back to article Pornhub pulls out of Florida, VPN demand 'surges 1150%'

Florida witnessed a massive rise in VPN demand on New Year's Day after Pornhub began prohibiting people from accessing its site from within the Sunshine State, it is claimed. Between the clock striking midnight and 4am on January 1, the day of the Pornhub pullout, the folks at VPN-pushing vpnMentor documented a rather …

  1. sarusa Silver badge
    Trollface

    Really?

    I find it hard to believe that many Florida Men could manage a VPN. Maybe this is the college crowd? Or just people Edging for 'veepenis' because they heard about it on 'them interwebs' and stumbling across vpnMentor? Well, I guess in between all the MAGA asshats, methheads, criminal cops, feral homeless, gun crazy rednecks, dumbasses building on hurricane exposed beaches, insane Cubans, senile rich snowbirds, south american gangsters, etc. (yes I know there is a lot of overlap between those groups) there are just some poor people who happen to live there for work and I do not begrudge them their porn - they certainly need it. *I* was horrified and got out ASAP.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Really?

      Teenagers can definitely handle setting up a VPN if properly 'motivated' .

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      2. Pascal Monett Silver badge
        Trollface

        Re: if properly 'motivated'

        And we all know just how much a teenager can be motivated when porn is at stake . . .

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. sarusa Silver badge

        Re: Really?

        Yeah. Honestly I can't judge too hard because I've *been there * and if I had spent five years in intensely soggy and hot hell surrounded by All The Insects - including flying cockroaches! - and all the insane people I might also have gone completely insane too. But I was lucid enough to realize that and get out before being there long enough to start going 'hur hur de hurrrr Ron DeSantis is really a genyus compared to me' (and it might have been true at that point).

        1. xyz Silver badge

          Re: Really?

          >>spent five years in intensely soggy and hot hell...

          C'mon sex isn't that bad.

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    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Really?

      My son found a way to change his phone's MAC address when he was still in primary school, he wasn't tech savi, he isn't now, but he managed to find instructions online.

      I suspect that people have found they can't access the pronWeb, googled it, found links saying - I fixed it using pervVPN - and promptly followed suit.

      People don't need to understand what a VPN is or how it works, they just need to be told it fixes their problem.

      1. Not Yb Silver badge

        Re: Really?

        Many modern phones automatically change MAC address regularly, so he was just a bit ahead of the curve.

    4. Wang Cores

      Re: Really?

      Hey man I resent the implication that I can't be a gun-crazed redneck because I have to work and live here (born in the state, planning on bugging out in a few years).

    5. Bebu sa Ware
      Coat

      Re: Really?

      At least on android devices enabling a vpn service might be as easy as toggling a switch in your browser eg Opera.

      The standalone ProtonVPN is almost as easy to use.

      Even the floridan deficients should be able to figure that out, otherwise I suspect they would be find the content exhibited on porntube et al. incomprehensible.

      I am curious as to how the age verification jurisdictions intend to enforce their legislation with when a resident accesses foreign (say Hungarian) sites. Some foreign sites do have an 18+ button which is highlighted and is no more than a continue button.

      Being a BOFH in an organisation that had a no video download/streaming policy, and using a squid proxy one got to know from the traffic logs all the "naughty" sites. Curiously the org didn't have a policy that covered legal but NSFW (explicit) material until many years later - to limit traffic costs ie more concerned about the bits and bytes than the tits and boobs.

      One thought on age verification could be for the site to display an image of a vulva and require the client to click on the clitoris to continue. :) Could exclude far more mature males than young teens (who in any case could locate the comprehensive and explicit Wiki article.)

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

        Re: Really?

        Age verification should just be questions about mortgages, personal finance, DIY, gardening and pensions.

        OK the under-aged might still be able to answer them. But at least we're forcing them to get vital adult education covered before they get to watch the nekkid people online.

        1. Khaptain Silver badge

          Re: Really?

          I can imagine that they would just fire up Chatgpt or similar and be able to answer anything thrown at them .

    6. Alan_P

      Re: Really?

      As a resident of Florida, I approve this message.

    7. TheMeerkat

      Re: Really?

      I know non-IT people of retirement who are using VPN because it was missold to them as a “security measure”.

      1. Not Yb Silver badge

        Re: Really?

        It is a security measure, but only in very specific circumstances involving not trusting your network provider. Logging internet access for national security happens even in the US, but it can be even worse (and also targeted on "dissidents" who merely disagree with the current regime) elsewhere.

