Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear recently signed a controversial bill that mandates age verification for individuals wanting to access pornography websites in the state. While the intention of the bill is to protect minors from explicit content, it raises concerns about invasion of privacy for adults.
Originally focused on enhancing penalties for child sexual abuse, the bill was amended in March to include the age-verification requirement.
The bill states, “Pornography is creating a public health crisis and negatively impacting minors by affecting brain development, emotional well-being, and potentially leading to harmful behaviors and addiction.”
Under the new law, pornography websites must implement age verification measures using government-issued IDs or other suitable methods. Violators face hefty fines for underage access.
Major porn websites like PornHub have opted to exit states with similar laws rather than comply with stringent age-verification requirements.
Legal challenges may arise against Kentucky’s law, as seen in a Texas case where a similar law was deemed unconstitutional pending appeal.
While advocates support age-verification laws to shield minors from harmful content, critics argue that such measures may inadvertently drive viewers towards unregulated platforms hosting exploitative material.
As Reason‘s Elizabeth Nolan Brown pointed out, stricter age-verification laws could potentially lead to an increase in viewership of questionable content on less regulated platforms.
