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Many may be familiar with the common pop-up message that implores people to verify that they’re 18 years or older before accessing a porn site. However, down in Louisiana, people have to begin providing legitimate proof that they’re a legal adult before visiting adult websites.
The law, dubbed Act 440, officially went into effect on January 1, 2023. It’s centered on protecting people under the age of 18 from “commercial entities who distribute material harmful to minors” (pornography).
In order to ensure that such web material is only accessible by adults, Louisiana requires websites with a “substantial amount” of pornographic material—more than 33.1%—to confirm users’ ages.
A screen recording that made its way to Twitter shows an example of what Louisiana-based users can expect to see. The video shows the individual being promoted to create an account on Allpasstrust to access PornHub, which would provide personal information for age-verification purposes through LA Wallet.
At this point, we should add that—while the legislation was called a “privacy time bomb” by PCMag—websites are barred from retaining users’ identifying information.
“A commercial entity that is found to have knowingly retained identifying information of the individual after access has been granted to the individual shall be liable to the individual for damages resulting from retaining the identifying information, including court costs and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court.”
Nonetheless, the matter is controversial to say the least, as some felt it was a move that came straight out of 1984. People also called out how the legislation would impact vulnerable communities the most, while others felt as though Louisiana has bigger issues to deal with aside from porn.
However, other users were in full support of the law, and some even called on states like Texas to follow Louisiana’s lead.
Some tech-savvy users also spread the word about how a virtual private network (VPN) can be used to get around the legislation.
What are your thoughts on this new Louisiana law, and how would you feel if your state followed suit?
