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Updated August 2026
Since 2022, lawmakers have passed or considered legislation to place age restrictions on websites containing adult content. These laws are part of an effort to protect minors using the internet from exposure to sexually explicit or potentially harmful content. However, there is concern about where the line is drawn in the balance of online privacy and the responsibility to keep children safe. The debate around this topic has quickly escalated, with Congress debating implementing age verification measures at a federal level and the U.S. Supreme Court considering challenging state laws.
Most of the age verification laws enacted or proposed apply to websites where 1/3 or more of the content is deemed “harmful to minors.” While some websites easily qualify, many sites that offer a wide variety of content, rely heavily on user-generated content, or feature content that is not sexually explicit have less clarity on how these laws will affect them. Below is the current status of age verification laws for websites containing adult content.
States with age restriction laws
| State | Bill / Law | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | HB 164 | Passed – Effective October 1, 2024 |
| Arizona | HB 2112 | Passed – Effective September 26, 2025 |
| Arkansas | Act 612 / SB 66 | Passed – Effective 2023 |
| Florida | HB 3 | Passed – Effective January 1, 2025 |
| Georgia | SB 351 | Passed – Effective July 1, 2025 |
| Idaho | HB 498 | Passed – Effective July 1, 2024 |
| Indiana | SB 17 | Passed – Effective July 1, 2024 |
| Iowa | HF 864 | Passed – Effective July 1, 2026 |
| Kansas | SB 394 | Passed – Effective July 1, 2024 |
| Kentucky | HB 278 | Passed – Effective July 15, 2024 |
| Louisiana | Act No. 440 | Passed – Effective January 1, 2023 |
| Mississippi | SB 2346 | Passed – Effective July 1, 2023 |
| Missouri | 15 CSR 60-18 | In Effect – November 30, 2025 |
| Montana | SB 544* | Passed – Effective January 1, 2024 |
| Nebraska | LB 1092 | Passed – Effective July 18, 2024 |
| North Carolina | HB 8 | Passed – Effective January 1, 2024 |
| North Dakota | HB 1561 | Passed – Effective August 1, 2025 |
| Ohio | HB 96 | Passed – Effective September 30, 2025 |
| Oklahoma | SB 1959 | Passed – Effective November 1, 2024 |
| South Carolina | H 3424 | Passed – Effective January 1, 2025 |
| South Dakota | HB 1053 | Passed – Effective July 1, 2025 |
| Tennessee | Protect Tennessee Minors Act | Passed – Effective January 1, 2025 |
| Texas | HB 1181 | Passed – Effective September 1, 2023 |
| Utah | SB 287 | Passed – Effective May 3, 2023 |
| Virginia | SB 1515 | Passed – Effective July 1, 2023 |
| West Virginia | HB 4412 | Passed – Effective June 12, 2026 |
| Wyoming | HB 43 / HEA 70 | Passed – Effective July 1, 2025 |
Why is pornhub not banned in Louisiana?
Some platforms, including Pornhub, have chosen to prevent all users from their content in certain states. One Virginia state Senator, who voted in favor of the state’s age verification bill, took to posting on X when she realized the platform was no longer available to her, asking “Is anyone else’s Pornhub not working?”
It may come as a surprise that Pornhub is available to adult users in Louisiana. Louisiana has led the charge on this legislation, it was the first state to enact a law mandating that websites hosting substantial adult content verify users are over 18 years old. Users in Louisiana are able to access Pornhub by using the state’s digital ID service, LA Wallet, in conjunction with an online age verification provider.
While Ethical Capital Partners, Pornhubs owner, has stated that traffic to the site has drastically dropped since the age verification regulations have been in effect, the site is still accessible in Louisiana.
What are the risks of not verifying age in states where age verification laws have been enacted?
Failure to comply with these newly enacted laws can lead to legal liabilities, usually in the form of fines. These vary by state but currently include:
- Liability for damages: Sites can be sued for damages if minors access adult content on their platforms. Offenders could be held liable for up to $10,000 per minor affected.
- Fines: Sites can be fined as much as $5,000 per day for lacking age verification.
Proposed legislation could add escalated risks for non-compliance, including:
- Criminal liability: Indiana, Tennessee, and Illinois have proposed including criminal charges in their legislation.
- Suspension of operations: Authorities could order the suspension or restriction of non-compliant websites.
States considering adult-content age verification laws in 2026
Although age verification requirements for adult content have now been enacted across roughly half of the United States, lawmakers in several additional states introduced or continued considering similar legislation during the 2025–2026 legislative sessions.
