And the sun has already set for porn viewers seeking to access Pornhub and several sister sites owned by parent company Aylo in 23 US states or in France, as a heavy-handed push for age-verification rules continues.
The company says it is objecting to laws that put user privacy at risk and funnel viewers toward riskier, unmoderated platforms. For the visitors left in darkened states, there are still ways of getting on — but the legal and privacy stakes also depend on your location.
Why Pornhub went dark amid new age-verification laws
The latest closures came on the heels of Missouri’s implementation of age checks, part of a surge in state laws passed since 2023. Aylo backs device-level age assurance — handed off to the operating system providers themselves, whether that’s Apple or Google or Microsoft — instead of an identity check on a site-by-site basis. Uploading government IDs to adult sites or third-party verifiers can put sensitive personal information at risk, the company cautions, and bans typically drive viewers toward sites with little moderation and safety protections.
There’s precedent. The state of Louisiana reportedly saw about an 80% reduction in traffic after implementing verification. The Free Speech Coalition and other industry groups, however, say that demand did not evaporate; it simply moved elsewhere, often out of the control of trust-and-safety teams.
Where the access blocks are currently in effect
Aylo says its sites are inaccessible in:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Wyoming
Ohio enacted an age-assurance law but is not shut out because of how the statute defines “interactive computer services,” according to reports on the company’s legal position.
There are more bills waiting for action in states such as Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — plus Washington, D.C., according to the Free Speech Coalition. Similar laws, however, have been struck down in several other states, so the map will continue to change as courts and legislatures wrestle over scope and enforcement.
The international picture for site access and age checks
France wants an independent, privacy-tight age check for adult sites; courts ruled in favor of enforcement after a temporary suspension, and Aylo’s platforms went dark once again. Regulators at the EU level launched Digital Services Act investigations into numerous adult websites over age and safety clauses. Aylo in the UK has promised to rise to age-assurance expectations under the Online Safety Act while cautioning about trade-offs between efficacy and privacy.
Even with its patchwork, Pornhub is among the most-visited sites in the world. Its own Year in Review frequently puts the United States as its leading audience, while third-party analytics from Semrush put it at about 4 billion visits worldwide in a single month last year, highlighting the scale involved for regulators, platforms and users.
How people are still watching, and what a VPN does
As a result, many of those in blocked areas use a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN sends your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server in another place in the world, then routes it so it seems like you’re browsing from there. In reality, someone in a blocked location goes to an unblocked server first — and then onto the site as normal.
Important caveats: Going around access controls might violate laws or policies where you live. Laws differ significantly, and enforcement can evolve as a result of court decisions, actions by state attorneys general or new regulations. VPNs may also worsen speed — latency is likely to increase as you get further from your server of choice. Private or incognito browsing mode can also help reduce what is stored on your device, but it does not make you anonymous.
Practical privacy and safety tips for adult site access
If you opt to use a VPN at all, lean toward services with public no-log policies, third-party security audits and owner transparency.
- Protect your accounts against identity theft.
- Consider multi-factor authentication on your accounts.
- Limit third-party trackers in your browser.
- Clear cookies regularly.
- Be wary of any solution that involves uploading government IDs.
- Check how long a verifier retains your document and its breach history.
- Look for external audits of any verification providers.
They argue that if strong moderation and consent checks reduce harm, blanket bans shift traffic to where such precautions are less common. Lawmakers argue that age verification is a basic tenet of safeguarding the well-being of children. With more bills advancing — Arizona, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were among those to take action most recently — the policy tug-of-war is likely to escalate until a national standard or unequivocal guidance from the courts emerges.
In the end: As of today, Pornhub is blocked in 23 states and in France — and it’s likely that more will topple. People are resorting to technical hacks, but the best move is understanding the law in your area, deciding how much privacy you’re willing to trade for security and selecting tools that offer real protection, not just promises.
