Age Verification in the US
We continue to block access to wildoncam.com in more states that have passed age verification laws.
Last Updated: December 31, 2024
Over the past year, wildoncam.com had to make the difficult decision to block access to users in the following American states due to Age Verification laws:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
What does age verification mean?
In the context of these laws, age verification requires users to prove that they are 18+ to view adult content.
There are multiple ways that a user can prove their age, but any effective method requires them to submit some form of personally identifiable information (“PII”), like a driver's license. By assigning this responsibility to the platform(s) visited by a user, this means submitting private information many times to adult sites all over the internet, while normalizing disclosure of PII across the internet. This is not a privacy-by-design approach.
It also creates a substantial risk for identity theft. Since age verification software requires users to hand over extremely sensitive information, it opens the door for the risk of data breaches. Whether or not your intentions are good, governments have historically struggled to secure this data. It also creates an opportunity for criminals to exploit and extort people through phishing attempts or fake AV processes, an unfortunate and all too common practice.
What you need to know – a device-based solution
More of these laws are coming, and the safety of our users is one of our biggest concerns. However, the best and most effective solution for protecting minors and adults alike is to identify users at the source: by their device, or account on the device, and allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that identification. This means users would only get verified once, through their operating system, not on each age-restricted site. This dramatically reduces privacy risks and creates a very simple process for regulators to enforce.
We encourage you to learn more about device-based verification solutions that make the internet safer for all, especially children, while also respecting your privacy. Read our op-ed on Why Device-Based Age Verification is the Key to Protecting Minors Online or watching this video on Making the Internet Safer with Device-Based Age Verification.
What is the ideal solution?
The only viable solution that will make the internet safer, preserve user privacy, and stands to prevent children from accessing material harmful to minors is performing age verification at the source: on the device itself.
What can community members do?
To fight against these haphazard and dangerous laws, we encourage all members of our community to stand up for your freedom to enjoy and consume porn privately. There are a few ways you can do this.
First, spread the message on social media. Using your platform to raise awareness and to help your fans understand the implications of these poorly designed laws is the first step in making a change. Be loud, be vocal, and show how important it is for us to get this right. We believe the only way for these laws to be effective is to have age verification on the devices used to access adult content.
Second, contact your local government and encourage your fans to do the same! Change begins when the public applies pressure and contacts lawmakers. Write them letters or emails, call their offices, tweet at them, demand changes and demand answers. It is their job as civil servants to respond to concerned citizens. In your letters, you can request device-based age verification solutions. By doing this, your safety and privacy, as well as the safety of your children, are protected much better than entering your ID every time you want to visit an adult website. In the meantime, share this blog widely to help spread the word!
And third, stay informed on legislative updates. Please check back often on the Free Speech Coalition Age Verification page.
Don’t give up! We know that normalizing sex work and sexual expression is an uphill battle, but it can be done. We must be vocal about it. Change begins with raising our voices, educating others, and engaging in these important conversations on our socials to spread the message. For more information, visit the Free Speech Coalition.