Pornhub shuts down site in Utah over age verification law

Porn site Pornhub has shut down its site in the US state of Utah. A law came into effect there on Tuesday that requires sites to check the age of users if there is porn on the site. Pornhub is strongly opposed to that measure.

Pornhub shuts down site in Utah, May 2023

Instead of the regular website, Pornhub in Utah shows a text and a video in which a porn actress explains why the regular site is not available. Instead of the required age verification, parent company MindGeek chooses to shut down the site. The company believes the state should regulate age verification on users’ devices and not per site.

The legislature thinks differently and has been in force in Utah since Tuesday a law that prescribes that porn sites check the age of users before showing them material.

Due to the regulations, MindGeek believes that underage Pornhub users will go to other sites that do not comply with the regulations. Pornhub has already built in an identification check in Louisiana. This would also happen in several other states.