NC State Legislature Passes Age Verification Law

RALEIGH—Lawmakers in North Carolina have passed a bill that would institute age verification requirements in order to access adult entertainment websites from IP addresses located in the state. This new requirement was attached to an unrelated bill on computer science curriculum in high schools, House Bill 8. Now, the bill is on its way to the desk of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat. Sen. Amy Galey, a Republican representing the city of Burlington, offered the amendment to House Bill 8 to align North Carolina's laws to reflect other states, like Texas and Utah. Galey, during floor discussions on the amendment, referred to how Pornhub.com's web traffic dropped by around 80 percent after Louisiana became the first state in the union to implement age-gating rules.  Once signed into law, House Bill 8 requires adult website owners to use "commercially reasonable methods of age and identity verification." It also makes it illegal for adult websites to retain personal information acquired by the platforms to confirm the age of their users.  Internet service providers and search engines would not be held liable under the new law. It also sets up a provision to allow parents to sue providers of adult sites if there are violations of the age verification statutes.  Language in the bill dubs this measure the Pornography Age Verification Enforcement Act. Similar legislation is being contemplated in the states of Tennessee, Illinois and Delaware to be introduced in upcoming legislative sessions. Montana will be the next state to see an age verification measure enter force on January 1, 2024.