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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nPornhub, one of the largest and most-visited adult websites, has made a habit of blocking states that have passed new adult-site\u00a0ID requirements. Texas was\u00a0blocked earlier this year, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky and Nebraska were blocked in July, and\u00a0Oklahoma was shut out\u00a0last month, joining millions of disappointed residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Will Florida be next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Florida Legislature passed an age verification rule this year as part of\u00a0HB 3<\/a>,\u00a0a social media bill that restricts children from social media. Legal challenges to the new social media rules are\u00a0delaying enforcement\u00a0of that part, but the age verification requirement will begin Jan. 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The law requires adult sites to offer anonymous and standard age verification for visitors to choose from. Sites that violate this may be fined up to $50,000 per violation by the State Department of Legal Affairs, plus attorney fees and court costs. Individual claimants may also be awarded up to $10,000 in damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “To be clear, Aylo has publicly supported age verification of users for years, but we believe that any law to this effect must preserve user safety and privacy, and must effectively protect children from accessing content intended for adults,” a spokesperson from Pornhub’s parent company, Aylo, said Thursday in an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions worldwide, including Florida, have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is Pornhub?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pornhub is a website offering free access to a vast library of explicit adult movies and clips broken down into categories to its 20 million registered users. It was the 19th most-visited website and the most-visited adult website in the world<\/a> as of Dec. 1. According to Pornhub’s published stats, the site averages over 100 million daily visits worldwide and over 100 billion video views a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The site allows professional companies, porn stars and amateurs alike to upload their material, create fan clubs, and charge for premium content. Pornhub is owned by Aylo, recently renamed from Mindgeek, along with several other popular adult sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aside from attacks from anti-porn groups, the company was previously under fire for allowing anyone to upload anything, which drove many smaller adult movie companies out of business and also brought complaints about a surge of uploads showing\u00a0revenge porn, child sexual abuse material, and copyrighted movies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In December 2020, after a New York Times expose<\/a> of non-consensual pornography and sex trafficking on the site, Pornhub deleted over 6 million videos<\/a> and began allowing uploads only from verified users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which states have Pornhub blocked?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pornhub is currently restricting access to people from Arkansas<\/a>, Idaho<\/a>, Kansas<\/a>, Kentucky,<\/a> Louisiana<\/a>, Mississippi<\/a>, Montana<\/a>, Nebraska<\/a>, North Carolina<\/a>, Oklahoma<\/a>, Texas<\/a>, Utah<\/a> and Virginia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is Pornhub blocked in Florida?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No, but Pornhub might be blocked in Florida in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why are states passing age-verification laws for adult websites?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Child safety advocates and state legislators argue that more needs to be done to keep children safe online and away from adult material. Age verification laws force adult sites to require some form of official ID verifying users are 18 or over before they’re allowed to access the site’s wares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Free speech advocates and adult entertainment lobbyists say the laws are hurting adults who have the right to access such content and warn that the definition of “adult material” can be weaponized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n