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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate has passed legislation that would impose a 2% tax on adult websites doing business in the state while expanding rules aimed at preventing minors from bypassing age verification through virtual private networks.
SB 73 would make adult platforms liable if Utah minors access their services by using VPNs to circumvent geolocation safeguards. Earlier versions of the bill proposed a 7% tax on gross receipts, along with requirements for adult sites to notify the state’s Division of Consumer Protection of their in-state activity and pay an annual $500 fee. Lawmakers later revised the measure, removing the notification and fee provisions and reducing the tax rate.
The amended bill now takes a broader approach, covering a range of consumer protection functions across multiple state agencies. While retaining portions of the original proposal, the Senate-approved version would impose a 2% excise tax on adult platforms operating in Utah. The tax would apply to transactions involving “access to digital images, digital audio-visual works, digital audio works, digital books, or gaming services,” including subscription and streaming access.
Industry attorneys have raised concerns about possible legal challenges to the measure. Similar proposals, however, have surfaced in other states. Alabama enacted a 10% tax on adult content revenues in 2025, and lawmakers in Virginia and Pennsylvania have considered comparable initiatives.
Revenue generated by the Utah tax would be directed to a state fund supporting youth mental health initiatives. The bill specifies that funds would support “(a) mental health treatment programs for minors affected by material harmful to minors; (b) educational programs for parents, guardians, educators, and minors on the mental health risks associated with material harmful to minors; (c) early prevention and intervention programs for minors at risk of mental health harm from material harmful to minors; and (d) research and public awareness campaigns addressing mental health harm to minors caused by material harmful to minors.”
VPN Requirements Added
SB 73 also includes provisions addressing VPN usage. The amended language states: “An individual is considered to be accessing the website from this state if the individual is actually located in the state, regardless of whether the individual is using a virtual private network, proxy server, or other means to disguise or misrepresent the individual’s geographic location to make it appear that the individual is accessing a website from a location outside this state.”
In addition, the bill would prohibit adult platforms from facilitating or encouraging users to bypass age verification. The legislation bars websites from providing tools or guidance for circumvention, “including by providing: (a) instructions on how to use a virtual private network or proxy server to access the website; or (b) means for individuals in this state to circumvent geofencing or blocking.”
State-based age verification laws have faced criticism because users can often avoid them through anonymizing technologies. Increased media attention and regulatory focus on VPN use have prompted lawmakers to explore stricter enforcement mechanisms.
West Virginia lawmakers are considering similar language in SB 498, which would mandate that “No online platform, website, or digital entity may allow users to bypass age verification requirements through VPNs, proxy services, or other anonymizing technologies.” That proposal is awaiting committee review.
Meanwhile, Indiana has filed a lawsuit against Aylo, alleging that the company failed to prevent access by users masking their location through VPNs. Although Indiana’s age verification statute does not explicitly reference VPNs, the state argues the company is noncompliant “because Indiana residents, including minors, can still easily access the Defendants’ websites with a VPN IP or proxy address from another jurisdiction or through the use of location spoofing software.”
Utah’s updated VPN provisions could affect enforcement of the state’s age verification law, which took effect in January 2023.
The bill will next be considered by the Utah House Revenue and Taxation Committee. If enacted, SB 73 would take effect Oct. 1.