        1. NiceCuppaTea

          Re: Really?

          Depends if you trust the VPN provider more or less than your ISP.

  2. Tron Silver badge

    Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

    No sane person sends a scan of their passport or face to an online verification service.

    UK next, so that will be another giant hit on the VPN servers and mass migration to dubious central European imageboards, writhing with nubile malware.

    Governments should stick to being rubbish at pot holes, and avoid being rubbish at important stuff, like online anatomical research.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

      Will have to see what Ofcom says about Age verification for adult sites in a few weeks and Ofcom been talking about facial recognition but that just as bad, AV is has alot of privacy and legal issue even in the UK.

      1. katrinab Silver badge
        Windows

        Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

        Facial recognition software seems to think I'm about 30, when I'm old enough to be a 30 year old's mother. Though, to be fair, most humans seem to think the same when they see me.

    2. Snake Silver badge

      Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

      I'll constantly remind individuals that "government" is just a voted-in collection of a segment of 'us', the general public.

      Vote the bums out when they do wrong. But since that never seems to occur, they act with impunity.

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        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

          I don't know what relevance this has but I agree!

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        3. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

          >Yeah, UK needs a recall facility - one triggered by those electing the MP, not the very limited crap there is at the mo.

          Probably not. Only because you'd get the losers in an election opening a recall petition at any available opportunity and persuading enough of the electorate to hold a by-election on a regular basis.

          Not saying the bar shouldn't probably be lower than it is, but it does need to be high enough to prevent every MP just being bogged down in multiple by-elections every year.

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            1. phuzz Silver badge

              Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

              So you'd have to track who voted for which candidate, which is a whole bundle of bad ideas, and it still doesn't stop someone voting for a candidate they don't like, so they have the opportunity to ask for a recall later

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              2. heyrick Silver badge

                Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

                "voting for a candidate they don't like"

                Wait... isn't that normal, to pick the the least worst option?

                1. LucreLout

                  Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

                  I've voted in every election since the mid 90s and never, not one time, have I been offered an opportunity to vote for someone I liked.

      2. Frank Fisher

        Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

        You can't vote them out when on all significant issues they all agree. No one who disagrees with the establishment consensus is allowed anywhere near power. See the numerous "winning parties" across the EU currently excluded from government.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

          we don't have a good set to select from, but we don't need racist reform wankers anywhere near power if thats what your suggesting.

      3. Irongut Silver badge

        Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

        The UK government is most definitely NOT a segment of "us".

        The general UK public did not go to Eton and are far more honest, hard working and trustworthy than any member of UK gov in the last 40 years at least.

        Also we don't fuck pigs.

        1. Arthur the cat Silver badge

          Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

          Also we don't fuck pigs.

          I don't believe that's mandatory for a government post. Not even for Tories.

          1. Phil Ni'Sophical

            Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

            Isn't it?

            *removes "Visit to local pig farm" from the list of things to do this year*

            phew.

      4. Ruisert

        Re: Governments should stick to being rubbish

        A segment that bears little resemblance to the likes of people like me. Most politicians are financially set to be able to run for office. I mean, generally speaking, you can't have a real job and hold political office too. And that "vote them out" thing - yeah, no. Like Florida, Texas, where live, is full of fools and the politically uninformed.

        I was slightly stunned, but entirely unsurprised to learn that Jimmy Carter was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win Texas' Electoral College votes. I didn't get to vote until 1980, so all my voting for President has been in vain.

    3. ian 28

      Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

      I think you’d be surprised. The number of people I see on twitter everyday using their real name is absolutely astonishing. It’s like 90% of people.

      Kids today have no clue

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

        Perhaps Adrian Dittmannis his real name? ELON MUSK does sound made up

        1. feral

          Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

          It has to be a unique name to get an equity card.

          1. gv

            Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

            "Clem H. Fandango"

            1. Roj Blake Silver badge

              Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

              Can you hear me?

    4. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

      >sends a scan of their passport or face

      Worried that it's not an image of your face they are going to demand.

      Anyone remember the peasants revolt?

      1. Arthur the cat Silver badge

        Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

        Anyone remember the peasants revolt?

        Not even I am that old.

    5. S4qFBxkFFg

      Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

      "No sane person sends a scan of their passport or face to an online verification service."

      Indeed, they borrow their mum's or dad's passport and use that.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

        That's why you also need facial recognition, so the site needs to have your Webcam turned on while you peruse their artistic content

        1. heyrick Silver badge
          WTF?

          Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

          Wait a mo... Just knowing somebody's SSN is almost enough to apply for loans (and leave the debt on somebody else's head), but watching somebody whip their bits out and shake them requires scans of official ID and face recognition?

          I know America is turning into a Christian Fundamentalist country, but FFS get those priorities in order.

          1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

            Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

            This is looking at people made in the image of G*d doing profoundly biblical stuff - it's not like just buying a gun

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Age verification mandates work like chocolate teapots.

      Ah, the memories. I really miss inedit.cz (or whereever it was)

  3. cyberdemon Silver badge
    Black Helicopters

    VPNs

    Just an "Add me directly to the naughty list" as far as any agencies are concerned.

    Anyone running a "Large Public VPN service" is sitting on a "goldmine" of data about people who wish to hide their internet activity, for whatever reason..

    Of course, someone in a dark suit is going to come along and buy it. It is literally doing half their work for them.

    Meanwhile the -real- crims will be using botnet VPNs bouncing off your IP cameras.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: VPNs

      Many claim they don't log? But they could still allow a trace from the agencies under the guise of National Security. Better called Narrative Security.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: VPNs

      Use a VPN not located in a nine eyes country. Use one that doesn't log (or at least says it doesn't). Pay with crypto. It's still a risk that they can be forced to start logging by government agencies but it reduces the risk a little.

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    3. Moldskred

      Re: VPNs

      If you want to hide your traffic, you should be very careful about which VPN provider you trust.

      If you just want to get around geoblocking so you can watch the same porn you were watching before without a VPN, on the other hand, eh, it doesn't really matter. Just pick a VPN provider that supports open standards and doesn't require you to install their own software client on your machine. (Ideally, you'll still want to set it up so that only traffic to the sites you want to circumvent geoblocking for goes through the VPN, but eh, whether you trust a ISP or a VPN provider with your traffic meta-data doesn't _really_ make much of a difference in practice.)

    4. phuzz Silver badge
      IT Angle

      Re: VPNs

      Why pay for a VPN, when you can use the same money to rent a server somewhere and install a VPN on that?

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: VPNs

        Because Digital Ocean etc use Linux and using Linux is terrorism

      2. IglooDame

        Re: VPNs

        I'm getting ready to fire one up and rent it out to my friends, who will pay me with homecooked dinners.

        This comment started out semi-jokingly, but as I'm typing it is rapidly coalescing into a project plan in my head...

  4. JoeCool Silver badge

    nice writeup

    Someone is in rare form to kick off the new year.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hmmmmm

    Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, North Carolina, Montana, Mississippi, Virginia, Arkansas, and Utah.

    Not exactly your bastions of world-class thinking.

    Maybe there’s nothing else to do.

    1. AK565

      Re: Hmmmmm

      It's always pretty much the same group of states. Health, education, income, GDP per capita, Covid vax rates, brain drain, dollars paid to the federal gov't vs funds received. It doesn't much matter the metric or how it's measured. The same group of states come out in the bottom 10 or 15. If you made a Venn Diagram there'd be tremendous overlap. There's no surprise on this list.

      Totally coincidentally, these states are usually Red.

      I know. It was a total surprise to me as well/s

    2. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Re: Hmmmmm

      Ah, Indiana.

      The state that proposed a law to set the value of Pi at 3.

      You just can't invent that level of stupid.

      1. Bebu sa Ware
        Coat

        Re: Hmmmmm

        《set the value of Pi at 3. You just can't invent that level of stupid.》

        Perhaps the consolation is these geniuses are likely half way down a black hole when they right.

      2. PRR Silver badge

        Re: Hmmmmm

        > proposed a law to set the value of Pi at 3.

        That's not what the law said (as your citation clearly explains).

        There WAS another pi law for the specific case of farmers selling timber to railroads and telegraph systems. Professional wood-traders have tools to measure round trunks. Calipers, tapes with pi built in. But a farmer in 1870 may barely have a tape-measure (or chain). Or a pencil. The company rounds-down and cheats him. But who votes? Hard to believe today, but farmers were once heavy in politics. The law simplified the round-math by saying the diameter WAS a third (/3.0) of the circumference (for commercial transactions where one party was not expert). Of course the company just adjusted their offer-price by 4.4% or more. But the farmers felt good at pulling a fast one on the slickers.

    3. Bebu sa Ware
      Facepalm

      Re: Hmmmmm

      《Not exactly your bastions of world-class thinking.》

      Not that the remaining 37 are exactly exemplars of first class cerebration.

  6. Awk_ward

    Well done on the headline and tag line. Did make my chuckle.

