PornHub Blocks Utah Users to Protest Bill Requiring Age Verification

The adult website inexplicably argued the law will be unsafe for children

Internet giant PornHub has blocked users in the state of Utah to protest a bill that requires ID verification to access explicit content on the internet.

Instead, they are met with a video from adult performer Cherie DeVill who explains that while “the safety of our users is one of our biggest concerns,” the pornography website believes that “the best and most effective solution for protecting children and adults alike is to identify users by their device and allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that identification.” said. “Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in your region.”

SB 287, which was spearheaded by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, went into effect this week rendering PornHub’s content and all other pornography inaccessible by users who do not verify they are over the age of 18.

"The very least we can do as a society is to ask companies to verify the age of those viewing the pornography they produce and distribute," Cox said in a statement to CBS affiliate 2KUTV. "This unanimous, bipartisan legislation provides multiple ways to satisfy that requirement."

Utah declared pornography to be a public health crisis in 2016, later passing legislation requiring adult websites to warn users of the harmful effects of pornography.

According to 2KUTV, this new law “places the onus squarely on adult-oriented digital companies to verify those permissions.”

The Christian Post notes that the state saw a surge in searches for virtual private networks (VPNs) which are typically used to bypass regional internet restrictions.