Louisiana Law Requires ID Verification to Watch Porn

Related: Pornography and You

It’s fair enough to ask for an ID to watch porn.

But why is it legal at all?

Is it because of the Jews?

New York Post:

In an effort to protect minors from accessing online pornography, Louisiana lawmakers have enacted a new law requiring age verification on adult websites.

Act No. 440, which went into effect on Jan. 1, will now require residents of the Bayou State to provide proof of their age with a government-issued ID or digital ID card before accessing online pornographic websites.

The act states that pornography is a public health crisis for younger viewers, citing that it “contributes to the hyper sexualization of teens and prepubescent children and may lead to low self-esteem, body image disorders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at younger ages and increased desire among adolescents to engage in risky sexual behavior.”

Pornographic sites will have to determine whether a viewer is 18 or over or be at risk of possible lawsuits by the state.

Websites with content containing at least 33.3% pornographic material must now implement age verification.

Content such as “pubic hair, anus, vulva, genitals, or nipple of the female breast” are just some of the basic materials that are considered harmful to minors, the act states.

Pornhub, one of the internet’s largest online pornography sites, has already enacted an identity verification page before entering its site in Louisiana, Vice reported.

“Louisiana law now requires us to put in place a process for verifying the age of users who connect to our site from Louisiana,” a prompt reads on Pornhub’s verification page.

Pornhub’s verification page then requires users to verify their age via an app containing a digital copy of their driver’s licenses.

Louisiana Rep. Laurie Schlegel boasted on Twitter last week about the importance of the law passing, writing, “This bill is about protecting children not limiting adults.”

Overall, it’s a good thing that there is any pushback at all.

A few years ago, no one was even thinking about what pornography does to men’s brains.