JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.—Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, announced on Thursday that she has determined the official date for an age verification rulemaking action to enter force. Hanaway said online adult platforms will 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 said. “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.”
Utilizing a consumer protection law, Hanaway is finally closing the gap on the regulation that was originally proposed by her predecessor, Andrew Bailey. Having only served in the position for a short time, Bailey proposed this rule to much disorganization and criticism.
AVN reported previously on how Bailey's first variation of the age verification rule was built on technological capabilities that currently don't exist.
As AVN reported earlier in April, Bailey promulgated a consumer protection regulation that requires so-called "dual-level" age verification for all websites that host material classified as harmful to minors. This classification includes but is not limited to sexually explicit content.
Iain Corby, executive director of the Age Verification Providers Association, confirmed that dual-level age verification is not currently possible. A version of the Bailey era regulation was published in the Missouri Register, but no mention or allusion to dual-level age verification appeared at the time.
Due to the inconsistent nature of the effort put in by Bailey's administration as attorney general, it became clear the rule wouldn't enter force on the previous timeline of August 30. That was an estimate of adult entertainment industry trade group the Free Speech Coalition (FSC).
FSC noted that the proposed regulation from Bailey's tenure was unlikely to be enforced on that timeline because "the final rules were not published in time."
Hanaway completed the task Bailey started, leading to Missouri becoming the first state to use regulatory rulemaking to mandate age verification on adult websites.
Bailey stepped down from the role of state attorney general in exchange for a position as co-deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the administration of President Donald Trump.
