Pornhub operator MindGeek has blocked all users in Arkansas from the location after the state’s new age verification regulation went into impact on Tuesday.
The Arkansas regulation, SB 66, doesn’t ban Pornhub from working within the state, nevertheless it requires porn websites to confirm {that a} person is eighteen by confirming their age with figuring out paperwork. On Wednesday, Pornhub blocked all site visitors from IP addresses primarily based in Arkansas in protest, arguing that the regulation, which was meant to guard youngsters, really harms customers.
“Whereas security and compliance are on the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card each time you wish to go to an grownup platform will not be the best answer for shielding our customers, and actually, will put youngsters and your privateness in danger,” MindGeek wrote in a message changing the location’s entrance web page for affected customers. The block additionally applies to different in style MindGeek grownup websites, like RedTube.
Louisiana was the first state to approve rules requiring porn websites to confirm the ages of customers, and the regulation impressed greater than a dozen US states to introduce copycat payments. Six states have accredited comparable measures, though some aren’t slated to enter impact for a number of months.
Responding to this wave of bans, MindGeek has determined to dam entry to its websites from states the place the legal guidelines have gone into impact. As of publication, it has blocked folks from Mississippi, Utah, and Virginia.
After MindGeek began complying with the Louisiana regulation earlier this yr, the corporate mentioned site visitors dropped by 80 %. So, as an alternative of rolling out age verification programs, it says it determined to dam entry fully, calling on customers to contact their state representatives to oppose these legal guidelines.