# Ohio wants your drivers license to view online porn **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 19, 2025, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800 "2025-03-19T00:10:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/1 "2025-03-19T00:10:42Z")
There is no end to the Christian fundamentalists. > **[House Bill 84 or 1984? Ohio lawmakers want to require state ID to watch porn](https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/politics/ohio-lawmakers-want-to-require-state-id-to-watch-porn)** > > Ohio lawmakers are edging closer to requiring all porn watchers to submit their state ID and other personal information before accessing explicit content. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/2 "2025-03-19T00:12:28Z")
I’m not even sure what sort of porn a little plastic card would appreciate. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/3 "2025-03-19T00:17:35Z")
Naked crash test dummies and vibrators. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/4 "2025-03-19T00:18:49Z")
Insert your own “stick shift” joke here. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/5 "2025-03-19T01:04:02Z")
This is essentially a backdoor attempt to ban online porn in the state, since the websites don’t want to deal with the security risks in ID verification and will just block users from that state instead. Fortunately for Ohioans, VPNs exist and are legal. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/6 "2025-03-19T01:07:12Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > This is essentially a backdoor attempt I see what you did there. You’ve been VERY NAUGHTY!! ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/7 "2025-03-19T01:11:11Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Insert your own “stick shift” joke here. Will there be stiff penalties? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/8 "2025-03-19T01:31:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m not even sure what sort of porn a little plastic card would appreciate. And wouldn’t it already be stiff? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/9 "2025-03-19T02:04:40Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > This is essentially a backdoor attempt to ban online porn in the state, since the websites don’t want to deal with the security risks in ID verification and will just block users from that state instead. Yeah, this is the case in the majority of southern states at this point with major sites like PornHub just blocking you if your IP comes from that state. Aside from VPNs, this also just encourages people to seek out shadier porn sites that are hosted in countries that don’t give a shit about Ohio state law. Such sites are also more likely to host content dealing with underage participants, non-consensual sex, and other stuff that the major sites have some interest in trying to distance themselves from. So the savvy people use VPNs to watch porn and the others wind up at totally-legit-porn-dot-ru and it’s hard to think of the upside for this law aside from messaging how virtuous Ohio is. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/10 "2025-03-19T12:22:43Z")
I read a post from someone from here in Tennessee that age verification is now required. He was able to do it with face recognition. It used the camera on his computer and it was able to verify his age. It was a one-time thing because it was associated with his account. Wondering… could a teenager “borrow” his father’s driver’s licence to get something set up? Then share username and password with his friends? . ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/11 "2025-03-19T12:27:56Z")
Carrie Nation rides again! > **[Carrie Nation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Nation)** > > Caroline Amelia Nation (November 25, 1846 – June 9, 1911), often referred to as Carrie, Carry Nation, Carrie A. Nation, or Hatchet Granny, was an American who was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the advent of Prohibition. Nation is noted for attacking alcohol-serving establishments (most often taverns) with a hatchet. She married David Nation in 1874. She was previously known by either her birth name, Carrie Moore and, after her first marriage i Nation... Hey Ho Way to go [**Ohio**](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=thu8DWsirJo) [The only decent thing **[Rush Pigbaugh](https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/jpxjdg/til_the_pretenders_song_my_city_was_gone_is_used/)** _ever_ did] And since they’re tying it to (basically) a Driver’s License, shall we assume they’ll be doing training and testing in order to ensure that people are ready, safe, and competent to consume online pornography? And just what would _that_ look like? Hm. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/12 "2025-03-19T12:37:15Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Aside from VPNs, this also just encourages people to seek out shadier porn sites that are hosted in countries that don’t give a shit about Ohio state law. Such sites are also more likely to host content dealing with underage participants, non-consensual sex, and other stuff that the major sites have some interest in trying to distance themselves from. So the savvy people use VPNs to watch porn and the others wind up at totally-legit-porn-dot-ru and it’s hard to think of the upside for this law aside from messaging how virtuous Ohio is. So very much this. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/13 "2025-03-19T15:27:48Z")
