JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.—The Missouri House of Representatives is considering the passage of a bill that would codify age verification for pornography websites. Despite a non-legislative regulatory intervention issued by former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in 2025 and further championed by his replacement, Catherine Hanaway, lawmakers in the Republican-controlled state legislature want the requirement codified in state statute to make future repeal harder.
According to local reports, three separate AV proposals—HB 1839, introduced by state Rep. Sherri Gallick; HB 2921, introduced by state Rep. Melissa Schmidt; and HB 3015, introduced by state Rep. Jeff Farnan—were combined by the House Children and Families Committee into a substitute bill. It would require all websites, including adult platforms and mainstream social media networks like Reddit and X, with at least 33 percent of material that is considered harmful to minors or "pornographic" to verify users' ages.
Organizations that testified in favor of the bill include conservative Christian organizations such as the American Principles Project, which is part of Project 2025. As AVN reported previously, Project 2025 is a centrally-organized effort by the Christian nationalist Heritage Foundation and other allied organizations with aims including to outlaw pornography.
This is developing legislation. Hanaway said online adult platforms would have to begin verifying the ages of Missouri users starting Nov. 30, 2025.
“This rule is a milestone in our effort to protect Missouri children from the devastating harms of online pornography,” Hanaway stated. “We are holding powerful corporations accountable, respecting women and victims of human trafficking, and helping ensure that minors are shielded from dangerous, sexually explicit material.”
Using a consumer protection law, Hanaway is closing the gap on the regulation originally proposed by her predecessor, Bailey. Having served in the position for only a short time, Bailey proposed this rule amid significant disorganization and criticism.
AVN previously reported that Bailey's first iteration of the age verification rule was based on technological capabilities that do not currently exist.
