LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — A major pornography website, Pornhub, will be removing access in Kentucky rather than comply with a new law that is set to go into effect on July 15.
On Thursday, Kentuckians attempting to access the website were greeted by a warning letting them know, “You will lose access,” with a Kentucky state flag.
House Bill 278 was signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear on April 5 after receiving bipartisan support. The bill requires websites with content that may be “harmful to minors” to collect proof that a user is an adult before allowing them to access it.
Pornhub said it believes the age verification requirements pose a violation of privacy.
“We don’t want minors accessing our site and think preventing that from happening is a good thing. But putting everybody’s privacy at risk won’t achieve that,” reads the popup.
Limiting or banning traffic in states is not new for Pornhub, which has blocked traffic in other states like Utah and Texas due to age verification laws.
Aylo, Pornhub’s parent company, argues that device-based verification is the better solution.
“We support processes and solutions that ensure minors do not access adult material
and have repeatedly stated our concern with mandatory platform-level verification.
It must effectively protect children while ensuring user safety and privacy,” reads a news release from Aylo.
