In 2022, the first state-level age verification law restricting access to adult content was passed in Louisiana.

The law went into effect on January 1, 2023, setting a dangerous precedent.

Three years later, half the states have followed in its wake, pushing aggressive initiatives that threaten personal rights to privacy and autonomy.

Twenty-five states with twenty-five different sets of rules.

Thankfully, it's not too late to push back against the tide. The Free Speech Coalition has created comprehensive guides and reports that lay out the current status of laws state-by-state, helping people navigate the uncertainty and take action to protect their freedom.

Alabama HB 164 took effect on October 1st, 2024

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• enforcement: private lawsuits and civil penalties
• age verification mechanisms allowed: Any commercially available software, application, program, or methodology that, when enabled, provides reasonable assurances that any individual accessing certain published material is 18 years of age or older.
• Other provisions:
  • Requires written consent from every person depicted in explicit content
  • Imposes a 10% tax on any adult content that is “produced, sold, filmed, generated, or otherwise based in” Alabama
  • Websites must display the following "health warnings":
    "ALABAMA HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses, and weakens brain function."
    "ALABAMA HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Exposure to this content is associated with low self-esteem and body image, eating disorders, impaired brain development, and other emotional and mental illnesses."
    "ALABAMA HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child pornography."
    "U.S. SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION HELPLINE: "1-800-662-HELP (4357) "THIS HELPLINE IS A FREE, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SERVICE (IN ENGLISH OR SPANISH) OPEN 24 HOURS PER DAY, FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILY MEMBERS FACING MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. THE SERVICE PROVIDES REFERRAL TO LOCAL TREATMENT FACILITIES, SUPPORT GROUPS, AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS."

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Arizona HB 2112 took effect on September 26th, 2025

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Enforcement: private lawsuits by parents or guardians whose children were able to access the material for awards up to $250,000 plus $10,000 per day that the website lacked age verification
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • government-issued identification
  • a commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of an individual

Arkansas SB 66 took effect on July 31st, 2023

Louisiana AVS law copycat.

Requires use of government ID or commercial age verification systems that hold an Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) on websites containing "a substantial portion of material that may be harmful to minors."

Florida HB 3 took effect on January 1st, 2025

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Enforcement
  • Violations are defined as an unfair and deceptive trade practice actionable by the Florida Department of Legal Affairs or state Attorney General. The department may collect a civil penalty of up to $50,000 per violation.
  • A private lawsuit may be brought by or on behalf of any minor resident of Florida. Damage awards up to $10k.
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • a commercially reasonable method used by a government agency or a business for the purpose of age verification which is conducted by a nongovernmental, independent, third-party organized under the laws of a state of the United States which:
    • Has its principal place of business in a state of the United States; and
    • Is not owned or controlled by a company formed in a foreign country, a government of a foreign country, or any other entity formed in a foreign country.
• Also requires age verification and parental consent for social media.

Georgia SB 251 took effect on July 1st, 2025

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Enforcement:
  • private lawsuits
  • fines of up to $10k per violation
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • digitized identification card, including a digital copy of a driver's license;
  • government-issued identification; or
  • any commercially reasonable age verification method that meets or exceeds an Identity Assurance Level 2 standard, as defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology

Idaho H 498 took effect on July 1st, 2024

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Enforcement: private lawsuits with statutory damages awards of no less than $10,000
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • digitized identification card
  • government-issued identification
  • a system that relies on public or private transactional data

Indiana SB 17 took effect on August 16th, 2024

• The bill provides that the Attorney General may bring an action to obtain an injunction, a civil penalty of not more than $250,000, or the Attorney General's reasonable costs in investigating and maintaining the action. It provides that when the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in a violation, the Attorney General is empowered to investigate the suspected violation.
• It also creates a private cause of action to permit:
  • the parent or guardian of a child harmed by a violation of the age verification requirement to obtain monetary damages, injunctive relief, and reasonable attorney's fees; and
  • any other person to bring an action to obtain injunctive relief and reasonable attorney's fees.
• Age verification mechanisms allowed
  • A mobile credential;
  • An independent third party age verification service that compares identifying information of the individual seeking access with material from a commercially available database; and
  • Any commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data.

