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PHOENIX — Pornhub to Be Geoblocked in Arizona as Age Verification Law Takes Effect
Aylo will block access to Pornhub across Arizona beginning Sept. 26, when the state’s new age verification law, HB 2112, goes into effect.
In a statement, the company reiterated its support for protecting minors but criticized the way many governments have approached the issue.
“Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions worldwide have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous,” the statement read. “Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information is putting user safety in jeopardy. Moreover, as experience has demonstrated, unless properly enforced, users will simply access non-compliant sites or find other methods of evading these laws.”
Arizona lawmakers passed HB 2112 in May. The bill was authored by Republican State Representative Nick Kupper, who modeled it after legislation in Texas that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
HB 2112 closely resembles a previous Arizona bill, HB 2856, which Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed, citing concerns it lacked bipartisan support and did not “work within the bounds of the First Amendment.” The new measure passed after gaining enough Democratic support to reach Hobbs’ desk.
Some observers believe lawmakers were responding to shifting political dynamics following Donald Trump’s electoral victory.
“We are well aware that the optics of voting against these bills is difficult for policymakers,” said Free Speech Coalition spokesperson Mike Stabile in May.
Aylo argues that such laws push users to less secure parts of the internet.
“We have seen how this scenario plays out in the United States,” the company continued. “In Louisiana, Pornhub was one of the few sites to comply with the new law. Since then, our traffic in Louisiana dropped approximately 80 percent. These people did not stop looking for porn. They just migrated to darker corners of the internet that don’t ask users to verify age, that don’t follow the law, that don’t take user safety seriously, and that often don’t even moderate content. In practice, the laws have just made the internet more dangerous for adults and children.”
Arizona will join a growing list of states where Aylo has blocked Pornhub, including Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Virginia, Utah, Nebraska, and Alabama. In each case, Pornhub’s landing page has been replaced with a safe-for-work video featuring Cherie DeVille, who explains the reasons for the restriction.
“As you may know, your elected officials have required us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website,” DeVille says in the video. “While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.”
