Pornhub (Cock)Blocks The Entire State of North Carolina

The ubiquitous Pornhub.com is a little less so. The well known free porn website started off 2024 by blocking the entire state of North Carolina, in response to passage of a bill that requires pornographic websites to verify that users who access their websites from North Carolina are over the age of 18, by a commercially available database or “another commercially reasonable method for age and identity verification,” according to the bill. The new restriction, which took effect today, January 1, 2024, was part of a larger bill, House Bill 8, which passed overwhelmingly in the Republican-controlled General Assembly, with votes of 47-0 and 102-8. It was then signed into law by by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. The law also makes it illegal for porn websites to keep records of the personal information that they use to confirm the age of users (which gives some comfort to users, but obviously not that much when their entire access to porn is blocked in response to the law).

Pornhub.com also blocked Montana today for passing a similar age-verification law. Previously, Pornhub.com had blocked states that have adopted such laws, including Mississippi, Utah and Virginia. So instead of free porn, users in those states will see a message from pornstar Cherie DeVille appears in a video explaining the block, stating “[a]s you may know, your elected officials in North Carolina are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website." She adds, “[w]hile safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.” The bottom line, as DeVille explains is that “[u]ntil a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in North Carolina." In addition to Pornhub.com, Brazzers.com and YouPorn.com are also blocking access.

As these measures are taking hold across the United States, and in foreign countries, it is not clear how others will respond. But soon the world may be facing a porn blackout.