Recently, Pornhub completely blocked access for users in Texas in compliance with new regulations enacted in the state. Texas introduced a law concerning "the restriction of minors from accessing harmful sexual materials on the internet" (referred to as "HB 1181"), which sets out stipulations for "reasonable age verification," the methods of verification, and the handling of personal identification information used for verification. This regulation faced opposition and lawsuits from adult content websites, including Pornhub, aiming to prevent its enactment. The latest ruling in this case indicated that although HB 1181 had some of its mandatory requirements removed, it retained the core provision of "reasonable age verification."
The main content of HB 1181 includes:
- Applicability: HB 1181 applies to entities that knowingly and intentionally publish or disseminate materials on internet websites (including social media platforms), where more than one-third of the material is deemed "sexually harmful to minors."
- Reasonable Age Verification: For businesses under the regulation of HB 1181, there are two obligations: (1) to use the "reasonable age verification" method specified in HB 1181 to verify that individuals attempting to access the materials are 18 years of age or older; and (2) entities or third parties conducting reasonable age verification as required by HB 1181 must not retain any personal identification information post-access.
- Reasonable Age Verification Methods: HB 1181 requires reasonable age verification methods where businesses must ask individuals to (1) provide digital identification or (2) follow a commercial age verification system, using either (i) government-issued identification, or (ii) commercially reasonable methods that rely on public or private transaction data for verifying an individual's age.
The explicit regulations on verification methods indicate that websites can no longer rely on users self-certifying their age to access age-restricted content, such as merely asking users if they are over 18 years old and requiring them to click "yes" to enter the site or access specific content. Instead, verification using government-issued identification is typically carried out as follows:
- Prompting users to take a photo of their driver's license (or other acceptable ID)
- Performing an authenticity analysis of the ID
- Asking users for a selfie or a series of selfies
- Comparing the photo on the ID with the selfies to ensure it has not been stolen
- Extracting information from the ID and cross-checking it against the information provided by the user
- Automatically determining whether the person has reached the legal age
Compliance Insights
Pornhub's complete blocking of access for Texas users is not an effective approach for businesses. In 2024, in addition to Texas, eleven states including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Utah, and Virginia have enacted age verification legislation. In responding to requirements like HB 1181, businesses are advised to consider the following compliance solutions:
Personal Information Protection Compliance
For businesses operating adult content and subject to "reasonable age verification" requirements, access to the website should be completely blocked for users under 18 after verifying their age using the aforementioned methods. Regarding the handling of personal information, businesses must not retain any personal identification information after age verification and should ensure that the personal information collected for age verification is not used for other purposes. After processing the personal information, businesses are advised to only retain age group labels such as 18+, 16+, 13+, instead of specific ages.
Compared to businesses solely operating adult content and subject to HB 1181, data compliance obligations become more complex for entities whose materials are not entirely but more than one-third "sexually harmful to minors." These businesses need to conduct age verification for users attempting to access relevant content to prevent minors under 18 from accessing "sexually harmful materials to minors." Moreover, for products and services accessible or usable by minors under 18, businesses should also consider the requirements of laws like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) regarding the handling of minors' personal information.
Legislative Trends
HB 1181 introduces strict reasonable age verification requirements. For businesses operating age-restricted content, such as audio-video, gaming, and live streaming platforms, it's unclear whether their age verification methods will comply with regulatory requirements. However, given the increasing emphasis on protecting minors, past regulatory enforcement and investigations suggest that regulators may introduce compulsory reasonable age verification methods like HB 1181 in these areas, raising higher compliance requirements and corporate responsibilities. Therefore, businesses are advised to prepare and take this trend seriously.
How Kaamel Helps with Compliance
Kaamel remains at the forefront of privacy protection, believing in helping businesses identify and solve privacy compliance risks through technology-driven means. Kaamel's innovative AI detection engine, based on mainstream regulations and regulatory case law, can help businesses quickly and comprehensively identify their privacy compliance risks. Kaamel also provides comprehensive privacy compliance solutions for businesses to more effectively address regulatory and user demands in international operations, mitigating privacy risks and compliance concerns, and establishing privacy trust in the global market.
Other Resources:
