Virginia Press Reports on Failure of Recent Anti-Porn Law

Virginia Press Reports on Failure of Recent Anti-Porn Law

RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Mercury newspaper Wednesday published its first report assessing the effectiveness of the commonwealth’s recent age verification law promoted by anti-porn activists and religious conservative Republicans.

According to the paper, while U.S. and Canada-based adult companies have either attempted to comply or else been advised by their counsel to geoblock Virginia due to the vagueness of the law’s language, foreign websites are not using age verification as the new law requires.

Moreover, the paper reports that “an increasing number of Virginians are using technology that can easily grant access to these websites from locations in the commonwealth.”

Both outcomes had been anticipated by critics of the law, including Free Speech Coalition (FSC), prominent free speech and digital rights groups and First Amendment legal experts.

As XBIZ reported, the controversial, vaguely worded law was drafted by State Sen. Bill Stanley, an attorney and politician with no professional expertise on human sexuality or psychology, who believes that adult websites are harmful because their content is “not normal.”

The religious Republican’s bill was signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in May and went into effect July 1, the same day that a similar bill took effect in Mississippi.

The bill received bipartisan support, although it was later revealed by Democratic State Sen. Scott A. Surovell that he had engineered a vote-trading scheme with Stanley over an unrelated bill.

An Ineffective Law Making the Internet Less Safe

The Mercury attempted to access the 65 “top porn tube sites” listed on toppornsites.com and found that 54 of them remain unrestricted in the commonwealth.

FSC Executive Director Alison Boden explained to the Mercury that, as the trade group had predicted — a warning ignored by legislators and anti-porn crusaders — “The actual legal jeopardy that an international company might face, especially since it would be like a private lawsuit from an individual, is not terribly high compared to what a U.S. company would face if sued by a person in Virginia.”

Contrary to the stated intentions of Stanley and his anti-porn crusading backers, the real-world consequences of the new law appear more likely to be: putting compliant adult sites at a competitive disadvantage while driving traffic to rogue adult sites, thereby potentially increasing harmful content.

Boden, the paper reported, also emphasized that “less-mainstream websites, unlike Pornhub, often lack adequate guardrails that ensure content uploaded on their platforms is consensual and legal,” and noted that internet users are “definitely at risk of going to the site where they aren’t as stringent about verifying who’s uploading content, that it belongs to them, that it’s legal and consensual.”

Virginia reportedly also had the highest number of searches for “VPN” or “virtual private network” of all states from June 29 through July 5, the week during which the age verification law took effect.

“Across the United States, we are seeing a concerning trend of diminishing digital freedoms due to legislation,” ExpressVPN Digital Privacy Advocate Lauren Hendry Parsons told the Mercury. She called upon legislators and the community to “pursue better safeguards that prioritize the online safety of children without compromising an individual’s right to digital privacy and freedom.”

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ office did not reply to the Mercury’s inquiries for comment regarding the age verification law.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Nerdgasm: A Look at the Naughty Side of Pop Culture Geekdom

From “Call of Duty” to cosplay, from tabletop dice rolls to dungeon-inspired dirty talk, the worlds of geek fandom and fantasy are no longer confined to the basement. They’ve kicked down the door, shed the “Firefly” tee and gone full frontal.

Kyrgyzstan Parliament Moves to Outlaw Internet Pornography

A parliamentary committee of the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday approved a measure to outlaw online adult content in the country.

Sweden Bans Purchase of 'Remote' Sexual Services

The Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament, has approved a proposal to criminalize purchasing sexual services performed remotely by streamers and custom content creators.

Asa Akira to Deliver XBIZ Talk at Miami Conference

XBIZ is pleased to announce that decorated performer, Pornhub brand ambassador, and author Asa Akira is set to deliver an exclusive talk at XBIZ Miami.

JustFor.fans Launches 'Fentanyl Test Strip' Initiative

JustFor.fans (JFF) has launched a test strip initiative to combat the nationwide fentanyl crisis.

2025 XBIZ Miami Speaker Lineup Announced

XBIZ is pleased to announce the release of the full speaker lineup for XBIZ Miami, the latest edition of the adult industry’s premier summer conference, set to take place May 19-22 at the Nautilus Sonesta Miami Beach hotel in South Beach.

AV Bulletin: Arizona's About-Face, What New Laws Mean for Adult

Industry stakeholders and free speech advocates have anxiously been awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, which could significantly impact state age verification laws around the United States. In the meantime, state legislatures continue to weigh and pass AV bills, the U.K. and the EU are moving ahead with their own AV mandates and strategies, and legal challenges continue to play out in U.S. courts — with some cases on hold pending the SCOTUS ruling in Paxton.

Million Billion Media Launches New Website

Management and PR agency Million Billion Media (MBM) has launched a new website.

'Neon Nightswim' Party Returns to XBIZ Miami

XBIZ is pleased to announce that the annual Neon Nightswim Pool Party will once again illuminate XBIZ Miami on Tuesday, May 20.

FSC Addresses UK Age Verification Guidelines

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has published an article offering guidance on the U.K.'s Online Safety Act and the various guidelines put forward by the country's telecommunications regulator Ofcom.The article follows:

Show More