Marc Novicoff has written a piece for Politico about how age-verification laws for online pornography are pushing the porn industry into retreat. Rather than seek to ban pornography entirely, which would be impossible to enforce and likely unconstitutional, seven states have passed laws requiring age verification for pornography users. Pornography websites have established age requirements, but they amount to little more than checking a box that says, “Yes, I’m over 18,” which anyone can do. These seven states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Texas, Utah, and Virginia) have required users to show ID and prove they are 18 and over. That means adults can still use “adult entertainment,” and kids will have a more challenging time doing so. …

Pornhub has responded to four of these state laws by blocking its website in those states entirely. Many other industries do not have wide latitude to allow children to access their products for sensible reasons supported by the law. If “adult entertainment” companies can’t survive when their customers are actually proven to be adults, it’s on them to adjust their business strategy.