Pornhub age verification letter asks U.S. states for a device-level rethink

Pornhub’s age verification letter to U.S. officials argues that state laws aimed at keeping minors away from adult content are failing, and that lawmakers should shift the job to phones, tablets and computers instead.

In an open letter shared with Mashable, Pornhub said it contacted governors, attorneys general and state representatives in 28 states, including Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Utah, Virginia and New Jersey. The company called existing age-check laws “performative, ineffective, and unenforceable” and asked officials to release data showing whether the rules have actually reduced minors’ access to adult material.

Age-verification laws typically require users to provide information such as a government ID, a facial scan or another credential before viewing restricted content. According to Mashable, roughly half of U.S. states have enacted such laws since Louisiana moved first in 2023, and Pornhub has blocked access to its site in most of those states because of compliance burdens.

Why is Pornhub opposing age verification laws?

Pornhub’s letter says site-by-site checks push users toward websites that do not comply, while also creating privacy risks for adults who must hand over sensitive information. The company pointed to VPNs, which can mask a user’s location, and non-compliant sites as reasons the laws are difficult to enforce.

The company also cited findings in an appendix to its letter saying that, in Texas, a search for “free porn” produced nine results in the top 10 that did not have age verification. Pornhub used that example to argue that compliant platforms lose traffic while less regulated sites remain easy to find.

Pornhub asked officials to say how many minors have been protected since the laws took effect in their states and to make any supporting data public. In the letter, the company said it does not believe such data exists.

What solution does Pornhub want?

Pornhub is urging lawmakers to require operating-system providers such as Apple, Microsoft and Google to turn on parental controls at the device level by default. Under that model, the device would start with child-safety filters switched on, and adults would verify their age through device settings rather than repeatedly submitting personal information to individual websites.

The company said it sent a similar request to Apple, Microsoft and Google in November 2025. In the new letter, Pornhub said those companies should make device-level protections the default globally.

Pornhub pointed to the United Kingdom as its main example. According to the company, Apple enabled device-level filters on devices running iOS 26.4 in the UK, and Pornhub later reversed a May decision to block access there. The UK’s Online Safety Act took effect in July 2025.

Pornhub said it has tested Apple’s approach since April 2026 and found that it blocks minors from adult content in the UK, including when users try to get around restrictions with VPNs. The company wrote that children in the UK using current Apple software have, in its view, the strongest protection from age-inappropriate online content.

The letter also referred to a recent report from Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, which said current age checks “leave major gaps.” Pornhub also cited a June study on Australia’s under-16 social media ban, saying 85 percent of those teenagers were still using social media after the rule took effect.

Free speech advocates have long favored device-level filters as an alternative to repeated site-by-site checks, Mashable reported, arguing that they can protect minors without forcing adults to provide identification across the web.

This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.