More States to Join Louisiana in Porn ID Verification Law

Whether you’re an inherently private person or not, some things you just don’t want to share with the world. That list likely includes your porn-watching habits. Sure, the websites you visit can see what you’re looking at, but they don’t know exactly who you are. The government isn’t actively tracking your me-time proclivities with your name and face attached to it either… not yet.

The state of Louisiana just changed all of that last month, and now more US states are aiming to follow in those footsteps with porn age-verification bills of their own. According to the representatives proposing these bills, their aim is to protect children from the harms of pornographic content by limiting their access to it. 

Asking for peoples’ ID has some far-reaching consequences for individual privacy, despite what legislators claim. Let’s take a look at what these bills entail, the response from adult websites, and what this means for your right to personal privacy.

Louisiana Passes Porn Age Verification Bill

Age verification for watching adult content isn’t a new thing, but until now no one has enforced it much. Websites ask for you to click on a button to verify you’re over 18, which covers their own legal bases, and you still get to access the website whether that’s the case or not. It’s understandable why legislators felt this is insufficient to prevent minors from viewing adult content.

Other countries have had similar aims — the UK porn ban comes to mind and France is also stirring up a similar age verification bill. The UK faced some staunch opposition, though, and its plans eventually fell through. Although UK legislators are already threatening to block sites again. The law Louisiana just passed is the first successful version of its kind so far. 

The controversial law, known as HB 142, stipulates any website hosting more than 33.3% of content “that is harmful to minors” on its site has to require ID-based age verification before letting anyone through. The law went into effect on January 1, 2023, and some major adult sites like Pornub have already complied. Although some gray area remains as the law doesn’t state how it calculates the prescribed content percentage.

According to Louisiana’s porn ID law, only a government-issued ID or digital ID card will be accepted as proof of age in the verification process. This doesn’t make any provisions for those without a valid driver’s license or another form of identification. 

Lawmakers have called pornography a “public health crisis” and legislators from several states seem to agree something needs to be done about it. Many have already filed copycat laws, and while some are still in the early stages, some are already very close to being passed into law.

Several US States Have Proposed Similar Age Verification Legislation

According to the Free Speech Coalition, a trade group for the adult entertainment industry, 11 states have introduced copycat bills of Louisiana’s porn ID law so far. These bills look extremely similar in scope and have a good chance of passing with minimal amendments or pushback. 

Like the law in Louisiana, the pending legislation states that any site that doesn’t comply may face civil lawsuits from parents who claim their children viewed “material harmful to minors.” So far, Mississippi, Virginia, and Florida have shown strong interest in making their copycat bills pass as quickly as possible. Along with these eleven states, lawmakers in Texas, Oregon, and South Carolina have also expressed interest in proposing similar laws.

Out of all of the proposed bills, Senate Bill 66 from Arkansas seems the closest to coming into effect. It was filed in the Arkansas Senate in January and has now passed to the House for approval. Republican Senator Tyler Dees, who sponsored the bill in Arkansas, told Motherboard an “explosion” of children’s ability to access the internet prompted the bill.

My hope is that we protect children and their innocence in state of Arkansas and then send a message across the country that we need something similar built into federal law as well

Senator Tyler Dees

I’ve put together a table below to track the current status of age verification laws (AKA porn ID laws) by US state and will update this as things progress. This includes states that have introduced Louisiana copycat bills as well as states that have similar bills with some differences. 

Interestingly, all of these bills have been introduced within the last two months. Some are also extremely broad or just don’t make sense. For example, Arizona’s age verification bill has definitions written so broadly it could force platforms like Netflix to require ID before you can watch anything containing nudity. 

New Jersey, on the other hand, is introducing an act requiring manufacturers to add software to internet-capable devices that automatically blocks websites with obscene or illegal content. Unless its owner submits a request in writing along with personal ID and a $20 fee.

Federal Anti-Porn Laws Are Not an Implausible Idea

Apparently, Arkansas Senator Tyler Dees’ wishes may come true soon too. Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah has already introduced a bill for a federal act which would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to visit adult sites across the US. 

The Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA) seeks to redefine what’s considered “obscene content” to include anything that aims to “arouse, titillate, or gratify” sexual desires. While sexual content currently falls under free speech in the US, obscene content doesn’t. 

According to the Free Speech Coalition, Sen. Lee has “introduced a bill that would remove porn’s First Amendment protections and effectively prohibit distribution of adult material in the US.” While opponents of the law say it’s unlikely this bill will be passed by the House, many are still concerned about its existence.

Putting Idealism Ahead of Privacy

Louisiana’s law doesn’t stipulate any specific way to process age verification, but websites will likely use a third party to handle the process. It does stipulate “Any commercial entity or third party that performs the required age verification shall not retain any identifying information of the individual after access has been granted to the material.”

While that’s a good attempt at providing some privacy protection, it’s woefully inadequate. The law doesn’t make any provisions for how the data should be handled safely. On top of that, the law doesn’t specify how long entities get to wait before they have to delete the identifying information after access has been granted. This is a massive oversight and gives websites an open-ended timeframe to handle such sensitive data with zero legal repercussions.

This all assumes websites are equipped to handle this extra step with the consideration it requires in the first place. Let’s be kind and assume they do, the additional data handling still opens up new avenues for cybercriminals and government entities to abuse these systems for data harvesting. Using that personal information, cybercriminals can steal your identity or carry out a number of cyber attacks, including sextortion and spear phishing.

Pornhub has started asking users to verify their age with AllpassTrust, which works with the Louisiana digital ID service LA Wallet. While LA Wallet is known as a reliable organization and should be able to handle data securely, nothing is stopping other adult content sites from using less trustworthy third parties to handle user data. 

You Have a Right to Privacy and Digital Freedom

The internet is supposed to be a vehicle for freedom, stretching beyond physical borders and ungoverned by a single entity. Yet legislators are constantly trying to find new ways to govern and restrict people’s access to the web and what they do on it. From banning social media to using state-sponsored apps to track people’s every move and conversation.

While some regulation, like the GDPR, is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, politicians have generally proven they’re unequipped to deal with the complexities involved in regulating digital technologies. Louisiana’s new porn ID law is a prime example of this. The justification for regulation — protecting children from potentially harmful content — is sound. 

Unfortunately, the implementation is appalling. Instead of protecting children’s rights, Louisiana’s law and its copycat bills will only succeed in placing an annoying but easily circumventable barrier on websites. It will also create confusion and, more importantly, put people’s sensitive information at severe risk of being stolen and misused.

Since these laws are location specific, websites only block access and require ID from visitors with an IP address in Louisiana. Possibly also other states in the future if their porn ID bills are also adopted. Those who want to avoid handing over their government ID to adult content websites can simply use a VPN to change their IP address to a different state, or even another country.

Even children, who might not know how to use VPNs, can still just secretly “borrow” their parents’ identity documents to regain access to the websites they want to visit. Kids do it often enough with their parents’ credit cards to buy skins in Fortnite.