In a pop-up message to Arizona users — that blares “YOU WILL LOSE ACCESS TO PORNHUB” — Pornhub signaled it would cut off access to Arizona IP addresses rather than collect identifying information from people visiting the site.
“Did you know that your government wants you to give your driver’s license before you can access PORNHUB?” the message read as of Sept. 19. “As crazy as that sounds, it's true. You'll be required to prove you are 18 years or older such as by uploading your government ID for every adult content website you'd like to access.”
The message continued: “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.” The message went on to promote device-based age verification, which is basically an individual device-based level of parental control.
In a statement to Phoenix New Times, Pornhub parent company Aylo confirmed it would cut off access to Arizona IP addresses when the law goes into effect, rather than collect user information.
“Unfortunately, the way many jurisdictions worldwide have chosen to implement age verification is ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous,” the statement said. “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. Moreover, as experience has demonstrated, unless properly enforced, users will simply access non-compliant sites or find other methods of evading these laws.”
Pornhub is the world’s most prolific porn site, receiving more than 100 million visits every day. Rather than comply with similar verification requirements in other states, the site has opted to block users from those places from accessing the site. That was the case in Florida, Texas, Idaho, Kansas and Kentucky.
Arizona’s bill was introduced by GOP state Rep. Nick Kupper with the goal of preventing minors from accessing pornographic content. “Hardcore pornography has been just one click away from kids for too long, and the companies behind it have looked the other way while cashing in,” Kupper said in a statement at the time. “This law forces them to take responsibility and keeps minors off their platforms.” Companies that break the law could face fines of up to $250,000 for a single failure to verify age.
But critics — including Pornhub — have noted that while keeping children from accessing porn is a noble goal, the practice of gathering personal data on government documents for users is a massive privacy concern. Critics also noted that such a requirement has a big loophole for determined porn-viewers: virtual private networks, or VPNs.
How to use a VPN
Want to get your rocks off? Meet the VPN.By using a VPN, you block your IP address (which tracks the location from which you are using an electronic device) and connect to a server in a different physical location. To Pornhub, it will appear as if you are accessing the site from somewhere outside Arizona.
VPNs are popular among advanced computer users for a wide variety of reasons, including accessing streaming services in other countries. Now, it’s a workaround for watching porn in your draconian state.
Here’s how to use one:
- Sign up for a VPN. Some of the most popular and reputable are ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark.
- Download the app on the device you’re going to use.
- Open the app and connect to a server in a different location and access the internet.
