FSC Offers Explainer on Kansas Age-Verification Lawsuits

“In four lawsuits filed on May 12, 2025, a minor identified as Q.R., through his mother, claims he accessed adult sites in Kansas without encountering legally compliant age verification protocols,” FSC noted. “They are suing four different sites for approximately $14 million dollars in damages. This is the first known lawsuit filed by a private party on the basis of a state age verification law.”

As FSC explained, the plaintiffs in the suits are “represented by the so-called National Center on Sexual Exploitation (formerly Morality in Media), which has campaigned for decades to abolish the adult industry.”

“The NCOSE Law Center is involved in numerous other legal suits against adult platforms, which they use to raise funds for and garner attention to their pro-censorship agenda,” FSC added.

FSC observed that in the lawsuits, “Q.R.’s mother installed filters on his personal devices, but claim the minor was still able to access adult sites using an old laptop in his mother’s closet which did not have a filter installed.”

The suit alleges that over a period of months, Q.R. “allegedly accessed adult sites more than 175 times.” The lawsuit asserts the sites targeted in the legal action are liable for damages of approximately $75,000 for each time Q.R. visited a site.

“While Kansas law provides statutory damages of $50,000 for violations of the law, plaintiffs are asking for additional damages citing ‘pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement and mental anguish,’ ‘psychological injury,’  ‘past and future loss of enjoyment and pleasure of living,’ and ‘past and future necessary medical expenses,’” FSC explained, adding that as of yet, “no evidence to support these allegations has been provided.”

The plaintiffs also allege the defendants took a variety of other actions which subject them to personal jurisdiction in Kansas, including geotargeting ads to Kansas users; monetizing ads shown to Kansas users; employing a CDN with nodes in Kansas to ensure high-speed access for Kansas users; allowing users to filter search results to models based in Kansas and selling subscriptions or tokens to Kansas users.

“While plaintiffs allege that the named defendants satisfy the personal jurisdiction test, it remains to be seen whether these allegations are true and, if so, are enough to establish a connection to the state,” FSC stated in the blog post.

FSC advised adult site operators that if their website is “accessible in the state of Kansas, or other states that have passed age-verification laws, you may be at risk, particularly if you are not employing “commercially reasonable” age-verification protocols.

“Consult with your attorney to determine if you are at risk,” FSC recommended.

Click here to read the FSC’s blog post in full.