Skip to main content

Florida Enacts Age Verification for Adult Sites & Social Media

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed legislation that would require residents of the state to verify their age to access social media and adult content. The bill, effective January 1, 2025, aims to protect minors from harmful online influences and combat addictive technology. Pornhub and a number of other adult sites will “go dark” in protest.

The new law prohibits children under 14 from opening social media accounts, while those aged 14-15 need parental consent. Social media platforms must utilize third-party services to verify users' ages, facing penalties of up to $10,000 per violation.

DeSantis emphasized the importance of this legislation, stating, “You can have a kid in the house safe, seemingly, and then you have predators that can get right in there into your own home.”

The bill also addresses platforms with features like infinite scrolling and video autoplay, such as TikTok and Instagram; features considered inherently problematic for developing minds.

However, critics argue the law infringes on privacy and First Amendment rights. Carl Szabo, Vice President of NetChoice, said the bill contains “several constitutional defects,” and raised concerns regarding the highly sensitive data Floridians would have to hand to third-party services to access social media or adult sites.

In an official statement, Aylo, the parent company behind Pornhub, YouPorn, RedTube, Brazzers, and others, explained their reasoning behind taking their sites offline instead of complying with the new laws:

"Any regulations that require hundreds of thousands of adult sites to collect significant amounts of highly sensitive personal information is putting user safety in jeopardy. Moreover, as experience has demonstrated, unless properly enforced, users will simply access non-compliant sites or find other methods of evading these laws."

This move means that Florida will join a list of more than a dozen other states where Pornhub is blocked, including Louisiana, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Users in these states will only be able to access these sites using location-masking technology like a VPN.

In response, The Free Speech Coalition and adult platforms, including Aylo, are challenging Florida’s HB 3, claiming such laws are effectively state censorship and stifle discussions on sex and sexuality. A related Texas case heads to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025.



See TessMore Internet Business Must-Reads
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Only 1 in 10 NFT Owners Have Never Experienced a Scam

A new survey from PrivacyHQ reveals 90% or nine out of 10 respondents experienced an NFT scam. This level of uncertainty is cause for concern for a relatively new marketplace that is generating billions of dollars. Only 1 in 10 NFT Owners Have Never Experienced a Scam The PrivacyHQ survey spoke to 1,008 people in the U.S. who are actively investing in and own NFTs. And according to the report, there are some horror stories and great lessons to be learned. The key takeaways from the survey are: Less than half of NFT owners feel their NFTs are secure Two out of 3 respondents said they had panic-sold NFTs in the past Nine out of 10 respondents had experienced an NFT scam Half of the respondents had lost access to their NFTs at some point When it comes to NFT scams there were multiple ways in which buyers were scammed. Topping the list of the most common scams experienced by these respondents starts out with the NFT provider shutting down or changing their URL at 44.8%. Next is...
Post a Comment
Read more

8 Business Credit Cards Without Personal Guarantee Required

You can get a credit card for your business that doesn’t require a personal guarantee. You’ll need to provide your personal credit score as part of the business credit card application. Credit card issuers for the no personal guarantee requirement type of card can only go after your business if you default. As a small business owner, you won’t be on the hook to pay your business debt with your personal assets. What are business credit cards , and who needs these cards? you might also be asking yourself why should I get a business credit card . If your business has an owner or partner who needs to minimize personal liability, these cards afford financial protection. What are Business Credit Cards With No Personal Guarantees? These types of cards are often called a Corporate Credit Card. That’s because the card is used to pay for expenses of the business, and the business assets (revenue, assets) pay for the credit card debt. A corporate card will have no annual fee. It’s not easy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

openSNP Shutters Over Privacy and Authoritarianism Concerns

OpenSNP, a long-running open-source genetic data platform, is shutting down after citing growing concerns over data privacy, the misuse of genetic information by law enforcement, and the rise of authoritarian governments. The decision comes as 23andMe, a major source of user-submitted genetic data for openSNP, faces bankruptcy and a potential selloff of user data . Founded in 2011, openSNP allowed users to upload genetic data from services like 23andMe to make it freely available for scientific research. Co-founder Bastian Greshake Tzovaras said the closure was triggered in part by the collapse of 23andMe and the broader political climate. Speaking to TechCrunch, he stated : “The risk/benefit calculus of providing free and open access to individual genetic data in 2025 is very different compared to 14 years ago.” The database has collected roughly 7,500 genomes and supported academic work across biomedical research, information security, and more. But its founder now questions the ...
Post a Comment
Read more