Pornhub blocks most of the US states that require adult sites to verify visitors’ ages. As of this update, 27 states have such laws in effect, and Pornhub blocks 25 of them; the US map lists each one.
The short answer: the laws make each covered site check its visitors’ ages [8], and Pornhub’s owner, Aylo, declines to do that in most places. It says site-level checks endanger users’ data and drive them to sites that ignore the law [2]. States say the laws protect children [7][4], and many, including Texas’s and Arizona’s, forbid sites from keeping the ID data they check [7][2].
What reasons does Pornhub give for blocking states?
Aylo’s statements and letters make three arguments. First, privacy: it says requiring many sites to collect sensitive personal information puts users at risk, and it has called current methods “ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous” [2]. Second, displacement: it says users who won’t share their data simply go to sites that don’t verify ages or moderate content [2][3]. Third, its preferred alternative: age checks done once, on the phone or computer, by the companies that make operating systems, with parental controls switched on by default [2][1].
Aylo applied the same reasoning abroad. When it stopped admitting new users in the UK in February 2026, it cited traffic shifting to less regulated sites [13].
What do states say the laws are for?
States describe the laws as child protection. The sponsors of Texas’s HB 1181 wrote that devices give children ready access to hardcore pornography and that it harms their development; their bill analysis also notes that users’ data is not kept after verification [7]. The Supreme Court accepted that framing in 2025, calling Texas’s interest in shielding children from sexual content important and holding that age checks further it [8].
Officials have answered Aylo directly. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the state would not reconsider its law and would pursue more accountability [4]. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office called Aylo’s 2026 letter self-serving [6]. In Arizona, the law’s author, Rep. Nick Kupper, responded to Aylo’s privacy argument by pointing out that the law forbids companies from storing user data [2].
Why does Pornhub verify ages in Louisiana?
Louisiana is the clearest exception. Its law took effect in January 2023, and Pornhub checks ages there through LA Wallet, the state’s digital driver’s license app, rather than blocking the state [3][4]. Aylo has said it complied because LA Wallet lets users prove their age while keeping their privacy [4].
In the process Government Technology described in 2024, a visitor clicks to check their age, receives a code and enters it in the app. According to Envoc, the company that runs LA Wallet, the site learns only whether the person is 18 or over, and the app does not learn which site asked [3]. Envoc’s president also said most states are years behind Louisiana in digital ID [3].
Aylo says its Louisiana traffic fell about 80 percent after it began checking ages, and argues that those users moved to sites that don’t verify [3].
Why is Pornhub still available in Ohio?
Ohio’s law, in force since September 30, 2025, does not apply to “a provider of an interactive computer service”, along with internet providers, cloud services and others [9]. That term comes from federal Section 230 and covers platforms where users can post content [10]. Aylo told the Attorney General’s office that Pornhub is such a provider and so is exempt [11].
As a result, Ohio visitors see only a button asking them to confirm they are 18, with no ID check [11]. The Attorney General’s office sent notices of violation to adult sites in October 2025 and said it would sue if the companies’ arguments lacked merit, or ask lawmakers to change the law if they had merit [11]. HB 84, which would narrow the exemption, passed the Ohio House in March 2026 and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee [12].
What did Pornhub’s July 2026 letters to states ask for?
In late July 2026, Aylo wrote to governors, attorneys general and legislators in states with age-verification laws; KTAL reported about 300 recipients [4]. Recipients included Virginia’s governor and attorney general [1], Louisiana’s governor and attorney general [4], Iowa’s governor and attorney general [5], and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton [16].
The letter called the laws “performative, ineffective, and unenforceable” [1]. It argued that they make sites collect personal information from every user each time they visit [5]. It asked states to require device-level protections instead, with operating-system makers turning on parental controls by default, and pointed to Apple’s changes in the UK as a model [1]. Aylo had sent a separate letter to Apple, Microsoft and Google the previous winter asking them to make device-level controls the standard [1].
What does a blocked state look like in 2026?
The earlier blocks were protest pages. When Pornhub blocked Virginia just before its law took effect on July 1, 2023 [17][18], visitors saw a written statement opposing the law with a video of a performer reading it [1].
By mid-2026 the Virginia block looked different. The Virginian-Pilot reported on July 30, 2026 that Virginia visitors could watch non-porn videos, such as podcasts, but were prompted to create an account before viewing any porn, and could not create one [1]. The report did not say whether people with existing accounts could still sign in [1].
Pornhub has used limited versions elsewhere too. In Utah, a federal court recorded in September 2026 that Aylo first blocked the state and later reopened its free sites there, limited to content outside the law’s scope [19]. In Australia, it stopped showing explicit content in March 2026 and restored it in October only for users whose age Apple has confirmed [20]. For the current status in each state, see the US map.
Will Pornhub come back to my state?
Aylo has tied any return to device-level age checks, and it has shown what that looks like abroad. In the UK, it let back iPhone users who confirmed their age through Apple from May 2026, while new Android and desktop users stayed locked out [13]. It did the same in Australia from October 7, 2026 [14]. The UK regulator, Ofcom, opened an investigation in September 2026 into whether that Apple-based check is effective enough and was properly tested [13].
US officials who answered the July letters did not embrace that approach: Louisiana’s attorney general rejected Aylo’s request outright [4], and Iowa’s attorney general’s office dismissed it [6]. After the Supreme Court upheld Texas’s law in 2025, Aylo’s lawyer said the company was reconsidering whether to return to Texas and verify ages there [15]. A return would mean either a change in Aylo’s position or a change in state law.
Places in this guide
Louisiana · Ohio · Virginia · Texas · United Kingdom