Mandatory age verification on porn sites with the provision of identity documents is implemented in several other US states: Florida, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia have already legalized these requirements, while Arkansas, Mississippi and Virginia are only preparing to do so.
At the beginning of January, a law on mandatory age verification of users on sites that contain pornography came into force in Louisiana. The rules stipulate that sites that contain 33.3% or more pornographic material must require users to confirm that they have reached the age of 18.
A bill being drafted in Arkansas calls pornography a “public health crisis” and clarifies what content on sites is considered “harmful” to younger viewers. The list includes media materials depicting genitals and their parts, as well as some actions (caressing, touching nipples, breasts, buttocks or genitals; or sexual acts, masturbation, oral sex, sodomy, zoophilia, etc.).
Also, the site will be considered harmful if it contains materials that do not have serious “literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors.” The bill mentions the dangers posed by pornography to children — negative effects on brain function and development, exacerbation of emotional or medical problems, deviant sexual arousal, harmful sexual behavior and problems with self-esteem or body image disorders.
In Louisiana, Pornhub and other major MindGeek-owned porn sites require users to create an AllpassTrust account and undergo age verification using LA Wallet, a Louisiana government mobile app that includes a digital version of a driver’s license.
The UK has also been looking to introduce similar rules in the country for years – they could finally come into effect within the next six months (as part of amendments to the Internet Safety Bill).
However, the effectiveness of all these measures is questionable, since most people are unlikely to be willing to give their personal data in exchange for watching porn. There are also workarounds in the form of VPN programs, as well as many other resources, including social networks such as Twitter, where minors can freely access adult content.
Source: Techspot
