INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sent several cease and desist letters to adult websites Wednesday, accusing them of failing to comply with the state’s age verification law.
The letters were sent on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a legal challenge to Texas’ age verification law. According to an industry source close to the legal proceedings, Rokita sent at least a dozen letters.
XBIZ has obtained a copy of the letter from the principal of one adult site that received it, who asked not to be identified on advice of counsel.
“[O]n December 31, 2024, an investigator employed by the Office of the Indiana Attorney General accessed [redacted] pornographic website in Indiana and discovered that the website lacked any form of age verification to protect minors from accessing the harmful sexual material published on the website,” the letter states.
“The Office of the Indiana Attorney General demands that [redacted] acknowledge this Cease and Desist Notice within 14 days of receipt to confirm that reasonable age verification has been implemented in accordance with Indiana law.”
The letter also outlines some of the potential penalties for noncompliance, including civil penalties of up to $250,000 plus the cost of the investigation and enforcement action.
Adult industry attorney and First Amendment expert Corey D. Silverstein, whose legal firm represents several clients who received the letter, warned that compliance with the letter’s demand was no guarantee of avoiding future litigation.
“This is a serious development, and recipients of the letter should seek immediate legal counsel, because even if the recipient starts complying with the law today, they could still be on the hook for the previous violations,” he said. “It is very brazen of the Indiana attorney general to take this approach, given that Indiana’s age verification law is currently being challenged by the Free Speech Coalition and already has gone up to the circuit court of appeals.”
A U.S. district court judge has paused FSC's lawsuit over Indiana’s age verification law, pending the Supreme Court's ruling in the FSC-led challenge to Texas’ law.
Silverstein opined that Rokita may have deliberately picked yesterday to send the letters — while the U.S. Supreme Court was in session hearing arguments on the Texas case — to “intimidate website operators and cause angst.”
“I find it quite unprofessional and almost childlike behavior on the attorney general's part,” he said.