aylo has implemented in states like Utah, Virginia, Mississippi and others. An age verification measure in Montana enters force on January 1 as well.
“As you may know, your elected officials in North Carolina are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website,” porn star Cherie DeVille says in a video posted to a landing page that Pornhub users from the state get instead of videos.
“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.”
Sen. Amy Galey, a Republican representing the city of Burlington, offered the amendment to House Bill 8 to align North Carolina's laws to reflect other states, like Texas and Utah.
Galey, during floor discussions on the amendment, referred to how Pornhub.com's web traffic dropped by around 80 percent after Louisiana became the first state in the union to implement age-gating rules.
House Bill 8 requires adult website owners to use "commercially reasonable methods of age and identity verification." It also makes it illegal for adult websites to retain personal information acquired by the platforms to confirm the age of their users.
Internet service providers and search engines would not be held liable under the new law. It also sets up a provision to allow parents to sue adult sites if there are violations of the age verification statutes.
Language in the bill dubs this measure the Pornography Age Verification Enforcement Act.
