COLUMBUS, Ohio—The state of Ohio will begin enforcing age verification regulations for adult entertainment content on September 30. In response, popular content platforms among adult content creators are initiating age verification or entirely pulling out of the state's digital space in an effort to comply with local statutes.
For starters, the parent company of Pornhub.com, Aylo, confirmed to AVN that it will be expanding its geo-blocking protocol to cover Ohio as a protest against the state's age verification law, specifically targeting adult entertainment content.
A spokesperson for Aylo said that Ohio is the latest state to have limited access to its network of platforms, which also includes its premium membership websites.
"Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information are putting user safety in jeopardy," the spokesperson said. "Moreover, as experience has demonstrated, unless properly enforced, users will simply access non-compliant sites or find other methods of evading these laws.
"The best solution to make the internet safer, preserve user privacy, and prevent children from accessing adult content is performing age verification at the source: on the device. The technology to accomplish this exists today."
Meanwhile, Bluesky began implementing age verification measures on its platform for all users based in Ohio, per TechCrunch.com.
"In Ohio, starting on Monday, 9/29, we'll be implementing an age assurance solution similar to what we're doing in South Dakota and Wyoming," Bluesky posted.
"We recognize that promoting safety for young people is a shared responsibility, and we support the idea of collective action to protect children from online risks," the company added. "We also recognize that governments may have strong, often conflicting, views on these issues and how to weigh competing priorities."
Age verification was attached to the appropriations bill, House Bill (HB) 96, which was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine on July 2, 2025, as previously reported.
DeWine explained in a statement, "This budget builds upon my commitment to make Ohio the best place for everyone to live their version of the American Dream. ... It prioritizes our children, empowers our workforce, and strengthens our communities."
AVN reported on HB 96 with amendments allowing a rider bill for age verification back in April.
The bill's language mentions "reasonable age verification methods" that rely on government-issued identification cards, transactional data and other means.
The age verification provisions were buried deep within the 3,156-page omnibus spending bill that funds the entire state government of Ohio for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Companies in the adult entertainment industry, via the age verification vendors they are forced to use, must verify the same users every two years thereafter.
