In June, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law the Protect Tennessee Minors Act, which would require adult websites to verify the age of their users as of January 1, 2025. Currently, there is no age gate on popular porn sites like Pornhub (PH), which presents a massive threat to the mental, emotional, and physical health of children (kids who have normalized sexual violence are more likely to be both victims and perpetrators of sexual violence).
Tennessee is not alone in this legislative strategy to protect kids.19 other states have passed or are considering similar laws, and pornographers like PH have responded by blocking users from some of those states. Now, the “Free Speech Coalition” (the lobbying arm of PH) is challenging the Tennessee law citing First Amendment and privacy violations, just as they have challenged a similar Texas law, which has now escalated to the U.S. Supreme Court. That case will be heard in January, though the court did a preliminary review of the Texas statute and allowed it to take effect until a decision is made.
Why This Challenge is Bogus
First, laws already exist (but are not being enforced) to protect children from pornography. Federal law states: "It is illegal for an individual to knowingly use interactive computer services to display obscenity in a manner that makes it available to a minor less than 18 years of age (See 47 U.S.C. § 223(d) –Communications Decency Act of 1996, as amended by the PROTECT Act of 2003)." No legal adult will be obstructed from access to the content, so no 1A rights are in jeopardy, they just have to prove their age. Second, third-party age authenticators are already being used for multiple industries, privacy is a core component of these tools. Age verification is not new.
Public Pressure is Mounting
We have great hope that laws like the Protect Tennessee Minor Act will prevail and begin to stem the tide of childhood exposure to pornography. Massive public pressure is mounting against sites like PH. The fact of the matter is PH is the largest adult site in the world, and controls the vast majority of industry sites. There are over two million signatures on Traffickinghub.com, dozens of lawsuits, negative media attention, criminal investigations, and credit card companies have cut ties due to criminal liability. Since the Traffickinghub petition and investigation began in 2020, PH has deleted 91% of the content deemed to be illegal (child sexual abuse material, rape, and the like) or non-consensual.
The turnaround in public awareness and resolve is in large part due to the efforts of those fighting this battle for years—Laila Mickelwait, author of the book “Takedown,” the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, and brave advocates and legislators across the US.
The fight is not over. But we are praying and believing for a huge shift in protecting kids from pornography through legal means.