Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican tasked with ensuring compliance, said this month that only one of 20 top porn sites was actually complying with the law.
Ohio’s law broadly applies to any site “that sells, delivers, furnishes, disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles on the internet.”
However, the law also has carve-outs for the press; internet and cable providers; and, among others, “a provider of an interactive computer service,” as defined by the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.
The federal definition of an interactive computer service, according to Cornell University, is “any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that has access to the Internet and such systems operated or services offered by libraries or educational institutions.”
Aylo, the parent company of PornHub, has opted not to make any changes to its Ohio operations even in the face of the state’s new law. The company told this outlet in a statement that it believes PornHub qualifies as an interactive computer service, and is therefore “not subject to the obligations under section 1349.10 of the Ohio Revised Code regarding mandated age verification.”
In a variety of other states that have enacted age verification laws, Aylo has blocked access to content for all would-be users.
“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,” a landing page on PornHub reads. The site goes on to argue that an unequal enforcement of the law will send users to less-regulated porn sites with shadier reputations.
Yost sent letters to Aylo and other companies behind prominent sites the Republican attorney general characterized as noncompliant threatening state civil action unless the sites began proper age verification within 45 days.
“This duly enacted law protects young, impressionable children from the harms of adult-only material found online,” Yost said in a statement. “It’s time for these companies to explain why they think they’re above the law.”
Last week, this outlet asked Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, if he believes the legislature needs to update the law to ensure it applies to the porn sites it intended to target.
“I think it’ll likely be settled in court. I would think it would apply to them,” said McColley. “(I’m) not familiar, exactly, with what their argument would be as to why it would not.”
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
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