WASHINGTON — Senator Mike Lee of Utah on Thursday introduced legislation that would impose strict new federal rules on adult sites and platforms, strongly echoing similar regulations imposed last year in North Carolina.
Titled the “Preventing Rampant Online Technological Exploitation and Criminal Trafficking (PROTECT) Act of 2026,” S 5129 includes a number of provisions nearly identical to those in HB 805, the North Carolina state bill enacted in 2025.
That law — which itself appeared to have been influenced by Lee’s failed PROTECT Act of 2024 — imposed rigorous new state requirements on adult sites for age verification, consent and content removal. Industry observers have highlighted the significant legal and operational requirements the industry now faces in North Carolina, with some calling the law a blatant attempt to make adult content as risky as possible in the state.
The new federal PROTECT Act would expand those requirements nationwide.
The bill would require covered platforms to verify performers’ ages and consent via a process that significantly exceeds federal record-keeping requirements under Section 2257. Enacted to combat child sexual abuse material (CSAM), Section 2257 requires producers of sexually explicit content to maintain records of each performer’s name and age, verified by government ID.
The PROTECT Act goes beyond those rules, mandating explicit written consent for each individual sexual act in which a performer engaged during the creation of content, as well as separate and detailed consent for distribution of the content, including specifying the geographic area and medium of distribution as well as the duration of time for which the individual consents to distribution.
Producers, performers and distributors would have to use consent forms created or approved by the U.S. attorney general.
Further, under the PROTECT Act, anyone appearing in adult content would be entitled to withdraw their consent at any time. When HB 805 was enacted with a similar provision, industry advocates and stakeholders warned that the law effectively invalidated model contracts in North Carolina.
The bill defines “covered platforms” as websites or platforms that “primarily” provide a forum for user-generated content (UGC), or for which it is “in the regular course of trade or business” to provide adult content.
While the latter includes adult sites, the former could rope in not only tube sites but mainstream social media platforms, noted Free Speech Coalition Director of Public Policy Mike Stabile.
“It's definitely aimed at adult sites, but I think the biggest impact would be on social media,” Stabile told XBIZ. “Despite the senator's heated language, our industry already largely complies with the major provisions of the bill. We already verify age and consent — and have for years. As with Arizona's HB 2133 earlier this year, the majority of the impact would be felt by social media platforms like X, Reddit, Discord and Telegram, forums like 4chan and any service that allows for the distribution of even non-explicit sexual material, like YouTube.”
Not only would those platforms have to collect documentation for adult content, Stabile explained, but the bill’s definition of “pornographic image” as including any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct “actual or feigned” would mean they would also have to collect it for mainstream films and content.
“That's not just ‘Game of Thrones’ or ‘Hunting Wives,’ but Man Ray and Mapplethorpe photos, parody content and documentary film,” Stabile said. “This isn't about establishing consent on adult sites, it's about removing sex entirely from non-adult sites.”
The proposed law would impose both civil and criminal penalties on violators.
It would empower the U.S. attorney general to levy fines of up to $10,000 per day per image found to be in violation of the law, and would allow private individuals to sue for damages of that amount or more.
In addition, first-time violators could face up to five years in prison, fines, or both. Repeat violators would be subject to at least two years in prison and up to 10 years, fines or both.
Industry attorney Corey Silverstein told XBIZ, “No responsible operator wants child sexual abuse material or nonconsensual content on its platform. My concern is that Congress continues to respond to legitimate public safety concerns by placing increasingly burdensome obligations on platforms that distribute lawful, constitutionally protected speech.”
The bill, Silverstein noted, also appears to assume that platforms can verify the age, identity, and consent of every individual depicted in every uploaded work with complete certainty.
“While that may sound reasonable in theory, the reality is far more complex, particularly for platforms hosting large volumes of user-generated content,” Silverstein said. “The inevitable result may be that many platforms simply refuse to host lawful content rather than risk severe civil or criminal liability. That kind of chilling effect should concern anyone who values free expression, regardless of their views on adult entertainment.”
Silverstein likened the potential impact to that of FOSTA/SESTA, which revoked Section 230 liability protections for sites that “unlawfully promote and facilitate” prostitution or sex trafficking.
“FOSTA/SESTA was intended to target sex trafficking, yet its practical effect was to dramatically reduce lawful online speech while doing little to eliminate the underlying criminal activity,” Silverstein observed. “Legislators should be careful not to repeat that mistake by imposing compliance obligations that primarily impact legitimate businesses while bad actors simply move to offshore or anonymous platforms that ignore U.S. law altogether.”
Industry attorney Lawrence Walters told XBIZ, "This bill is openly hostile to adult content producers and distributors, and triggers significant data privacy issues. Hopefully the bill will not generate much interest in the Senate, but it will be important to watch."
In a statement, Lee’s office framed the bill as an effort to “shield children and other victims of sexual abuse from exploitation online.” However, Lee has long been an anti-pornography crusader. Last year, he introduced federal legislation that would redefine almost all visual depictions of sex as obscene and therefore illegal — a goal that was also laid out in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 policy blueprint, which has heavily guided the Trump administration’s agenda.
