We’ve been watching the evolving legal landscape, and things are changing fast. So far, 19 US states have passed age verification laws. In Louisiana, Pornhub is asking for age verification, while they’re simply blocking visitors from other states with age verification. And it’s not just the US: soon, similar age verification laws will be enacted in France and the UK.
These upcoming laws could mean that soon you might be asked to prove you’re 18+ in various ways. A quick age check (just entering your birthdate) isn’t robust enough to meet the new standards. It seems the industry is moving toward more secure methods, such as full ID verification or digital ID verification, using secure apps.
Our Dilemma: Age Verification Or Not
The new laws are creating a huge challenge for us. They vary widely from state to state and country to country, and there’s a lot of uncertainty about what regulators might do. They could choose not to enforce the rules, or they might turn up the heat with heavy consequences —like site blocks, search engine penalties, or hefty fines.
In the UK, for example, the regulator has already made it clear that pornography services must introduce age checks by July 2025 at the latest—this includes major sites like X and Reddit. Similar robust measures are on the horizon in France and many U.S. states. How will these sites respond, and what will regulators do?