    I would have preferred 'VPN use engorges 1150%', but credit where credit is due. Faps....errr... Hats off to you!

  7. DS999 Silver badge

    Why would they bother with a VPN?

    It isn't as if Pornhub is the only such site, and I'm sure some of them are based outside the US and thus beyond the reach of any US state laws.

    1. blu3b3rry
      Facepalm

      Re: Why would they bother with a VPN?

      That would require knowledge of a world outside of the USA. I'm not sure some of the individuals responsible for laws like this are aware of it's existence, or if they are, assume that US laws apply or something.

      1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

        To be fair, the USA is the biggest producer of porn.

        Besides that, there's also the fact that porn sites in other countries would not be very likely to produce clips in English (yeah, I watch them for the dialog too).

        1. Mrs Spartacus

          the USA is the biggest producer of the world's crappiest porn. FTFY.

          So I'm told, anyway...

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            The (purple) Bell Curve dictates they'd generate the bulk of the crap - but looking for anything better on the far ends of the curve poses appalling risks to the eyeballs; bulk mindbleach required.

            Apparently, according to the bloke down the pub.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Just search for porn made in severly depressed economic areas. Your opinion of Bill Cosby will probably go up. Its sad.

          2. Ruisert

            Yeah. We're not able to appreciate things like Shakespeare's "Gay Boys in Bondage." Too intellectual.

        2. Ken Hagan Gold badge

          Biggest producer, possibly, but I don't think they are the biggest provider. I thought that was Mindgeek (now Aylo, apparently. Is this like Sellafield?) and they're Canadian.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why would they bother with a VPN?

      Maybe they can only understand porn if the audio is in American? :-)

      1. Montreal Sean

        Re: Why would they bother with a VPN?

        The moaning sounds different in the foreign "films", so Americans don't recognize them as fake.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why would they bother with a VPN?

      Dear god, just use bing.com with SafeSearch Off.. That's about all its good for.

    4. Not Yb Silver badge

      Re: Why would they bother with a VPN?

      Pornhub is based in Canada, which is not part of the US. Oddly enough, being "based outside of the US" isn't enough to get around having to follow the laws here.

      If you want to accept any US credit cards for example, it becomes much more important to follow US and state laws of the states you do business in.

      1. Ruisert

        Re: Why would they bother with a VPN?

        Same reason marijuana shops have a problem doing business with banks, even in states where it's legal - it's still against Federal Law, and they have to follow those Fed rules or else.

    5. Ruisert

      Re: Why would they bother with a VPN?

      Through extensive personal research since Texas enacted this law, I'd say you'd be surprised at just how many pR0n sites have knuckled under. Why?, you may ask. Because most U.S. states have reciprocity laws. Most of these sites are based somewhere in the U.S. and the arm of the law is long. But I am pleased to see there's a suit originating out of Texas to fight this censorship. I'll hold my breath while the Supreme Court takes 5 minutes to reach a verdict against.

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  9. Marty McFly Silver badge
    Childcatcher

    It never changes...

    40 years ago... "Hey, I found my dad's stash of nudie magazines."

    Today... "Hey, I swiped my dad's ID and created a login to Pornhub."

    Good excuse to use this icon.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Ruisert

        Re: It never changes...

        Nah. My dad kept his stash in a large wooden crate in the garage. Unlocked. And that, my friends, is how I learned about the "birds and the bees."

        My sister once informed me that my mom had discovered my stash of purloined porno under my mattress - so I guess I was as security conscious as old pops. Upon looking back, it was pretty amusing. Sis ratting out mom to me for snooping through my shit and finding porn I'd swiped from my dad, which she probably no clue about him having.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not as simple as it seems

    The trouble with this, is that it is a step towards needing ID to get on the Internet. Don't underestimate the importance of anonymity to freedom in a technological world.

  11. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

    Porn in Florida?

    To many, the site of Ron Desanctimonious wearing White Wellies (with lifts) as he inspected some Hurricane disaster is Porn. He clearly never intended to get his hands dirty.

    1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

      damm autocorrect

      site should have been sight

      1. stiine Silver badge

        Re: damm autocorrect

        Well, it was in Florida, even though you don't cite any references.

  12. MrGreen

    VPN Warning

    Most VPN’s are data collection partners for government agencies.

