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LOS ANGELES — Aylo, the parent company behind Pornhub.com, reached an agreement last week with the state of Utah that temporarily pauses enforcement of a law aimed at stopping people from using virtual private networks to bypass the state’s age-verification requirements. According to court filings, enforcement is now scheduled to begin Sept. 3.
The agreement follows a lawsuit Aylo filed in late April against Utah’s Division of Consumer Protection and Department of Commerce in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. The complaint alleges multiple constitutional violations, including claims that the state’s actions interfere with interstate and foreign commerce protections outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
The lawsuit also argues that Utah is engaging in what it describes as “unlawful state extraterritorial regulation.” Aylo Freesites Ltd. and Aylo Group Ltd. are foreign corporate entities connected to Aylo’s broader ownership structure, which is headquartered in Montreal, Québec, and ultimately controlled by Ottawa-based Ethical Capital Partners.
“This new law is unconstitutional for three independent reasons: it constitutes impermissible extraterritorial legislation, it violates the dormant Commerce Clause, and it also violates the Foreign Commerce Clause by interfering with purely international transactions involving foreign entities and foreign nationals,” attorneys for the plaintiffs argued in court filings.
Representing the plaintiffs are Annika L. Jones and Brandon S. Fuller, partner and associate at the Salt Lake City office of Snell & Wilmer LLP.
Aylo is also represented by attorneys from the Washington, D.C., office of Jenner & Block LLP, including managing partner Lindsay Harrison, partner Jessica Ring Amunson and special counsel Daniel Schwei. Attorneys for the state of Utah later reached the agreement with Aylo’s legal team to postpone enforcement of the VPN-related provisions.
Earlier this year, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed Senate Bill 73 into law. The measure imposes a 2 percent excise tax on adult content sold digitally within the state. Included in the legislation is a provision prohibiting users from using VPNs or similar IP-masking tools to bypass age-verification systems and content restrictions.
When Utah first enacted site-level age-verification requirements in 2023, Aylo responded by geoblocking access within the state. At the same time, VPN services remained widely available through major app marketplaces, making it relatively simple for users to circumvent geographic restrictions.
Lawmakers introduced SB 73 in part to address that issue, and the proposal moved through Utah’s Republican-controlled legislature with limited opposition.
The law states that “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 misrepresenting the individual’s geographic location to make it appear that the individual is accessing a website from a location outside this state.” The legislation also seeks to prohibit publishing information that promotes the use of VPNs to evade age checks.
Enforcement of the VPN-related provision had been expected to begin today. Under the new agreement, however, enforcement is delayed until Sept. 3. The 2 percent excise tax is still set to take effect in October.
“[The] defendants shall not take enforcement action or otherwise seek to impose liability pursuant to [the bill] for any conduct by plaintiffs or their affiliates that occurs during the period of forbearance,” a memo filed with the court states. The filing was signed by attorneys representing Aylo as well as lawyers from the office of Utah Attorney General Derek Brown.
“During that period, Plaintiffs and their affiliates shall also not change any of their current geofencing practices in Utah,” the memo continues, effectively preserving the current status quo while the litigation proceeds.
Lawrence Walters, an attorney known for handling litigation involving the adult entertainment industry, described the agreement as a practical decision.
“The state was smart to agree to forego enforcement of this ill-considered law pending review by the courts,” Walters said.
He added, “The expectation to identify the location of users who access a website through a VPN is an impossibility. The law is extremely vulnerable to constitutional challenges, and the state could be on the hook for significant damages and attorneys’ fees, particularly if it moved forward with enforcement proceedings.”
A major argument in Aylo’s lawsuit is that SB 73 could cause irreparable damage to both its business operations and broader access to privacy-focused internet technology.
“There is no feasible way for a company like Aylo to reliably verify whether any particular individual is using a VPN, proxy server, or other location-masking technology—and therefore no way to determine whether a user who appears to be located outside Utah is, in fact, located inside Utah,” an Aylo spokesperson said.
The company also argues that Utah lacks legal standing to regulate conduct occurring beyond its borders.
“Utah is projecting its policy choices onto conduct occurring entirely outside its borders, in states and countries that have made different legislative judgments,” the spokesperson added. “It is our opinion that this new law is unconstitutional and that no single state has constitutional authority to set the terms under which a global company may operate on the global Internet.”
Adult industry attorney Corey Silverstein said the case raises broader questions extending beyond Utah alone.
“Aylo’s lawsuit underscores the growing constitutional collision between online age-verification mandates and digital privacy rights,” Silverstein said. “While lawmakers frame these laws as child-protection measures, the practical effect is forcing adults to surrender sensitive personal information to access legal content online.
“That raises serious First Amendment, cybersecurity and anonymity concerns, especially when states continue expanding these laws beyond websites and toward VPNs, app stores and broader internet access,” he added. “The courts are now being asked to decide whether governments can effectively build a digital ID checkpoint system around lawful speech.”
VPN technology continues to present challenges for regulators attempting to enforce age-verification rules in multiple jurisdictions. In Indiana, for example, state officials have sued Aylo, alleging the company violated local age-verification requirements by failing to block traffic routed through VPNs and proxy services.
