Starting on January 1, a new law took effect in Louisiana that requires internet users to prove their age via a government-provided form of identification before being able to access pornographic websites. Experts say the law could provide a model for other states to follow in order to discourage minors from viewing websites that feature sexually obscene material, which often includes violence, abuse, and rape, even of children.
The law stipulates that sites with at least 33% or more of pornographic content must require users to verify their age before being able to access the site. So far, Pornhub, the world’s largest porn site and the 13th most visited website, has implemented an age verification page for users within Louisiana, while other major porn sites have yet to do so.
In recent years, porn sites like Pornhub have been embroiled in controversy after dozens of victims of sexual assault have come forward describing how videos of their assaults have been used by porn sites for profit. Following an exposé of Pornhub by The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof in December 2020, in which multiple stories of videos depicting underage victims of abuse came to light, Mastercard and Visa cut their services to Pornhub, and the site implemented some measures that removed unverified content featuring rape and abuse.
Advocates for victims of sexual abuse and trafficking say these efforts aren’t nearly enough, and that porn sites will only remove illegal content under threat of lawsuits or because of the loss of revenue.
Laila Mickelwait is the founder and CEO of the Justice Defense Fund, a leading organization in a movement that has the stated goal of “shutting down” Pornhub and other porn sites that have featured videos of rape and child sexual abuse. In a recent tweet, she cited the comments of a Pornhub senior manager, who admitted that age verification “devastates traffic.” “Pornhub stands to lose 50%+ of traffic,” the manager wrote. “It costs us money to verify, and overall it’s a disaster.” Mickelwait observed that porn sites “won’t change anything until the money they lose by NOT doing age verification is greater than the money they lose by doing it.”
Following the implementation of Louisiana’s new age verification law, Mickelwait expressed encouragement. On Tuesday, she tweeted: “When threatened with lawsuits & loss of revenue, Pornhub was forced to comply in Louisiana to put age verification in place on the very day the new law took effect. This proves how simple it is to force compliance—make them liable to be sued & see how quick they jump.”
Other experts were also heartened by the measure. Dr. Eleanor Gaetan, vice president and director of public policy for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, expressed support for the law.
“Louisiana’s new law is a commonsense measure that will better protect children from the harms of pornography,” she told The Washington Stand. “Our laws have long held those who distribute harmful material to minors liable for any harm they cause, and the internet should not be different. Just as one must show an ID to enter an adult bookstore or theatre, one should have to demonstrate he or she is an adult to access online pornography.”
Gaetan further noted that the “new Louisiana law builds on Louisiana House Concurrent Resolution 100 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 56, which both acknowledge the significant harms of pornography exposure to children and to public health in general. The negative effects of pornography on children are real and include low self-esteem, hyper-sexualization, and engaging in harmful behaviors. Other studies show that pornography exposure is a tool in grooming and those exposed are more vulnerable to assault and predatory acts.”
Joy Stockbauer, a policy analyst for the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council, underscored the need for more states to follow Louisiana’s lead.
“This piece of legislation is an excellent example of state-level initiative to combat the nation’s pornography epidemic and to mitigate the immeasurably negative impact of pornography on society,” she told TWS. “Preventing children from accidentally or intentionally viewing pornography is essential to lowering rates of pornography addiction, sexual promiscuity, and violence against women that pornography normalizes. Even adults will be more hesitant to view pornography if they know they must submit their driver’s license to do so. Other states, and the federal government, should look to Louisiana’s example and follow suit.”
Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.