# You can't watch Pornhub in Texas (for the time being) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 15, 2024, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866 "2024-03-15T12:17:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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 16, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/61 "2024-03-16T13:40:39Z")
Technologically, it’s the same system used to generate ads that are customized for your location. And no, I’m not just talking about “Hot MILFs in \ want to meet you!” (though that’s included): It’s also things like ads for normal local businesses. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/62 "2024-03-16T20:21:05Z")
This type of law, when applied to a global market, only has the effect of shutting down or restricting the sites you have legal power over, thereby shifting viewers to even sketchier sites the government has no control over whatsoever. Stupid. It’s also ineffective. Some browsers even come with their own VPNs now. Getting around this is trivial. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2024, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/63 "2024-03-18T11:26:42Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > It’s also ineffective. Some browsers even come with their own VPNs now. Getting around this is trivial. “Well, I was trying to protect the children! Why are you against that?” they’d say. Not you in particular, just that this law seems performative, as others have mentioned as well. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/64 "2025-12-02T23:59:56Z")
You can’t watch Pornhub (for now, anyway) in Missouri, thanks to an age-verification law they’ve passed for “adult websites.” I personally think it’s a good idea, because they are not consenting adults (and yes, I am very aware that kids have looked at this stuff ever since the days of cave paintings) and this is how Pornhub chose to deal with it, and it’s their decision. I even saw chatter that it can’t be accessed from Missouri even with a VPN. Has anyone here tried it? All of the above is MHO, of course. > **[Missouri’s new age-verification rule for pornographic websites goes into...](https://www.wgem.com/2025/12/02/missouris-new-age-verification-rule-pornographic-websites-goes-into-effect-pornhub-reacts/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOcWJFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF5bWFPZUhnS0NhdUp5VG9ic3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHp7zWPgFwPKAx-RWbmCL-CKkNcatEVrY6bUk3pXtEscTTI9xfGZC-nfqpcyw_aem_RC1CgtcujSTbVPI_-DGEQw)** > > Missouri’s new age-verification rule for pornographic websites is now fully enforced. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/65 "2025-12-03T00:11:22Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > You can’t watch Pornhub (for now, anyway) in Missouri, thanks to an age-verification law they’ve passed for “adult websites.” I thought Missouri was the “Show me” state. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/66 "2025-12-03T00:22:03Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > You can’t watch Pornhub (for now, anyway) in Missouri, thanks to an age-verification law they’ve passed for “adult websites.” I personally think it’s a good idea, Oh, I don’t think it’s a good idea at all. It has nothing to do with protecting children and everything to do with surveillance, social control, and privacy violations. To the extent they want to protect children (read: teenagers), they want to prevent them from accessing _gay_ porn. This is part of a broader crackdown from the ultra-right at removing public access to ideas they don’t like. This includes porn and romance novels with progressive themes. They are using the excuse that some child might theoretically be corrupted by it to ban everything from porn to drag queen bingo. ---
**Author:** ![Meatwater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meatwater/32/20074_2.png) [@Meatwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatwater)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/67 "2025-12-03T00:31:46Z")
They did this in AZ as well (no source just; I live here), I’m super against it for the same eloquent reasons @Spice_Weasel stated above. I wasn’t aware this was happening in so many other states. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/68 "2025-12-03T03:26:23Z")
They did, but it works again without the age verification thing for some reason. No idea what changed, but something did. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2025, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/69 "2025-12-03T04:08:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I personally think it’s a good idea, because they are not consenting adults (and yes, I am very aware that kids have looked at this stuff ever since the days of cave paintings) and this is how Pornhub chose to deal with it, and it’s their decision. This doesn’t stop anyone from watching porn on the internet, it just stops them from watching PornHub on the internet. So instead they search around until they wind up at some much more sketchy site hosted in some country that doesn’t care about Missouri state law. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/70 "2025-12-03T06:25:25Z")
That’s true, but I still don’t have an issue with making it harder (no pun intended) for minors to watch online porn. C’mon, does anyone here really think watch X-rated content is GOOD for kids? ---
**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:** [December 3, 2025, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/71 "2025-12-03T06:27:41Z")
It’s not, but IMO requiring people to upload their government-issued IDs to a sketchy website where there’s no guarantee they won’t be hacked or misused is not the right solution. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2025, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/72 "2025-12-03T06:39:08Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > C’mon, does anyone here really think watch X-rated content is GOOD for kids? Of course not. This just fails to prevent it while opening other problems. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/73 "2025-12-03T06:51:18Z")
