Pornhub is now blocked in 25 states over age-check laws
Mashable reports that Pornhub access is cut off in half the U.S. as state age-verification laws spread and legal pressure builds.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Pornhub is blocked in 25 U.S. states, according to Mashable, putting the adult video site off-limits in half the country as age-verification laws keep spreading.
The restrictions stem from state laws aimed at keeping minors away from adult sites. Mashable reports that the rules differ by state, but they commonly require users visiting sites with more than one-third explicit material to prove their age with a government ID or another verification method.
Louisiana was the first state to pass one of these measures a couple of years ago, according to Mashable. In June 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Texas’s age-verification law was constitutional, a decision Mashable said set an important precedent for similar laws already passed or still to come.
The states where Pornhub is blocked
As of July 2026, Mashable lists these 25 states as places where Pornhub is blocked:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Louisiana is a notable exception on the blocked list. Mashable reports that Pornhub remains accessible there, but users must submit identification to view the site.
Ohio is also not blocked, despite having an age-verification law. Mashable reports that the state law includes language saying age-verification requirements do not apply to a provider of an interactive computer service, and Aylo, Pornhub’s parent company, considers itself one.
Aylo says users go elsewhere
Aylo told Mashable that Pornhub traffic in Louisiana fell by about 80 percent after ID checks were required there.
The company argued in a January 2025 comment to Mashable that users did not quit looking for adult content. Aylo said they moved to sites that do not ask for age checks, do not comply with the law, do not take user safety seriously and may not moderate content.
Aylo told Mashable it has publicly supported age verification for years, but said laws must protect user privacy and safety while keeping children from adult material. The company criticized many age-check systems as ineffective and risky because they require adult sites to collect sensitive personal information.
Mashable also cited a preliminary study that found age verification may not stop minors from reaching porn sites. The reasons included VPN software, which can make a user appear to be in another location, and websites that do not comply with the laws.
Mashable reported that Florida’s attorney general is suing foreign-based porn sites over claims that they have not put age verification in place.
Experts told Mashable that age-verification requirements raise privacy and safety concerns because sites may have to store more personal data. They also warned that making anonymity harder online could threaten free speech.
Adult industry experts previously interviewed by Mashable, as well as Aylo, have supported device-level filters as an alternative approach.
Mashable also reported that some adult industry figures are concerned about President Donald Trump’s second term because of Project 2025, the conservative policy plan that includes measures targeting pornography. Mashable cited reporting from The Intercept that said Project 2025 author Russell Vought described age-verification laws in a secret recording as a back door to a broader porn ban.
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.