As of the first day of 2025, residents of Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina are blocked from Pornhub, after the company extended from 1 January 2025 the list of states that, due to their laws, can no longer access the popular porn site.

According to the site Florida Politics, Aylo (Pornhub’s parent company) took this action in protest of age verification regulations that impose new laws in these states starting in the new year.

“To be clear, by blocking access in these states, we are in full compliance with the law,” an Aylo spokesperson said in an email.

Recall that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new bill last March that requires websites with pornographic content or other content deemed “harmful to minors” to use third parties to verify age before users access material.

Aylo argues that the new Florida law unfairly burdens sites of pornographic material. The company spokesperson stresses that Aylo supports age verification requirements, but believes that such verifications should be done at the device level, e.g., through app stores, since there would be fewer security and privacy risks that way, compared to a method that forces users to upload ID documents online.

“Some people misinterpreted the blocking of access in Florida as an indication that we don’t want to implement age verification. This is inaccurate,” the spokesperson wrote. “The problem is simply that the law is designed in a dangerous and sloppy way that compromises the privacy of users, as well as the safety of adults and children.”

Republican Rep. Jace Trammond of Port Orange, who sponsored the bill, said that’s not the case and that it makes sense for those who post content to control who has access to it.

“It’s simple: age verification on the website directly confirms the user, regardless of the device used,” Trammond said. “They’re trying to blame someone else. Age verification methods are implemented every day ensuring the privacy of individuals.”

The law passed in the Florida House by a vote of 109-4. It’s worth noting that most of the opposing votes involved more controversial age verification requirements for social media platforms, while the bill focused only on pornography initially passed by a vote of 119-0.

Many states in recent years have already imposed verification requirements on pornography sites. In fact, Aylo already blocks access to Pornhub in 14 other states with different laws: Virginia, Montana, North Carolina, Arkansas, Utah, Mississippi, Texas, Nebraska, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama and Oklahoma. The addition of the three states from January means that internet users in 17 states will no longer have access to the site, with Florida being the most populous state on the list.