By Michaela Gordoni
Four porn websites in Kansas are breaking state-mandated age-verification rules, and it hasn’t slipped by the National Center on Child Exploitation’s notice.
The lawsuits are among the first in the country to challenge any porn age-verification laws. NCOSE joined as co-counsel on behalf of a minor child, “Q.R.,” in the filings.
“Kansas law requires pornography companies to implement reasonable age verification methods, and the companies named in these lawsuits failed to do so, resulting in Q.R.’s access to material that is harmful to minors,” said Dani Pinter, Senior Vice President and Director of the Law Center, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
Q.R., 14, was able to easily access four websites with hardcore porn, which his mother found out later.
“It is unreasonably dangerous for these pornography websites to provide this product, which they know is harmful to children, that children are drawn to access, and do access, without employing age verification as required by Kansas law. Our plaintiff deserves every measure of justice,” Pinter said.
The Kansas law requires sites to verify that users are over the age of 18. Sites may face a fine of up to $10,000 per violation, and parents may sue for damages of at least $50,000, KSNT reported.
Pornography is extremely harmful to kids. It exposes them to violence and disrupts the natural formation of sexual-arousal templates.
In January, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit against 13 porn sites for not abiding by the law, which does not include the sites that NCOSE is suing.
The suit filing reads, “Each of the 13 Websites…allows Kansas consumers to pay for specific live sexual acts and performances. For an additional charge a Kansas consumer may pay for a premium service which offers more varieties of pornographic content not available for free. Accepted payment methods include credit cards, prepaid cards, and for select sites, cryptocurrency.”
So not only can minors view the content, but they can also pay for access to live sexual acts if they have access to payment.
The suit is still ongoing.
Related: Anti-Trafficking Activist Calls on People to Stop Watching Porn and GAME OF THRONES
Like Kansas, many other states have passed age verification laws, including Texas, Florida, South Dakota, Georgia and Virginia, the Age Verification Providers Association reported. Louisiana was the first state to enact an age-verification law in 2023.
AVPA notes that while age verification laws are steps in the right direction, states need to understand that assessing users’ location solely through their IP address isn’t secure enough, as VPNs allow users to access sites available in other states. If porn sites are required to implement more secure techniques to accurately assess user location, then more tech-savvy kids could be prevented from seeing harmful content.
As more states become aware of the dangers porn presents to kids, there’s hope they’ll take meaningful steps to protect young people in the best way possible.
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