Okay, I’m going to be the killjoy who says I don’t want my daughter growing up in a world where the average age for first viewing porn is 12, and teens regularly watching hardcore porn before even having their first kiss is the norm. I don’t think it’s healthy; it leads to unrealistic expectations on both sides, and to young people believing there is something wrong with them when they can’t live up to or don’t enjoy the things they see in porn. I’d like to make it more difficult to get hold of porn rather than banning it completely, and it sounds like this scheme will do that, one way or another. Whether it will ultimately make things better or worse, we’ll get to see. Hopefully someone is studying the results. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/14 "2025-03-19T15:47:34Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > I’d like to make it more difficult to get hold of porn rather than banning it completely, and it sounds like this scheme will do that, one way or another. It **will not** make it any more difficult to view porn online.It will only make it more difficult to view sites based in the US.. As was said > [@Jophiel](#): > > Aside from VPNs, this also just encourages people to seek out shadier porn sites that are hosted in countries that don’t give a shit about Ohio state law. Such sites are also more likely to host content dealing with underage participants, non-consensual sex, and other stuff that the major sites have some interest in trying to distance themselves from. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/15 "2025-03-19T15:47:35Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Okay, I’m going to be the killjoy who says I don’t want my daughter growing up in a world where the average age for first viewing porn is 12, and teens regularly watching hardcore porn before even having their first kiss is the norm Which is fair but this will do nothing to stop that. If you type “naked boobies” into your search engine, you’ll just eventually land upon some site hosted in central/eastern Europe, Russia or southwest Asia where the hosts aren’t worried about how mad the Ohio legislature gets. The “enforcement” is to require porn hosts to verify your age or face fines. If you’re a “reputable” porn host like PornHub, you just decide to forego the risk and say “No one from an Ohio IP is allowed here” rather than let someone in and get fined because they beat the system. If you’re running a porn host out of Estonia, you don’t give a shit because you’re not going to be extradited to Ohio to pay some fine. So our 12 year old gets blocked from PornHub and goes down the list until he gets to the shadier site being hosted overseas. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/16 "2025-03-19T15:52:35Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > where the hosts aren’t worried about how mad the Ohio legislature gets. I don’t want to hijack, but maybe this is relevant. Why do internet providers bother to tell [whoever] where their customers are located? In other words, why is this set up so Pornhub can even know what state I’m in? (Ignore VPNs for now). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/17 "2025-03-19T16:09:20Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > In other words, why is this set up so Pornhub can even know what state I’m in? (Ignore VPNs for now). So PornHub can tell you about “Desperate women near you”. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/18 "2025-03-19T16:22:01Z")
And I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but isn’t it for much the same reason that your license plate has to be prominently displayed on your car – traceability? ETA: which can be useful for data gathering, analysis, and marketing in no end of commercial ventures. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/19 "2025-03-19T16:26:26Z")
At its most basic, if someone is at your door saying “knock, knock” you probably want the option of asking who’s there. In theory, that’s what your IP address provides (though not on a granular level). ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800/20 "2025-03-19T16:38:51Z")
I have a further thought > [@DemonTree](#): > > Okay, I’m going to be the killjoy who says I don’t want my daughter growing up in a world where the average age for first viewing porn is 12, and teens regularly watching hardcore porn before even having their first kiss is the norm. Of course you will find “hardcore porn” on Pornhub and most porn sites based in the US. You will **not** find- actual rape, pornography involving minors, bestiality and various other nasty things. Those are, very properly, against the law in this country. If you need to prove legal age to view US porn sites, the very easy answer is to view porn sites in other countries. The chances of accidentally stumbling on something that is illegal in the US are fairly high. The chances of finding that material if you actually look for it are close to 100%. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohio-wants-your-drivers-license-to-view-online-porn/1015800.md?page=2)