Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub.com, has reiterated its stance to U.S. lawmakers that current age verification laws are ineffective in protecting minors online. The company advocates for device-based age verification as a more viable solution, while continuing to face challenges from state-level age verification mandates.

Aylo's Stance on Age Verification

On July 29, 2026, Aylo issued a letter to numerous elected officials and lawmakers across the United States, including state lawmakers, governors, and attorneys general in states enforcing age verification laws. The letter, signed by Pornhub, stated that age verification laws and technology are an ineffective means to protect minors on the internet. Aylo expressed deep concern about the harm caused by what it described as "performative, ineffective, and unenforceable age verification laws." The company argued that individuals subjected to these laws are more at risk of encountering online harm.

Aylo's institutional position is that age verification can only be an effective tool to keep minors off its sites when device-based verification is adopted. The letter specifically called on officials to mandate operating system providers such as Apple, Microsoft, and Google to enable parental controls by default on mobile phones, tablets, and computers. Aylo cited successful implementation with age verification at the device or operating system level when Apple deployed an iOS update that showed successful verification. Anthony Penhale, chief legal officer for Aylo, stated that "site-based age assurance approaches [are] fundamentally flawed and counterproductive."

This argument is not new for Aylo. In November 2025, the Canadian company sent letters to Apple, Google, and Microsoft, urging them to support device-based age verification in their app stores and operating systems. Aylo continues to argue that site-level age verification is ineffective. Alex Kekesi, vice president of brand and community at Pornhub, noted an "exponential surge in searches for alternate adult sites without age restrictions or safety standards at all" in jurisdictions with age assurance laws.

Impact of Current Age Verification Laws

Age verification laws adopted in the United States are often easily circumvented and can carry punitive punishments. For example, an adult website owner in Tennessee could face a felony charge for failing to comply with the state’s age verification requirements. Other approaches include heavy civil penalties enforced by private parties through civil enforcement actions. Utah is one such state where private parties are permitted by state law to bring age verification claims alleging injury. Lawsuits brought by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation group in Kansas were dismissed due to lack of legal standing and jurisdictional issues.

Pornhub is currently blocked in 25 U.S. states, which is half of the country, due to age verification laws. These laws typically require visitors to sites with over a third of explicit content to submit a government ID or another form of age authentication. Louisiana was the first state to enact such a bill. In June 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that Texas's age verification law was constitutional, setting a precedent for similar bills. Despite these laws, a preliminary study indicated that age verification would not work to keep minors off porn sites due to the use of VPNs and the existence of non-compliant websites. The Florida attorney general is suing foreign-based porn sites for not instituting age verification.

Pornhub's traffic has significantly decreased in jurisdictions where age assurance laws have been implemented, or where the company has shut down operations. For instance, since the UK implemented age assurance requirements under the Online Safety Act in July, Pornhub has lost nearly 80 percent of its UK users. Aylo has responded to these laws by cutting off access to its platforms in over half of U.S. states. However, these geoblocks can be bypassed using mainstream virtual private networks (VPNs) and proxy server systems.

Legislative Efforts and Industry Concerns

Ohio lawmakers are working to address loopholes that allow pornographic websites to circumvent the state's new age verification requirement. Ohio's law, passed last summer, requires age verification through methods such as submitting a photo of a state ID, entering personal information into a third-party system, or using facial recognition technology. The law also includes provisions for geofencing and geolocation to block users. Cosponsor Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Township) supports these measures.

Mallory McMaster, who has followed proposals to restrict access to explicit content, expressed concerns about creating a log of pornography watched. She stated that "creating a log of the pornography that we watch is not a direction that we want to go in as a country."

Aylo's letter concluded by stating, "We can no longer accept laws that create the appearance of action while failing to address the challenge of keeping kids safe online." It also highlighted concerns that these laws drive regulated businesses out of jurisdictions, creating a market for "bad actors online" when a viable solution, referring to device-based verification, exists.

Key Facts

  • Aylo, parent company of Pornhub, sent a letter to U.S. lawmakers on July 29, 2026, arguing that current age verification laws are ineffective.
  • Aylo advocates for device-based age verification, citing successful implementation with an Apple iOS update.
  • Pornhub is blocked in 25 U.S. states due to age verification laws.
  • The Supreme Court ruled Texas's age verification law constitutional in June 2025.
  • Pornhub lost nearly 80 percent of its UK users since age assurance requirements were implemented in July.
  • Ohio lawmakers are working to close loopholes in their state's age verification requirement.