Pornhub goes darkish in Arkansas after age verification regulation kicks in

Pornhub operator MindGeek has blocked all customers in Arkansas from the location after the state’s new age verification regulation went into impact on Tuesday.

The Arkansas regulation, SB 66, doesn’t ban Pornhub from working within the state, but it surely requires porn websites to confirm {that a} consumer is eighteen by confirming their age with figuring out paperwork. On Wednesday, Pornhub blocked all site visitors from IP addresses based mostly in Arkansas in protest, arguing that the regulation, which was meant to guard kids, truly harms customers.

“Whereas security and compliance are on the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card each time you need to go to an grownup platform just isn’t the best answer for shielding our customers, and in reality, will put kids and your privateness in danger,” MindGeek wrote in a message changing the location’s entrance web page for affected customers. The block additionally applies to different common MindGeek grownup websites, like RedTube.

Louisiana was the primary state to approve guidelines requiring porn websites to confirm the ages of customers, and the regulation impressed greater than a dozen US states to introduce copycat payments. Six states have accepted related measures, though some aren’t slated to enter impact for a couple of months. 

Responding to this wave of bans, MindGeek has determined to dam entry to its websites from states the place the legal guidelines have gone into impact. As of publication, it has blocked individuals from Mississippi, Utah, and Virginia. 

After MindGeek began complying with the Louisiana regulation earlier this yr, the corporate stated site visitors dropped by 80 %. So, as a substitute of rolling out age verification techniques, it says it determined to dam entry totally, calling on customers to contact their state representatives to oppose these legal guidelines.

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