Pornhub says it will block access to its site in Florida starting Jan. 1, pending a federal lawsuit
MIAMI - Floridians could soon lose access to Pornhub.com, the world's most popular adult entertainment website.
Pornhub's parent company, Aylo, said it has opted to block access to its site in Florida rather than comply with a new state law that kicks in on Jan. 1, 2025, requiring age verification to visit pornographic platforms.
The law, known as HB 3, was passed by the Florida Legislature in March. On Monday, a trade group representing the adult entertainment industry filed a federal lawsuit trying to strike it down.
Pornhub has already blocked access in 12 states: Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia.
Users in the banned states will see "403 - This state is not whitelisted."
Aylo sent an email to state news website Florida Politics about its plans:
"Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions worldwide, including Florida, have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard and dangerous," reads an email from Aylo. "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."
There is a pop-up warning for some users on its website letting them know the company's views:
"Did you know that your government wants you to give your driver's license before you can access PORNHUB?" the warning says. "As crazy as that sounds, it's true. You'll be required to prove you are 18 years or older such as by uploading your government ID for every adult content website you'd like to access."
The site adds: "We don't want minors accessing our site and think preventing that from happening is a good thing. But putting everybody's privacy at risk won't achieve that."
Pornhub, which launched in 2007, saw more than 11.4 billion visits from global users in January 2024, according to Statista. Approximately 97% of traffic to Pornhub.com came from mobile devices.
Other porn sites haven't announced plans about the law.
Florida legislation affecting access to Pornhub
According to HB 3, which passed with bipartisan support and was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on March 25, sites with adult content "must offer anonymous age verification and standard age verification."
"You can have a kid in the house safe, seemingly, and then you have predators that can get right in there into your own home," DeSantis said at a news conference in Jacksonville. "You could be doing everything right but they know how to get and manipulate these different platforms."
DeSantis vetoed the original version earlier in the year, citing legal and parents' rights concerns.
Former House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, who worked with DeSantis on the legislation, said during the summer: "Adults can do whatever they want, I don't care. But 8-year-old boys should not be accessing hard-core pornography at that age."
"Anonymous" age verification is not spelled out in the law, but the law states that a "nongovernmental, independent third party" offering the service can't retain personal identifying information and must protect it from unauthorized access.
Federal lawsuit filed against Florida's HB 3
The Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry, and others filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the state law. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is named in the suit.
The lawsuit claims Florida's law violates free speech rights and could put users' personal data at risk.
"As recent high-profile data leaks have revealed, no web users are safe, and hackers are often able to exploit the slightest cracks in a website's security," reads the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also criticizes the potential expense of such verification services.