On September 24, 2026, a federal court in Utah issued a preliminary injunction preventing Utah from enforcing a 2026 amendment to its adult-content age-verification law that treated a user as accessing a website from Utah whenever the user was actually located in the state, even if the user used a VPN, proxy server, or similar technology to appear to be somewhere else. The ruling does not strike down Utah’s underlying age-verification law, which remains enforceable.
Why the Ruling Matters
The challenged provision required covered websites to account for Utah users who conceal their location. The court concluded that, as written, the provision effectively required perfect geolocation. Because current technology cannot determine every user’s actual physical location with certainty, the court found that a website could avoid liability only by age-verifying users far beyond Utah. The court held that Aylo was likely to succeed on its claim that this burden violates the dormant Commerce Clause.
The decision is particularly important for adult-content businesses that use geolocation to apply state-specific age-verification requirements. It limits Utah’s ability, at least while the injunction remains in place, to impose liability solely because a Utah user successfully disguises the user’s location.
What Remains in Effect
Utah’s core age-verification requirements remain in effect. The court enjoined only Utah Code § 78B-3-1002(3), the “actual-location” provision, and expressly left the remainder of Utah’s statutory scheme enforceable. The separate statutory prohibition on facilitating or encouraging the use of VPNs, proxy servers, or similar methods to circumvent age-verification requirements also remains in place.
Businesses should not interpret this ruling as a basis to disable or materially reduce their existing Utah age-verification compliance measures.
What Businesses Should Do Now
- Continue complying with Utah’s underlying age-verification requirements.
- Continue complying with Utah’s anti-circumvention provisions.
- Review any additional geolocation, VPN-detection, or broader age-verification measures implemented specifically to address the now-enjoined actual-location provision.
- Monitor the case for further orders or appellate developments because the injunction is preliminary and may change.
If your business operates an adult-content website or other service subject to state age-verification requirements, contact Silverstein Legal to discuss how this ruling affects your business. We can help determine which Utah requirements continue to apply, evaluate whether your current age-verification and geolocation procedures should be changed, and assess how this decision fits into your broader multi-state age-verification compliance strategy.
This article does not constitute legal advice and is provided for your information only and should not be relied upon in lieu of consultation with legal advisors in your own jurisdiction. It may not be current as the laws in this area change frequently. Transmission of the information contained in this article is not intended to create, and the receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship between sender and receiver.
About Silverstein Legal
Founded in 2006 by adult entertainment lawyer Corey D. Silverstein, Silverstein Legal is a boutique law firm that caters to the needs of anyone working in the adult entertainment industry. Silverstein Legal’s clients include hosting companies, affiliate programs, content producers, processors, designers, developers, and website operators.
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