(LifeSiteNews) — Thanks to a new age verification law, X-rated website Pornhub will cease operations in the state of Kentucky.
House Bill 278 was signed by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in April. It passed both chambers of the state’s GOP-controlled legislature without a single “no” vote.
The measure requires websites with content considered “harmful to minors” to obtain identification from users to prove they are at least 18 years old.
The move essentially puts the industry into a bind as the companies that run the sites claim they don’t have the ability to securely maintain user data.
“Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information is putting user safety in jeopardy,” a spokesperson for Pornhub’s parent company has said.
Pornhub is owned by Aylo, formerly MindGeek, a Canadian-based firm that runs several of the most popular X-rated sites on the planet. Majority owner Bernd Bergmair, an uber-wealthy Austrian businessman, has been the target of criticism in the media in recent years for his profiteering.
Pornhub has started notifying Kentuckians with a popup add that says next month they will be unable to view their videos. They have also announced that they will block access in Indiana, Idaho, Nebraska, and Kansas beginning this summer.
The Kentucky-based Family Foundation is celebrating the win. In a statement, executive director David Walls said, “This is another big victory for protecting kids across Kentucky. Families are facing the harrowing task of protecting their children from a wide range of online harms – including pornography and its devastating consequences.”
The measure also institutes fines of $10,000 for companies that fail to prevent minors from accessing their sites.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, similar laws have been approved in a growing number of states, including Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas. A total of 15 states have enacted legislation that protects children from X-rated content online. All have had the effect of drastically reducing or eliminating altogether the reach of some pornographic sites