A new Bill filed by two Arkansas senators would force individuals in the state to verify their age before accessing porn websites. This can be done by sharing a government ID, or through any commercial methods that rely on public or private data. If porn websites do not follow a proper age verification method, they can be held liable for damages for exposing minors to ‘harmful’ content, according to the proposed legislation. Minors include anyone below 18 years of age. Why it matters Several Republican senators in the US have been arguing about the demerits of allowing minors access to pornographic content. This new year, Louisiana passed an age-verification law for porn websites. It required sites where over 33.33% of the content is “harmful to minors” to verify a user’s age before allowing them access. However, it’s unclear whether minors will be allowed to access porn websites after the age verification or not. In an article, the BBC said, “The law does not make it illegal to allow children to access pornographic websites, but enables people to sue sites that do not have age checks.” More legislation like this could end up restricting teenagers’ access to porn content and even put their personal data, which they share during age verification, at risk. It could also lead to more profiling and surveillance of those using porn websites. Below is a video shared on Twitter showcasing how Pornhub is doing age verification in Louisiana. https://twitter.com/fodderyfodder/status/1610014207533060099?s=20&t=I9UZK8h2URUOglfNr1hrcA From the Indian context Porn websites in India do not…