Illinois: Illinois lawmakers introduced SB 3945 in February 2026. The proposal would require qualifying adult-content websites to use age verification to prevent minors from accessing restricted material. The legislation is part of a broader package of proposals aimed at protecting minors online.
Maryland: Maryland lawmakers introduced multiple proposals related to age verification for online obscene or adult material, including HB 693 and HB 908. These proposals would expand Maryland’s role in regulating minors’ access to age-restricted content online.
Minnesota: HF 1434 would require websites where at least 25% of webpages contain pornography to verify that users attempting to access the site are at least 18 years old. The bill received a House committee hearing in February 2026.
New Jersey: A3228 would require entities providing certain online material to verify the ages of users and prohibit minors from accessing covered material. The bill was introduced in January 2026 and referred to the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.
New York: S3591/A3946 would require age verification for internet pornography websites and establish penalties of up to $50,000 per day for violations. The proposal has faced legislative opposition and has not become law.
Ohio: Although Ohio already enacted adult-content age verification requirements through HB 96, lawmakers have continued considering additional legislation. HB 84, known as the Innocence Act, passed the Ohio House in March 2026 and would further address minors’ access to sexually explicit online content.
Pennsylvania: SB 603 would establish age verification requirements for internet pornography and create enforcement mechanisms for noncompliance. Other proposals, including HB 1513, have also addressed online age verification during the current legislative session.
Washington: HB 2112 was introduced during the 2025–2026 session to establish a minimum age for accessing certain adult content online. The proposal would require covered websites to use reasonable age-verification methods before providing access to restricted content.
Age verification legislation that was vetoed
Not every proposal to require age verification for online adult content has become law. Several states have considered legislation that was ultimately rejected, vetoed or failed to advance before the end of a legislative session.
Wisconsin: Wisconsin lawmakers passed AB 105/SB 130, which would have required websites containing a substantial amount of material harmful to minors to implement reasonable age verification measures. An earlier version also included controversial provisions addressing VPN access, although those provisions were removed before final passage. Governor Tony Evers vetoed the legislation in April 2026, citing concerns about privacy, data security and the collection of personally identifiable information.
Hawaii: Hawaii lawmakers considered HB 1212 and HB 1198, proposals addressing age verification for pornographic websites. The bills carried over into the 2026 legislative session but ultimately failed to become law.
Other states have introduced similar proposals that stalled in committee or failed to reach final passage, illustrating that while adult-content age verification has expanded rapidly across the country, the exact approach remains the subject of significant legislative debate.
Could age verification become a federal requirement?
The debate over age verification for adult content is no longer limited to individual states. Congress has considered federal legislation that could establish age verification requirements nationwide.
The Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net Act, better known as the SCREEN Act, would require covered online platforms distributing sexually explicit content to use age verification technology to prevent minors from accessing that content. Simply asking users to confirm that they are 18 or older would not satisfy the proposed requirements.
Federal legislation gained significant momentum in 2026. The U.S. House passed a version of the SCREEN Act as part of a broader online child-safety legislative package in June 2026. A related Senate proposal, S. 737, was considered by the Senate Commerce Committee in August. The committee voted 15–13 to advance the legislation, although a lack of sufficient members present prevented the measure from formally advancing at that meeting.
As a result, there is not yet a nationwide federal age verification requirement for adult content as of August 2026. However, the movement of the SCREEN Act through Congress represents one of the most significant attempts to establish a federal standard and could substantially change the current state-by-state compliance landscape if enacted.
What’s next for age verification of adult content online?
There is still much to be discussed in the states where legislation is pending, and even in states where the laws have been passed, certain trade association groups, including the Free Speech Coalition, an association for the adult entertainment industry, as well as NetChoice, whose members include TikTok, Meta, and X, have brought lawsuits against the age verification laws. These have escalated to the federal level, with the Supreme Court saying on July 2, 2024 that it would consider challenging Texas’s law requiring age verification for pornographic websites.
It is also worth noting that age verification measures can easily be circumvented by using a VPN (virtual private network). VPNs allow people to have a private, encrypted connection online and can make the user appear as if they are accessing the website from a location other than the state in which access is prohibited. According to ExpressVPN, VPN search interest surged by 1700% in a single day in Texas after Pornhub was blocked in the state.
While it is not our place to debate the ethics of the laws, we will be continually updating our IDLaws portal, as well as this blog with any updates or changes to the current or pending laws. Be sure to follow along for more information.
