No pornographic content if you are under the age of 18. At the base, the concept was clear even before, but respect for age limits has always been one of the biggest problems on the web. Apparently however, in the state of Louisiana, it has been opted for a solution as effective as it is controversial: verification by means of an identity document. In fact, for a few days now, to access PornHub in Louisiana, it is necessary provide a valid identity card certifying the age of majority of those who visit the site.
It is a law, already approved in 2022, which came into force in these first days of the new year. Verification is done via AllTrustPass, which is the Louisiana system that handles electronic IDs. According to the law “AllTrustPass verification is required for all websites that contain more than 33% adult content”.
Louisiana: identity card for PornHub, and other sites?
At the moment PornHub seems to be the only site that is actually requesting document verification. However, it is very probable that other similar portals will adapt to the new provisions in the coming days.
Among the strongest supporters of the new law is the deputy Laurie Schegel, who told a local newspaper that “pornography is destroying our children, who have unlimited access to the Internet. Companies that produce pornography must assume their responsibilities”.
Will similar measures also arrive in Italy?
One of the major controversies related to this new verification system is certainly the user privacywhich takes on a whole new value when related to a subject that is still as taboo as online pornography.
Similar proposals have already been made in various countries of the world, including also Australia, the United Kingdom and France. Countries where, however, the proposals alone have already raised many doubts. The French privacy guarantor (Cnil), for example, has admitted that “the solutions currently available in this regard are imperfect” and that the verification and management of data should “be entrusted to an independent third party”.
In an in-depth article on the subject, the Wired portal points out another interesting economic consideration. Any verification system, especially through third-party services, would cost websites. A cost that not all portals in the sector could afford. The dynamic would trigger a high situation anti-competitive riskfavoring the largest pornographic sites (giants such as PornHub) and leading to the closure of the smaller ones.
Furthermore it is noted that the restriction at the local level is likely to be absolutely inefficient, given that through a simple VPN it is possible to access the individual portals through foreign IP addresses. A service that is often offered by the websites themselves.