Following the enforcement of a new age-verification law in Texas, Pornhub has blocked access to its content for users in the state since March 14, leading to a significant increase in VPN usage and web searches related to circumventing the blackout. Google data and VPN services have reported a surge in activity, with Express VPN noting a 48% increase and web searches for VPNs swelling by 400% in web traffic from Texas. The law, aimed at requiring web porn platforms to verify the ages of their viewers, has been criticized by Pornhub as "ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous." Critics argue that such regulations will not prevent minors from accessing explicit content but will drive them towards less regulated, potentially harmful sites. Meanwhile, proponents of the law, including countertrafficking experts, applaud the move as a step in the right direction for protecting minors from online obscenity.
Porn sites are banning Texas. Here's what Texans are Googling in response https://t.co/DfLC57xiS2
Social Media Bill Signed as Legal Fight Looms https://t.co/6ARYjzwMZW
Countertrafficking Experts Applaud Texas Porn Age-Verification Law https://t.co/YL32hR9fmK via @Streamdotorg
The state of Texas took a massive step in the right direction by going after sites that provide explicit content. Meanwhile, schools across the state continue to indoctrinate kids with inappropriate content. @SaraGonzalesTX Listen Here: https://t.co/mi3ePn22C5 https://t.co/wqJeApHv0Z
Web searches for VPNs swell 400% in Texas as Pornhub blocks access, per NYP.
.@GovRonDeSantis signs social media, pornography age verification requirements Reporting by @JacobOgles https://t.co/qqw5MO7xg6 #FlaPol
Florida @GovRonDeSantis signing Florida's revamped social media law this a.m. in Jacksonville. Top Fla officials are already anticipating a legal challenge. House Speaker @Paul_Renner accuses tech companies that will sue of "digital trafficking" & says "we will beat them."
Social media restriction law sponsor Rep. Tyler Sirois: "We are gonna protect our kids from this digital fentanyl." "For our children, these companies are no town square. They are a dark alley." https://t.co/nbePf2WEeN
WATCH: House Speaker @Paul_Renner, champion of the social media restriction legislation, dares groups to sue state after the bill is signed by DeSantis "[This is] digital trafficking [...] We're gonna beat them [and] we're never, ever gonna stop protecting our children." https://t.co/UfmgQO4OzC
these porn age verification laws are going to push people to sites that are fully unmoderated, are full of nonconsensual porn, and other abuse. they also set up a framework for the further marginalization of SWers on mainstream platforms https://t.co/SXAFUzghfN
New from 404 Media: one of the most overlooked and urgent problems from age verification laws for porn. People will leave Pornhub etc and go to even less regulated sites that are actively harmful (nonconsensual deepfakes, steals OnlyFans content, etc) https://t.co/DyvQPaZ13K https://t.co/LE8AKUbMCi
Age verification laws will not stop kids from seeing porn online. It will just send them to actually harmful sites that host nonconsensual content and promote deepfake porn https://t.co/HlDiIkQp6w
Age verification laws that require a government-issued ID to view adult content are spreading like wildfire across the U.S. These laws aren't just hurting the adult industry, they're making the whole internet more dangerous: https://t.co/gmHXfvVcjw
The Fifth Circuit got it right in its ruling on Texas’s new age-verification law. Other states should take heed and restrict minors’ access to obscenity on the Web. | Adam Candeub & Clare Morell & Michael Toscano https://t.co/z0ZLhWV6Q7
Pornhub pulled its access in Texas on March 14. Express VPN saw a 48% increase in web traffic from Texas over the next week. https://t.co/vsUjk5uQbX
Pornhub has begun blocking visitors from Texas, where the authorities are attempting to enforce a new law requiring web porn platforms to check viewer ages. The company called the law "ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous." https://t.co/vfA3hznGX2
Texas was the latest state to see Pornhub pull access to its content for people logging on from people in the state. But there is a workaround for people looking to access that content: VPNs. https://t.co/4DM5XjteZw
VPN service says web traffic jumped nearly 50% in Texas after Pornhub disabled its content https://t.co/FvYfpKh6cU
Texans are searching for ways around Pornhub blackout, Google data show https://t.co/855vGt01yg