
In Virginia, users will soon need to verify that they are at least 18 years old to access pornography websites, as a growing number of states consider legislation to protect children from viewing adult content.
Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin signed age-verification legislation into law on May 12, following in the footsteps of Louisiana and Utah, which have already implemented similar laws.
The laws require verification to access websites where at least one third of the content can be considered “material harmful to minors.” Users must provide government-issued IDs or biometric scans, or install age-verification software.
The Virginia law goes into effect July 1.
The passage of the Virginia law comes as a battle is shaping up in Utah, where Pornhub responded to the state’s new age-verification law by blocking all users in the state from accessing its content. Now, users in Utah who attempt to enter the site are met with a video from an adult-film actor explaining the company’s rationale for the blackout.