    Choose wisely.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: VPN Warning

      You can tell the VPNs that are government projects

      They cost $10Bn, don't work, only support windows95, are only available 9-4 Mon-Fri, and are turned off when congress shuts down the government

  13. MooseMonkey

    Irony, forever lost on Americans

    If anyone knows how to circumnavigate low grade verification and blocking of websites it’s the teens, whilst the boomers who pushed through this law have probably cut themselves off from porn and little blue pills.

    1. Ruisert

      Re: Irony, forever lost on Americans

      I dunno. I know these "Christian" fundie types. Quite a few are kinkier than most people, and repressed as hell about it to boot.

  14. Herring`

    Interesting

    The pr0n company seems to have more qualms about collecting personal data than most other web providers.

    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Re: Interesting

      Indeed. It would seem that porn is cleaner than you would think . . .

      1. that one in the corner Silver badge

        Re: Interesting

        Well, they have a product that people actually want, and will continue to want into the foreseeable future. So they have an actual reason to behave (in the cyber security arena, at least).

        Unlike some online peddlers of trash [1] whose only real money-making strategy is data rape.

        [1] some whose energy-to-usefulness ratio redefines the meaning of "obscene"

      2. Marty McFly Silver badge

        Re: Interesting

        Porn website are statistically quite safe. You are more likely to get a computer virus checking your local church website than looking at porn.

        Think about it... Porn websites need repeat customers. And if they are infecting their PCs, then that isn't very good for business.

        Your local church website was probably cobbled together by an aspiring techie 10 years ago and has not been maintained since. Full of vulnerabilities and ripe for compromise by threat actors.

        1. Ruisert

          Re: Interesting

          This is now. Back in the "Wild West" days on the Internet, pr0n sites were notoriously full of all sorts of malware. But that stopped when the sites twigged on that whole "if they are infecting their PCs, then that isn't very good for business."

    2. Ruisert

      Re: Interesting

      No, I'd say they understand that this is a tactic to ruin their businesses. Every site that I've seen that has posted a notification subtly blames the idiotic state law that forces them to enact age verification. They know it's a sham. I mean by this that the people who make these laws "may be dumb, but they ain't stupid." - Stalag 17.

      They have an agenda. And the smartest of them know, they have to keep chipping away, bit by bit, to get what they want.

  15. 45RPM Silver badge

    It’s difficult to see the benefit for the biggest bunch of wankers in politics to ban porn sites. Although they’re currently engaged in an enormous (and self defeating) circle jerk - so perhaps they haven’t noticed. Yet.

    1. Ruisert

      Dunno about the UK, but here it's a way to fire up the Fundie base. Essentially, pandering for votes. And it appears to be working.

  16. anonymous boring coward Silver badge

    Pulling out is never a safe solution.

  17. Groo The Wanderer - A Canuck

    American in Florida:

    "No, man, you ain't takin' muh Porn! I got rights!"

    *LOL*

  18. mark l 2 Silver badge

    Its odd that Pornhub are refusing to implement age checks in some US states as I remember when the parent company Aylo was called Mindgeek there were going to be running the UK's ill thought out age verification scheme back in 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aylo

    They also used to have their own free and paid VPN service called VPNhub, Although looking on the VPNhub.com website it appears to be closed down now so unsure how long that lasted.

  19. tiggity Silver badge

    There's multiple issues with age verification.

    Biggest of which is that we all know that data breaches are happening essentially all the time, the type of ID these sites would require e.g. passport including photo, is very juicy data for ID fraud merchants so privacy conscious people may not want to risk giving that data to a third party*

    As the article states, ID is also fairly useless for porn, as there will always be sites in different countries that people can use so local laws irrelevant, torrents of erotic content etc. It is not a vital service that people need access to so all ID demand will do is stop people using providers that want ID.

    * In my dealings with banks, I have made the (often irritatingly long) trip to a branch with my ID, which got photocopied to be checked, but not stored electronically, rather than submit it online - but I'm a bit extreme on security issues (having had attempted ID fraud performed after address change house when bank were tardy in updating my address details & sent out a statement to old address & new tenant or a mate of theirs then used that to take out a loan in my name & it was a real PITA to sort it all out, even though things like signature used by fraudsters was totally unlike my signature, bank refused to tell me what other ID was used, if any!, (as any ID beyond the statement would have needed to be forged) - only figured out the statement must have been used when I contacted bank to ask why I had not received statement at my new address )

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      "there will always be sites in different countries that people can use "

      Although it inevitably becomes a game of whack-a-mole, ISPs will be instructed to block any sites which are non-compliant, assuming they remembered to put that response into the the law so any porn sites "available" in the relevant States will have to comply if they want to continue doing business in said States. It'll probably work about as well as "blocking" The Pirate Bay and their ilk at the ISP level in the UK.

