For the vast majority of us, one of the most private aspects of our lives is our sex life, and with it comes an innate desire to keep the adult material we consume online private.
But for the people of Louisiana, everything has changed – at least on the surface.
The new law, called HB 142, requires all websites with more than 33.3% adult content to officially verify the age of their visitors. Unsurprisingly, the first site to be enforced is the ubiquitous Pornhub, and those in Louisiana now have to present some form of ID to access the racy content.
The purpose of the act is to limit the access of minors to adult material, and failure to enforce the age verification procedure may result in a lawsuit against the website concerned. So far, however, only Pornhub has enforced this law, and rivals XVideos and XHamster still rely on a simple, trust-based verification method.
ID card please
The age verification process that Pornhub has implemented is operated by a third party called AllPassTrust (opens in a new tab)in tandem with the state’s digital identification application Los Angeles wallet (opens in a new tab). LA Wallet has shown some success in the state, and while widely regarded as a smart solution, the digitization of personal information has raised serious privacy concerns.
Moreover, once the countless other adult sites on the web begin similar vetting processes, there is no guarantee that they will recruit AllPassTrust for the job. So, if you’re something of an erotic explorer and prefer to visit a wide range of porn sites, you may have to trust various third parties for some of your most sensitive government data – as well as your viewing habits.
Another concern is that these regulations are likely to favor larger sites such as Pornhub and XVideos, while smaller independent outlets may struggle to provide reputable third-party verification services. While opinions on the morality of the porn industry vary widely to say the least, steps must be taken to avoid monopolies in any given market.
Bypassing the law
Even though Pornhub and the US government have assured us that the process is secure and completely private – no details are shared and the only information used to gain access is whether the user is over 18 – it is clear that a huge number of consumers will want to avoid any government verification when it comes to adult content.
The easiest way to bypass the verification procedure is to use a VPN – ours the top-ranked provider is ExpressVPN (opens in a new tab). By changing your IP address, you can spoof your location, which means you can give the impression that you’re somewhere else in the US – or around the world – and avoid having to entrust sensitive data to potentially unknown third parties.
The future of adult content in the United States
While Louisiana is the first US state to enforce this form of age verification, thanks in large part to LA Wallet’s pioneering initiative, it is unlikely it will be the last state. AB-2273California’s Age-Adjusted Design Code Act was released in August 2022 and, if passed, could make similar age-verification procedures necessary in the state.
In 2020, Utah also introduced a law requiring porn sites display a detailed warning (opens in a new tab) in an entry about the perceived harmfulness of adult content for minors. While it has received widespread opposition from the adult industry and has been deemed largely performative, it is clear that many states in the United States are starting to take a tougher stance on adult content.
Whether these steps stem from genuine concern for the welfare of minors, or are simply symptoms of a purported rise in puritanical conservatism in the US, remains to be seen. The bottom line, though, is that it’s getting harder and harder to stay anonymous online – and taking steps to preserve what privacy we have is more important than ever.
