As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Texas has enacted a law requiring users to provide government ID for accessing online adult content, triggering a storm of controversy and a blockade from Pornhub to all Texan IP addresses. Governor Greg Abbott’s endorsement of this measure, aimed ostensibly at shielding minors from explicit material, has plunged the Lone Star State into the center of a fierce debate over free speech and privacy.

As Texans seeking porn online are now confronted with a legal notice rather than the expected plethora of adult content, the state’s attempt to safeguard minors is scrutinized for its implications on adult freedoms and privacy concerns. Pornhub’s decision to restrict access within Texas, following the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ affirmation of the law, signals a critical standoff between state legislators and digital content platforms.

The law, which Pornhub and digital rights advocates argue encroaches on First Amendment rights and jeopardizes user privacy, mandates age verification through government ID—a move criticized for potentially exposing sensitive user data to risk. While the intention behind the law might echo the protocol of age verification in physical purchases of explicit material, the digital landscape presents a uniquely complex scenario where privacy risks and the potential for data breaches loom large.

Critics argue that any data repository linking individuals to their online adult content consumption is ripe for exploitation, painting a target for hackers and blackmailers. Furthermore, Pornhub posits that if age verification is essential, it should occur at the device level—a more secure and less intrusive method than the state’s web-based verification model. This stance, however, hasn’t prevented Texas from joining a growing list of states imposing similar restrictions, with Pornhub withdrawing access in several others while adapting to Louisiana’s digital driver’s license system, deemed less invasive.

The push for age verification laws extends beyond adult websites to encompass social media platforms, underlining a broader governmental ambition to regulate internet access. Yet, such measures raise significant concerns about infringing on adults’ rights to privately and anonymously access legal content, stirring discomfort among those wary of governmental overreach into personal freedoms.

Digital rights advocates warn that these laws not only compromise privacy but also set a dangerous precedent for censoring legal online content, questioning the extent of governmental authority in policing the internet. With the potential for these legal battles to escalate to the Supreme Court, the fundamental issue at stake is the balance between protecting minors and preserving adult rights to free speech and privacy—a dilemma that continues to challenge the digital age.

What are the consequences of forced online age verification for porn?

Think briefly about how all of this age verification moves forward. Now, you do what the government wants to do and digitally verify your age. Now what?

Now your name is in an online database somewhere saying that you accessed porn, and there’s no doubt it’s you because you used your legally issued ID to prove it was you and you were over 18.

What would a shady guy do with that information?

Did you know there are about 800,000 hacking each year? That’s about 2,200 per day.  According to a Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook survey, more than 80% of firms say they have been hacked.

With an 80% chance that this porn “age verification” database is going to get hacked, what will someone do with this information?

Blackmail the people they find?

Contact their spouses or employers?

The possibilities are endless.

It’s been done before — who remembers the Ashley Madison hack?

And it will be done again.

Just something I want you to think about.

As an adult, you have a right to watch porn in privacy. But not if states like Texas have their way.

But is there a solution? Nobody wants children to have access to porn. Make parents responsible for their children having unfettered access to porn. That means simply activating the porn filter app on their smart devices.

It really is that simple. If you don’t want your children to access porn, then turn on the porn blocker. It’s just that easy.

No seriously. It really is that simple.

It’s not a complicated system. You click “on” and set a password. Now if they want to see porn, they have to enter the parental password.

If they don’t know it, then all porn on that device will be blocked.

Parents need to be responsible for protecting their children.

It should be the responsibility of a parent to protect their children.

If we really want to protect children from accessing porn, and that is the true intent of these age verification laws, then we need to start at home. We need to ask parents to be responsible for their own children.