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The Italian media and communications watchdog AGCOM has announced the introduction of a new mandatory age verification for adult content, including gambling. The technical measure will require media to check the age of users via the national digital identity system SPID before allowing them to view content or access services related to pornography, gambling and other adult-specific social media categories.

The new measures were proposed within the online safety and protection bill known as the Caivano Decree, expected to be mandatory in 2025. AGCOM says the measure will ensure tighter age verification mechanisms to protect minors from content that could harm their physical, mental or moral development.

News update 16th August 2024: A federal appeals court stayed an injunction blocking enforcement of an Indiana law requiring adult content websites to verify user ages.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit called the Hoosier measure “functionally identical” to one adopted by Texas.

That law has been in effect since April, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to issue a preliminary injunction.

Indiana’s Senate Enrolled Act 17 has never gone live, despite an effectiveness date of July 1.

Days before that happened, a U.S. District Court Judge Richard Young, of Indiana’s Southern District, issued a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement. He said the requirements were “likely unconstitutional.”

But now that injunction is on hold.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Spain’s Minister of Digital Transformation and Civil Service José Luis Escrivá Belmonte, informed Spanish media about the launch of a new age verification app. It will become a mandatory step to access any online adult content for anyone in the country starting in September 2024.

Named the Cartera Digital app it will issue “anonymous digital access credentials.” This will allowing any adult with a Spanish national ID, who is willing to share his or her information with the government, to be able to  access +18 online content.

Its primary objective is to protect children and teens from stumbling upon explicit adult content, but it will also limit the amount of adult content adults can view to 30 sessions per month. For now this digital certificate will be only mandatory for Spanish websites that feature +18 explicit content, but it won’t block any foreign ones.

Update: Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law on Tuesday 23 April 2024, a bill that includes Georgia’s version of the age verification of adult content provisions.

Georgia joins other states in requiring children younger than 16 to have their parents’ explicit permission to create social media accounts.

Lawmakers on 28th March 2024 gave final approval to Senate Bill 351, which also would ban social media use on school devices and internet services, require porn sites to verify users are 18 or over and mandate additional education by schools on social media and internet use. The House passed the measure 120-45 and the Senate approved it 48-7.

The bill, which Republican Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas called “transformative,” now goes to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto.

A new Kansas law will require adult websites to verify a user’s age in an attempt by lawmakers to prevent children from seeing “harmful” material.

Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday allowed Senate Bill 394 to become law without her signature. The bill passed 40-0 in the Senate and 92-31 in the House.

Under the new law, a commercial entity that distributes material “harmful to minors” on at least 25% of its webpages must verify the age of any person in Kansas before they can access their website. They must use either a database or age-verification technology specified by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. Failure to do so can result in lawsuits by the attorney general, with civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation or lawsuits by the parent or legal guardian of a minor for statutory damages of no less than $50,000. The law will go into effect on July 1, 2024.

AgeGO provides a complete age verification solution for adult websites, that ensures total privacy for end users. Click here for more information.

 

Lawmakers approved a proposal April 11 that requires websites containing sexually explicit content to verify a user’s age.

LB1092, introduced by Glenvil Sen. Dave Murman, adopts the Online Age Verification Liability Act. The bill attempts to prohibit a commercial entity from knowingly publishing or distributing material harmful to minors online by requiring them to use a reasonable age verification method to ensure that anyone attempting to access such material is at least 18 years old.

The age verification requirement would apply only if a “substantial portion” of the website’s content, defined as one-third or more, meets the bill’s definition of being harmful to minors. LB1092 passed on a 35-3 vote.

Authorized age verification methods include digitized identification cards, third-party age-verification services or methods that rely on public or private transactional data. A commercial entity or third party that performs an age verification is prohibited from retaining a person’s identifying information after access to the material has been granted. AgeGO provides a complete age verification solution for adult websites, that ensures total privacy for end users. Click here for more information.

 

 

Back in December 2023, State Representative. Patsy Hazlewood (R) in Tennessee has introduced legislation to implement age-verification requirements to protect children from being exposed to online pornography. The “Protect Tennessee Minors Act, would mandate that pornography distributors have in place age-verification measures to ensure minors are barred from accessing sexually explicit content.

The legislative proposal is similar to laws already in place in Utah and Virginia, where the largest pornography distributor — Pornhub — is inaccessible.

Hazlewood’s legislation would require online pornography companies to match a user profile image to a verified government-issued I.D. Sites that don’t follow through with the requirement would be charged with Class C felonies, up to 15 years in prison, and $10,000 fines.

Update 11 April 2024: The Tennessee Senate has approved a measure that would require adult websites to have an age-verification process. Lawmakers say the measure aims to prevent kids from accessing sexually explicit content online. Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knoxville, is the sponsor of the bill, SB 1792, that just passed the floor. 

At least eight states have already passed age-verification laws for pornography websites. Those include Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

26 March 2024, Florida Governor Ron De Santis has signed into law, legislation that requires pornography websites and others hosting content “harmful to minors” to provide online age verification.

In January 2024, Florida’s lower chamber voted unanimously for legislation (HB 3) that pushes publishers to perform reasonable age verification. Right now, most sites simply ask users to press a button verifying they are of age.

No lawmakers argued against the bill on the floor, and the bill passed on a 119-0 vote. 

A similar bill (SB 1792) has been filed in the Senate by Sen. Erin Grall, a Fort Pierce Republican, but has yet to be heard on a Senate Judiciary Committee agenda.

Indiana state age verification legislation update

Adult websites will need stronger age verification measures under a bill headed to the Indiana House floor.

SB 17 easily cleared a House committee Wednesday. The bill would require adult sites to verify their customers’ ages with a mobile driver’s license or government ID (which Indiana doesn’t provide), or through a third-party service that verifies the customer’s age.

Nebraska stage age verification update

A Nebraska legislative committee heard testimony Wednesday 21 February 2024 over a bill that would limit young people’s access to online pornographic content by verifying a user is at least 18 years old.

The Legislative Bill 1092, introduced by State Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, he commented “It is to protect our most vulnerable women and children.” He said he modeled his legislation after similar efforts passed in Utah, Louisiana and Arkansas.

“We’re not trying to do something new here,” Murman told the Judiciary Committee. “We’re trying to do what’s been done in other states … and what’s been successful in other states.”

AgeGO provides a complete age verification solution for adult websites, that ensures total privacy for end users. Click here for more information.