It is a good idea to have _ **a** _ form of age verification in front of adult content. _ **This** _ form of age verification is stupid, short-sighted, and unworkable, and is a trojan horse for idiot-conservative social engineering objectives. Do not make the mistake of confusing _ **any** _ age verification with “a good idea” in the abstract. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/74 "2025-12-03T07:01:52Z")
Of course children having access to pornography is bad. It’s a terrible thing to be exposed to when you don’t even understand what it is. You just know you shouldn’t be seeing it. Teens are looking at an alarming(to me) amount. (Age is key, I’d say a young man of 13-14 who hasn’t seen it, is probably lagging behind his peers) We live in a world of images, it’s a thing that needs regulating to prevent it happening where very young children can access it. THIS starts with parents, first. Don’t worry guys, there’s always gonna be pornography. If you don’t wanna give your ID, go to the library. There’s plenty of sexy nekked-ness in books. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/75 "2025-12-03T09:14:17Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Don’t worry guys, there’s always gonna be pornography. My part-time hobby when I was much younger was to locate the most horrifying porn genres in order to scare my friends with the depravity humans are capable of… dinosaur/gay male porn. Check. Dinosaur/straight female porn. Check. As rule 34 says, if you can think of it… it exists. And also if you can’t think of it, it still exists, somewhere on the internet. I have won bets that I could find some of the most depraved porn imaginable: anal sex while giving birth… check. Manga cartoon, though, but still I have an 8 year old son, so he’s not ready yet for porn, but as part of the “birds and bees” lessons he’s going to learn about “private mode” browsing, VPNs, internet safety. He is inevitably going to watch porn, but he is also going to be taught that the short term pleasure is nothing whatsoever when compared to a real relationship. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/76 "2025-12-03T09:33:11Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > he is also going to be taught that the short term pleasure is nothing whatsoever when compared to a real relationship. How do you teach that to your child successfully when they haven’t had a relationship? ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/77 "2025-12-03T09:36:25Z")
Unfortunately I am divorced, so I am not a good example. But I can point to both sets of grandparents, who he adores, and have both been happily married many many years. My brother, my sister - both long term married. I’ve not questioned the boy on this, but he seems to have skipped the “girls are icky” phase common at around his age, probably because he has an older sister who is extremely protective of him. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/78 "2025-12-03T21:52:47Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > We live in a world of images, it’s a thing that needs regulating to prevent it happening where very young children can access it. THIS starts with parents, first. Are you saying four and five year olds are frequently looking at porn, or what? I don’t care what teenagers do. My kid is going to be in the unhappy position of only using screens in public areas of the house. I’m not going to be reading his texts over his shoulder or anything, but I don’t think screens belong in the bedroom. My problem is less with porn and more with sleep deprivation. When he’s a teenager, he’ll probably get up to all kinds of weird shit when he’s home alone, and I don’t really care, as long as he’s not becoming an incel or something. We’ll talk about all the particulars about eight billion times, but in general, I’m very, very, very, very tetchy about policing teens’ sexuality, it certainly makes them more vulnerable to exploitation, and in this case it’s 100% about cutting LGBTQ teens off from avenues to explore their differing sexuality. I had a _lot_ of gay friends in high school. Because their very normal sexual proclivities were so marginalized, because it was a secret they had to hide, they _were_ exploited by older men. They became sexually involved with the only people willing to talk to them about these subjects. The farther you drive anyone into the darkness, the easier it is to hurt them. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/79 "2025-12-03T22:33:58Z")
Very well said ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866/80 "2025-12-03T22:40:06Z")
No. I doubt many 4 or 5 year olds are looking at porn of their own volition. But groomers use pornography for their nefarious purposes. Frequently. Sure, there should be safe places for LGBTQ teens to ask questions and be heard. I don’t think there will be any support for this in today’s reglious stooopid-political climate. You might not care what teenagers do, I assure you their parents do. Little kids grow up to be teens then adults. The talking starts in toddlerhood. The monitoring their online use starts just as young as they look at the first screen. Or unluckily you’ll get that incel young man, or promiscious young lady. Not, always. Of course. This starts in the home. I much prefer the government or the interwebz not teach my child about such a sensitive, important subject. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-cant-watch-pornhub-in-texas-for-the-time-being/998866.md?page=5)