Law

Goodbye Pornhub: The pornography website pulls out of Florida after age-verification law passes

Online users in Tennessee and South Carolina also no longer have access to adult website from January 1, 2025.

Marco Verch

Scottish sports journalist and content creator. After running his own soccer-related projects, in 2022 he joined Diario AS, where he mainly reports on the biggest news from around Europe’s leading soccer clubs, Liga MX and MLS, and covers live games in a not-too-serious tone. Likes to mix things up by dipping into the world of American sports.

Update: Jan 2nd, 2025 14:42 EST

Pornhub is no longer accessible in Florida, as well as two other states, following the passing of a new age verification law in the sunshine state.

As of January 1, 2025, the adult website and other similar sites are blocked in 13 states, with Tennessee and South Carolina also adding their names to the ever-growing list. A similar legislation had previously been passed in Oklahoma, Kentucky, Texas, Montana, North Carolina, Arkansas, Utah, Mississippi, Virginia and Louisiana.

What is House Bill 3 (2024)?

House Bill 3 (2024) concerns online protection for minors and requires users of adult websites to verify their age with official documentation in order to be able to watch explicit material. Another area of the law will see companies be forced to delete all accounts belonging to children aged 14 and under, who will now have to get a parent’s permission to set up a social media account.

Pornhub says it's pulling out of Florida on January 1, when age verification law takes effect pic.twitter.com/dfaXKCiMEb
— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) December 18, 2024

Why Pornhub has chosen to pull out of Florida

Companies that don’t comply with the regulation could face hefty fines. Rather than go along with the new law, Pornhub has chosen to stop operating in Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina, as it previously did in the other states mentioned above.

According to a representative for the website, it agrees with preventing minors from accessing adult material, but is unhappy with the state collecting adults’ personal information.

More states could join the list in the future, with the ban already thought to affect approximately 41% of Americans.

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