After the North Carolina Chamber passed new legislation that requires proof of age to access adult entertainment websites, top internet companies like PornHub and XHamster have either blocked North Carolinians’ access to the websites, or now require photo IDs, citing the new policy as its reason.
It’s not surprising that Republican state senators added the ‘No ID, No Porn’ requirement to House Bill 8. Originally a bill to add a computer science class to the state’s high school graduation requirements, the initial draft had nothing to do with internet porn. It now requires adult film websites to verify the ages of its visitors, presented as an attempt to prevent children and youth under 18 from accessing the content.
An organization known as “Vigilante Truth,” which says its primary objective is to fight sex trafficking, confirmed their support for the bill because they believe porn encourages violence against women.
“… for me [it] is not whether you should be watching porn or not,” said Bo Quickel, the founder of Vigilante Truth. “What I do think is that keeping it away from minors, like any other drug – cigarettes, alcohol – if they’re not physically ready for that dopamine drop, they shouldn’t be ready for a porn dopamine drop either.”
The way the law is now written, which requires users to upload the image of an ID card to prove their age, has critics calling the demand a slippery slope, especially when it comes to an individual’s right to privacy.
Here is a portion of the message read by spokesperson Sheree Deville, which users in North Carolina will see and hear if they visit PornHub and others that have chosen to block, like Redtube and YouPorn:
“As you may know, your elected officials in North Carolina are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website. While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk … The safety of our users is one of our biggest concerns … Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in North Carolina. Please contact your representatives before it is too late and demand device-based verification solutions that make the internet safer while also respecting your privacy.”