Kansas HB2592/SB394 took effect on July 1st, 2024

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Enforcement: civil fines and private lawsuits
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • A commercially available database that is regularly used by businesses or governmental entities for the purpose of age and identity verification
  • any other “reasonable” method expressly approved by attorney general or certified in documented international standards for age verification as specified by the attorney general
• Applies to “Any commercial entity that knowingly shares or distributes material that is harmful to minors on a website and such material appears on 25% or more of the webpages viewed on such website in any calendar month, or that knowingly hosts such website”
• Uses definition of "harmful to minors" that includes "acts of...homosexuality"

Kentucky HB 278 took effect on July 15th, 2024

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Enforcement: private right of action to recover:
  • Damages of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per instance that the covered platform failed to perform age verification to restrict the minor's access to matter harmful to minors; and
  • Actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees.
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • State-issued form of identification, including but not limited to an operator's license or personal identification card issued under KRS Chapter 186 that establishes age;
  • Identification issued by any agency of the United States government that establishes age; or
  • Any commercially reasonable method of identification that relies on public or private transactional data to verify that the person attempting to access the matter is at least eighteen (18) years of age or older;
• Applies to any for-profit websites for which it is “in the regular course of trade or business to create, host, or make available content that meets the definition of matter harmful to minors”

Louisiana HB 142 (2022) took effect on January 1st, 2023

Creates a private right of action to sue adult websites that do not use age verification software for damages inflicted on minors who are exposed to explicit material. Acceptable age verification methods include government-issued ID or any "commercially reasonable method" that uses transactional data to verify age. Requires that data used to verify age not be retained by the website or third party software.

Mississippi SB 2346 took effect on July 1st, 2023

Louisiana AVS law copycat.

Requires use of commercial age verification systems or valid government ID on websites that contain "a substantial portion of material that may be harmful to minors."

Because the bill that passed the House differed from the one that passed the Senate, a Conference Committee must resolve the differences.

Missouri 15 CSR 60-18 took effect on November 30th, 2025

This regulation requires that users be age-verified before gaining access to entire websites, applications, or “segments” of websites containing more than 1/3 “material harmful to minors.” It requires age-verification to be performed using digital ID, other government-issued ID, or transactional data.

It also requires the mobile operating systems to provide digital age-verification “that a website or application can use to comply with” the rule.

Violations of the rule are considered “an unfair, deceptive, fraudulent, or otherwise unlawful practice” under Missouri law.

Montana SB 544 took effect on January 1st, 2024

Louisiana AVS law copycats.

Requires use of commercial age verification systems on websites that contain "a substantial portion of material that may be harmful to minors."

Nebraska Online Age Verification Liability Act took effect onJuly 18th, 2024

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• enforcement: private right of action
• age verification mechanisms allowed
  • digitized identification card
  • a third-party age verification service
  • any commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data

North Carolina HB 8 took effect on January 1st, 2024

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• private right of action
• age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • a commercially available database that is regularly used by businesses or governmental entities for the purpose of age and identity verification
  • another commercially reasonable method of age and identity verification, verify the age of the individuals attempting to access the material

North Dakota SB 2380 took effect on August 1st, 2025

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Enforcement: private lawsuits
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • government ID
  • “A commercially available database regularly used by a business or government entity for the purpose of age and identity verification; or”
  • “Any commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of the individual attempting to access the information is eighteen years of age or older.

Ohio HB 96 took effect on September 30th, 2025

Ohio included an age verification provision (Sec. 1349.10) in its 3,156-page budget bill. Click here to see a PDF of the relevant portion.

Requirements:

• Specified AV methods include third-party systems using photo ID or transactional data (like employment or education records).
• A geofence must check if the user is located in Ohio. If they are, access is blocked until age is verified. Users must be notified if a geolocation check fails.
• Age must be reverified every two years for ongoing accounts.

Enforcement:

• The Ohio Attorney General can bring civil suits if a minor accesses restricted content due to noncompliance.
• The AG must first give written notice; the organization has 45 days to fix issues and confirm compliance.
• If the organization fails to respond or violates again, the AG can seek injunctive relief.
• Only the AG can enforce the law—no private lawsuits are allowed.

Oklahoma SB 1959 took effect on November 1st, 2024

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Enforcement: private lawsuits and legal action by the state attorney general
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • digitized identification card
  • verification through an independent, third-party age verification service that compares the personal information entered by the individual who is seeking access to the material that is available from a commercially available database, or aggregate of databases, that is regularly used by government agencies and businesses for purpose of age and identity verification
  • any commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data
• The measure requires commercial entities to provide Internet service subscribers and cellular service subscribers the opportunity to request that access to material deemed harmful to minors be denied. After receiving the request, the commercial entity shall block access to its website on any device seeking to access its website using the subscriber’s Internet service or cellular service subscription so that a minor does not receive material harmful to minors via that subscription.

