Utah passed a new law that requires ID verification for users to access porn websites.
It was passed by Republican lawmakers as part of a broader crackdown on pornography. A similar law was passed in Louisiana in January. Politicians in Utah claimed that while it’s currently illegal for children to view pornography, it’s rarely enforced. This new law is an attempt to make it much harder for minors to access pornography.
That said, it’s caused major rippling effects throughout the porn industry. According to Google Trends, VPN searches in Utah are skyrocketing as people seek to access blocked sites.
The adult video website, Pornhub, has blocked its content in Utah out of protest. While Pornhub didn’t block access to Louisiana users, its website traffic dropped by 80%. However, a Pornhub spokesperson commented that users were still accessing adult websites, just ones with fewer restrictions.
There are also a lot of people who see it as a massive invasion of privacy when websites already have systems in place to prevent minors from legally accessing them.
The Free Speech Coalition, a California-based trade group has also filed lawsuits against the state of Utah, is suing Utah for what it considers to be breaches of the US Consitution. The argument is that the law is an infringement on free speech and privacy.
“The Utah law restricts adults’ access to legal speech and violates decades of Supreme Court precedent,” said Alison Boden, the executive director of the coalition. “We are fighting not only for the rights of our members and the larger adult entertainment community, but for the right of all Americans to access constitutionally protected expression in the privacy of their own home.”
Louisiana and Utah aren’t the only states enacting reforms of their pornography laws. Arkansas has also passed a similar law that will go into effect this summer. Lawmakers in both South Carolina and Arizona are currently considering similar laws.