SALT LAKE CITY — Pornhub today disabled access to its platform from all Utah IP addresses, in response to the state’s latest anti-porn law, which goes into effect Wednesday.
SB 287 — one of several anti-porn measures promoted in Utah by the Republican Party, which controls all branches of the state’s government — is similar to a Louisiana age verification bill that went into effect January 1.
The LDS church — a powerful force in Utah, a state with a documented history of little separation between church, state, law, business and education considers all pornography to be a ploy by “the adversary” (i.e., Satan) specifically created to destroy Mormon families by tempting male heads of households.
In addition to cutting off access to its content for Utah-based IP addresses, Pornhub responded to SB 287 by replacing its landing page for those addresses with an SFW video in which Cherie DeVille explains the reasons for the content restriction.
“As you may know, your elected officials have required us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website,” DeVille tells Utah viewers. “While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.”
DeVille then notes that selective enforcement of age verification “just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place,” touts Pornhub’s robust Trust and Safety measures and concludes with a pitch for a more practical approach.
“The best and most effective solution for protecting children and adults alike is to identify users by their device, and allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that identification,” she explains. “Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in your region.”
The video ends with a call to action, as DeVille asks Utah citizens to contact their representatives and demand “device-based verification solutions that make the internet safer while also respecting your privacy.”
As XBIZ reported, the Mormon church has resisted scientific and evidence-based approaches to discussing adult material online, staunchly promoting instead its view that porn is Satan’s weapon, a stance that has led to an obsession with “porn filters.” Utah has often led other states in implementing unscientific anti-porn legislation, and actively supports the ostensibly “non-religious” crusading organization Fight the New Drug.