South Carolina H 3424 took effect on January 1st, 2025

Created a private right of action against websites that do not prevent minors from accessing pornographic material.

South Dakota HB 1053 took effect on February 27th, 2025

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • A state-issued driver license or non-driver identification card;
  • The individual's bank account information;
  • A debit or credit card from the individual that requires the individual in ownership of the card to be at least eighteen years of age; or
  • Any other method that reliably and accurately determines if a user of a covered platform is a minor and prevents a minor from accessing the content of a covered platform
• Enforcement:
  • A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. A subsequent violation of this section by the same covered platform is a Class 6 felony.
  • Any covered platform found to be in violation of this Act is subject to an injunction and liable for a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for each separate instance that the covered platform fails to perform reasonable age verification. The civil penalty may be assessed and recovered only in a civil action brought by the attorney general. The attorney general shall forward any civil penalty collected under this section to the state treasurer, for deposit in the state general fund.
  • If a covered platform is not in substantial compliance, the attorney general must provide written notice to the covered platform before initiating an action. The attorney general shall identify in the notice the specific provision that is alleged to have been violated, and what measures must be implemented by the covered platform to prevent future violations.
  • If the covered platform implements the measures stated in the notice and provides the attorney general a written statement under oath that the measures stated in the notice have been implemented, within ninety days of the notice provided under this section, the covered platform is not criminally liable or liable for a civil penalty for any cured violation

Tennessee SB 1792 took effect on January 1st, 2025

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• enforcement:
  • criminal (Class C felony)
• age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • government ID with a liveness test (”The matching of a photograph of the active user taken between the attempt to view content harmful to minors and the viewing of content harmful to minors, using the device by which the attempt to view content harmful to minors is being made, to the photograph on a valid form of identification issued by a state of the United States of America;”) or
  • transactional data
• requires re-verification after each 60-minute session

Texas HB 1181 took effect on September 1st, 2023

Mirrors Louisiana's law with additional (blatantly unconstitutional) requirements to publish the following false information on the website's "landing page" and all advertisements "in 14-point font or larger":

TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses, and weakens brain function.

TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Exposure to this content is associated with low self-esteem and body image, eating disorders, impaired brain development, and other emotional and mental illnesses.

TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child pornography.

It also requires the following to be displayed in the footer of every adult website "in 14-point font or larger":

U.S. SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION HELPLINE:
1-800-662-HELP (4357)
THIS HELPLINE IS A FREE, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SERVICE (IN ENGLISH OR SPANISH) OPEN 24 HOURS PER DAY, FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILY MEMBERS FACING MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. THE SERVICE PROVIDES REFERRAL TO LOCAL TREATMENT FACILITIES, SUPPORT GROUPS, AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.

Utah SB 287 took effect on May 2nd, 2023

Louisiana AVS law copycat.

Requires use of commercial age verification systems on websites that contain "a substantial portion of material that may be harmful to minors."

Virginia SB 1515 took effect on July 1st, 2023

Louisiana AVS law copycat.

Requires use of commercial age verification systems on websites that contain "a substantial portion of material that may be harmful to minors."

Wyoming HB 43 took effect on July 1s, 2025

Extremely non-standard age-verification bill:

• Applies to any “entity that operates a website that, in the regular course of business, creates, hosts or makes available content that is material harmful to minors that is provided by the entity, a user or other information content provider for purposes of making a profit” – not just websites composed of 33% (or more ) material harmful to minors.
• Material harmful to minors is defined as “any picture, image, graphic image file, film, videotape or other visual depiction that is obscene or is child pornography” – i.e., content that is illegal to distribute.
• Acceptable age-verification methods include:
  • A US driver's license or identification card
  • A valid United States passport or military card
  • A tribal identification card
  • A credit card that requires the cardholder to be eighteen (18) years of age or older
  • A debit card that requires the cardholder to be eighteen (18) years of age or older
  • Any other means or method that reliably and accurately can determine whether a user of a covered platform is a minor.
• Creates a right for “any parent or guardian of a minor who is aggrieved by a violation of” the law to sue for damages, court costs, fees, and $5,000 per “failure to perform age verification”. The minor must be a permanent resident of Wyoming, have resided there for more than 1 year, or have been present in the state for at least 31 days.