JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.—Missouri is the latest U.S. state to officially codify age verification requirements for pornography websites into state law.
Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law a package of so-called "public safety bills" on Thursday, which included House Bill (HB) 1839, the age verification bill brought by the far-right Republican state Rep. Sherri Gallick of the small city of Belton, Missouri.
State Sen. Mike Henderson, a Republican from the casino town of Cape Girardeau, carried the bill in the Missouri Senate during this past legislative session.
"The legislation I signed today strengthens the laws that protect our families, supports the men and women who serve our country and communities, and gives our state stronger tools to keep dangerous criminals off our streets," Gov. Kehoe said in a press statement announcing the adoption of the legislative package.
As AVN previously reported, HB 1839 would require all websites with at least 33 percent of their content being comprised of material that is considered harmful to minors or "pornographic"—including adult platforms and mainstream social media networks like Reddit and X—to verify users' ages.
The new law will be enforced by Missouri’s attorney general through civil enforcement actions. The penalties range up to $10,000 per day for each violation and an additional $250,000 levied if minors access age-restricted content.
The law enters force on August 28, two months after the state government's fiscal year closed on June 30. Despite a non-legislative regulatory intervention issued by former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in 2025 and further championed by his replacement, incumbent Catherine Hanaway, lawmakers in the Republican-controlled state legislature wanted the requirement codified in state statute to further withstand any potential overturning in state courts.
