As news spreads that Pornhub has blocked traffic from two more states, North Carolina and Montana, the Free Speech Coalition announced via X (Twitter) the creation of “landing pages for sites who want to turn that lost traffic into political action.”
The tweet links to DefendOnlinePrivacy.com, whereon a section titled “Tools for Websites” offers landing pages for sites to use for traffic from eight states which have enacted age verification mandates for adult websites: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
The Texas version of the page reads as follows:
We’re Sorry.
We’ve had to block access from Texas.
Politicians in your state passed a law that requires you to submit your ID before visiting an adult site.
We don’t feel that there are adequate protections in place for your privacy. And because we can be sued if we don’t verify, we’ve chosen to block the state entirely.
Mad? You should be. There are much better ways to protect children online than forcing you to show your government ID.*
A “Contact Your Legislators” button is then displayed, which links to a page where users can generate an email to Texas state legislators expressing their opposition to the age verification measures adopted by the state.
Beneath the Contact Your Legislators link, the text of the landing page continues, with links enabling users to “register to vote, verify that you’re registered or sign up for election reminders” through the FSC.
A footnote to the message, denoted by the asterisk at the end of the paragraphs above the Contact Your Legislators link, reads:
*Don’t get us wrong. We don’t want minors on our site either. But it makes far more sense to us to encourage the use of parental controls than to risk the disclosure of your sensitive data. If you want to protect yourself or your kids from accessing adult content, there are great easy-to-use features on Apple and Android that are free. Spread the word.
The email messaged generated on behalf of users who select that option is customized by state, as well. The body of the Texas version of the email reads as follows:
I am writing to express my deep frustration over the passage of HB 1181, the age verification mandate for websites with material harmful to minors. As a Texan, I believe this law is a violation of my constitutional right as an adult to access legal speech without government interference or surveillance.
I am particularly concerned about the lack of privacy safeguards for consumers in this law. At a time of rampant identity theft, I am uncomfortable with any system that requires me to share critical identification data with third-party sites. Showing my ID at a liquor store is simply not the same as linking a digital ID to my browsing history. There have already been reports of identity theft in Louisiana due to the law.
Our browsing history is highly sensitive, and I am concerned about the potential surveillance of this data. I do not believe the assurances made in the bill are adequate to prevent monitoring and unauthorized disclosure of this data.
I urge you to reconsider this law and instead focus on education and parental involvement to help protect minors online. Just one-third of parents use any content filters at all — and yet the burden of this law falls on the consumer. It is the duty of parents and guardians to monitor and guide their children’s online activity.
I implore you to listen to the concerns of your constituents and repeal HB 1181. Our rights as adults, our privacy as citizens, and the principles of a free and open internet are at stake.
The FSC website offers additional information and tools for those concerned about and/or opposed to state level age verification mandates, including an age verification bill tracker, state law calendar and a case tracker that reports on the current status of various legal challenges FSC has filed against these age verification mandates.
With more states adopting such laws – and Congressional legal advisors suggesting current age verification measures may survive court scrutiny where past efforts have failed – age verification mandates are shaping up to create a major change in the online adult entertainment landscape.
Whatever one might think of these statutes, good or bad, if you operate adult websites and serve content to visitors from states which have newly passed age verification laws on their books, you can no longer afford to be indifferent.
Nw age-verification laws are in effect this year in Montana and North Carolina, and FSC has created landing pages for sites who want to turn that lost traffic into political action. https://t.co/fz6w4zo03h pic.twitter.com/0wFGqzptvr
— Free Speech Coalition (@FSCArmy) January 3, 2024
