Age Verification

House Bill 2112 Arizona has officially joined a growing list of states requiring commercial adult websites to implement robust age verification measures, aiming to prevent minors from accessing sexually explicit content. Governor Katie Hobbs signed House Bill 2112 (HB2112) into law on May 13, 2025, a move that has been met with both applause from proponents of child protection and significant concerns from civil liberties advocates and the adult entertainment industry. The new law, sponsored by State Representative Nick Kupper, mandates that websites where more than one-third of the content is "sexual material harmful to minors" must use "reasonable age verification methods" to ensure users are at least 18 years old. These methods can include digital identification or commercial age verification systems. Crucially, the bill specifies that such systems should not retain or transmit any identifying personal information of users to state or federal government entities. Proponents, including Representative Kupper, argue that the law is a necessary step to shield children from harmful online content. "Hardcore pornography has been just one click away from kids for too long, and the companies behind it have looked the other way while cashing in," Kupper stated. He emphasized that the law places responsibility…

France's implementation of its sweeping age verification law for online adult content on April 11, 2025, marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing global debate surrounding online safety and access to adult material. Going beyond a simple requirement, this legislation, driven by the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (ARCOM), aims to establish a robust framework that prioritizes the protection of minors while navigating the complexities of user privacy and industry viability. This article delves deeper into the intricacies of the law, its multifaceted impacts, the technological landscape it necessitates, and the broader implications for the future of online adult entertainment. France/ARCOM Means Business In didn’t take long for ARCOM to show that it means business when it comes to the enforcement of its age verification law. As I was writing this article, on April 22, 2025, ARCOM released a statement indicating that it had already commenced action against the providers of five services that allowed minors to access pornographic content without age verification. XBIZ’s own Rick Louis was quick to cover the news. The Genesis and Nuances of the Legislation The new regulations are not an isolated initiative but rather a significant component of France's broader digital safety…

For those of you who have been counting, as of this writing, there are now over 20 different enacted and proposed state laws in the United States requiring age verification for online content, particularly concerning adult entertainment websites. The sheer volume of these laws has been exhausting to the adult entertainment industry. Unfortunately, the adult industry has a new looming potential threat in the form of a United States federal law related to age verification. The Shielding Children's Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act, is a legislative proposal introduced by Senator Mike Lee (Republican-Utah) aimed at protecting minors from exposure to online pornographic content. The act mandates that commercial pornographic websites implement robust age verification technologies to ensure that users are not minors, thereby preventing children from accessing harmful material. Much like the state age verification laws that the adult entertainment industry have come to know, the SCREEN Act requires all commercial pornographic websites to adopt age verification technology to ensure a child cannot access its pornographic content. The SCREEN Act Summary Age verification requirements include: Prohibition on simple age attestation (i.e., simply entering in a birthdate); Requires IP address verification and public transparency of the process;…