Utah’s porn age checks are a win for families—and a model for the country

Put the duty on commercial porn sites, protect verification data, and enforce the rules. Utah’s enforcement of porn age checks is a win for families: on Nov. 2, KSL reporter Maria Shilaos announced, “Utah today begins enforcing mandatory age verification for adult websites.”¹

Sen. Calvin Musselman, the bill’s sponsor, told KSL, “They need all the help they can get and it's not unreasonable to ask those that are providing that material to provide some level of scrutiny as to who's accessing it.”² Senate Bill 73 authorizes the Division of Consumer Protection, part of Utah’s Department of Commerce, to actively pursue companies that violate the law. ” Aylo says it supports age verification but argues that laws must protect user privacy and children, and favors verification on devices, KSL reports. The Sept. 24 injunction blocked the actual-location provision, not the underlying requirement that commercial websites with substantial amounts of sexually explicit material use reasonable methods to verify users’ ages.

“They need all the help they can get and it's not unreasonable to ask those that are providing that material to provide some level of scrutiny as to who's accessing it.”

The state can investigate and fine violators

With that authority, investigators can audit websites, document violations and initiate enforcement actions, Cache Valley Daily reports. The Department of Commerce says violators could face fines of up to $2,500 per violation³.

A requirement without enforcement leaves compliance to a website’s willingness. Parents deserve a rule that makes ignoring children’s access costly.

$2,500

The law checks age, not identity

Aylo, the owner of Pornhub and other adult websites, told KSL that any age-verification law “must preserve user safety and privacy, and must effectively protect children from accessing content intended for adults.”²

Utah’s law answers that objection: websites and third-party verification services cannot retain identifying information after granting access³. Department of Commerce Executive Director Margaret Busse told KSL that deletion must be immediate and the state collects none of that data².

The court blocked only the location rule

Judge David Barlow’s injunction gives Aylo relief only from the actual-location provision. The blocked provision concerned users concealing their physical locations through virtual private networks, or VPNs; the underlying age-verification requirement remained in place, Cache Valley Daily reports³.

The Department of Commerce says the ruling permits action against companies that fail to adequately verify ages². Officials should enforce that duty while respecting the injunction.

Every state and Congress should copy Utah

Keeping children out of commercial pornography is a legitimate boundary, not censorship. Parents retain the responsibility to raise their children; businesses should bear responsibility for restricting access to the adult material they distribute. An age check supports parental authority rather than leaving families to fight those businesses alone.

Lawmakers elsewhere should adopt Utah’s combination of mandatory checks, deletion safeguards and enforceable consequences. Parents should demand clear answers: Will their legislators require commercial porn sites to keep children out? Will they protect verification data and authorize meaningful enforcement? Every state and Congress should answer yes—and pass those protections.

Sources

1. @MariaShilaos on X, 2026-11-02: Utah today begins enforcing mandatory age verification for adult websites. On the KSL News Daily, I speak with the head of the Utah Division of Consumer Protection and the law’s Senate sponsor about what it requires and how enforcement will work. https://pla, 2026-11-02
2. Utah to start enforcing its law requiring porn sites to verify ages of users | KSL.com
3. Utah warns adult websites of penalties as age verification enforcement begins Monday | News | cachevalleydaily.com