  20. IGotOut Silver badge
    FAIL

    Are these the same politicians...

    ...that repeatedly bang in about individual rights and overbearing government interference?

    Yes, yes they are.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      Re: Are these the same politicians...

      Yes, but when "government" bangs on about "Big Government" interfering, they always mean the level above them because, of course they themselves only have their constituents best interests at heart.

  21. spold Silver badge

    This sort of government meddling really gets on your tits.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Well, that was a dick comment!

      1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
        Facepalm

        Ohh cum on now!

        1. Excused Boots Silver badge
          Joke

          'Ohh cum on now!’

          Sorry, cum on what?

          1. The Oncoming Scorn Silver badge
            Facepalm

            I refer you to the honorable spolds mention in his original post, failing that see eyecon.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is a good thing

    When VPNs and e2e encrypted messaging become mainstream then they are no longer red flags for the 3 letter agencies.

    When everyone looks like a dissident terrorist then nobody looks like a terrorist

  23. DrkShadow

    Florida requires all indoor walls and doors be soundproofed

    > "substantial portion of material harmful to minors,"

    In other news, Florida is requiring any indoor walls of parents' bedrooms be soundproofed -- doors too -- lest the poor minor(s) have to listen to their parents having sex, an undeniably damaging experience.

    Oh, wait. They meant only on the internet. Right.

  24. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge

    But my desktop doesn't have a camera

    "For what it's worth, Robin Tombs, boss of Yoti, which provides age checks for blue-movie sites in the US, argued earlier this week that its age confirmation system, using facial analysis, and identity document verification is secure and safe, as you might imagine."

    But my desktop doesn't have a camera you insensitive clods! Well, Iowa hasn't gotten there yet.. the nuts in power here are too busy trying to get books banned and take away LBGTQ rights to worry about porn.

    What's most maddening about these right-wingers is their constant lying about wanting to reduce government intrusion and restrictions, while in fact wanting to turn the state (and the country) into an "Iran of the west", passing all sorts of religious-hangup-based laws and regulations. As someone who is libertarian at heart and really wants light regulation, it's pretty galling to have these people falsely claim that's what they want when they want the exact opposite.. and that their followers truly have the doublethink to simultaneously support restrictions to people's rights while simultaneously believing these politicians are easing up on restrictions.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: But my desktop doesn't have a camera

      They seem to genuinely act like they want less government -- with respect to business.

      OTOH, they also seem to take the stance that the Holly Babble is Gosh's law, and needs to be enacted as such in written law -- and *both* sides of the political office have carried that out until an alternative was presented in the early to mid 1900's. Everything is still shifting.

      Yes, they do want to lock every person into their own idealism. OTOH, the other party isn't any better -- I went to California in recent years, and the bathrooms were labeled "Women" and "others". No exaggeration.You don't matter unless you're female, you're a *problem* if you're white or male (and quadruply a problem if both), and the bitch who shrieks loudest gets the greatest payout.

      Good luck. (Now the down-votes because the last line. Oh well.)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: But my desktop doesn't have a camera

        Or, just possibly, it was actually quite a conservative stance on the transgender debate about bathrooms, and one bathroom was only for women, and transgender women had to use the same one as the men? Or it was a joke? You're jumping to quite a lot of conclusions there, based on a bathroom sign.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sure.

    Ah, yes. Keep supporting an industry that has profited off of child sexual abuse and sex trafficking.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sure.

      Name one that hasn't.

      Also, you forgot to mention naivette.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Sure.

        Lmao, every industry has profited off of sex trafficking and child sexual abuse?

        Exploitation in other industries exist, so? What? You're suggesting we shrug our shoulders? Porn consumers sure are keen on supporting an industry that admits to profiting off these things.

  26. Philo T Farnsworth Silver badge

    VPN?

    Haven't they heard of tor?

  27. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

    ‘Fairy porn’

    apparently, it's a booming erotica genre...

    https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jan/06/fairy-porn-is-this-booming-erotica-genre-an-insult-to-wales

    No mention of VPNs

  28. Rattus

    At least one Florida resident has solved the need for age verification by moving to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue...

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is a prelude to a porn ban

    Age restrictions are happening globally so eventually the VPN solution will not work.

    Recent events have shown that whenever societal policies are adopted universally, and in synchronicity there's an agenda behind them. Will the masses be wise enough to see through it this time? I frankly doubt it.

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