Residents of Louisiana who rang in the new year with a visit to Pornhub were greeted with a demand to submit their driver's license or state ID to prove they are 18 or older. Pornhub's requirement was added to comply with the enactment of House Bill 142, which states: "Any commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on the internet from a website that contains a substantial portion of such material shall be held liable if the entity fails to perform reasonable age verification methods to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the material."
Republican state representative Laurie Schlegel, who filed HB142 in February, is a licensed professional counselor with a degree in marriage and family counseling. Governor John Bel Edwards signed the bill in June.
U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced similar legislation to require age verification for porn sites on a national level.
