Sam Amico
If you want to use Pornhub in Louisiana, you’d better be able to drive. That’s because the state is now requiring a driver’s license in order to visit the site.
Videos by Rare
In most states, apparently, all it takes is typing in your birthday and hitting the “return” button. That’s enough to get you access.
But not anymore in Louisiana. Instead, residents need to present actual proof of their age, such as a government-issued ID. This includes not only Pornhub, but related adult-content sites such as YouPorn and Redtube.
“Any commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on the internet from a website that contains a substantial portion of such material shall be held liable if the entity fails to perform reasonable age verification methods to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the material,” the Louisiana bill states.
Sorry Kiddos, No Pornhub
Now, all of this doesn’t come without its fair share of criticism. When you put a government-issued ID on the Internet, you are revealing more than just your birthdate. In many instances, you are also revealing your address and social security number.
“There is the explicit intention in the law that verifiers and websites that are using age verification should not retain [your information],” Jason Kelley, the associate director of digital strategy at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told NPR.
“But users don’t have a lot of guarantees that it will happen and the data will be removed or deleted and [won’t be] shared or used in other ways.”
Still, Louisiana Rep. Laurie Schlegel stressed that age verification is a must if we are to protect minors from viewing pornography that’s easily accessed.
“Online pornography is extreme and graphic and only one click away from our children. This is not your daddy’s Playboy,” she tweeted.
