Towards the end of November, the state of Missouri passed a law that mandated all adult websites to enforce an identity check system. The objective is to ensure that users below the legal age threshold can’t access sexually explicit and harmful material. Websites that don’t comply with the state regulation will face punitive action. Soon after the law was enforced, there was a rapid spike in the search for VPN solutions, so that users can skirt around the geofencing if a website asks them to verify their identity.
Based on Google Trends data localized to the state, TechRadar reported that there was a roughly four times increase in the number of VPN- search terms, citing a 30-day log of search data. A day after the law was enforced, there was a sharp two-fold increase in the volume of search queries involving VPNs. The trend is not unheard of, and it’s not just limited to explicit content. Multiple countries in the not too distant past, have banned popular platforms and communication sites. As a result, users often turn to VPNs to access them, which is the case with the netizens of Missouri.
The sudden surge in searches for VPN is pretty obvious; the whole idea of submitting your personal information with a state-issued ID card to sites that contain what the state of Missouri defines as “material harmful to minors” is the real risk. These websites are notorious for intrusive ads and redirects that land users on extremely risky websites. Privacy advocates have fought against such online age verification protocols for years, citing obvious cybersecurity risks.
Why it’s a risky scenario?
The age verification protocol was implemented under the aegis of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, which mandatorily directs websites hosting adult-themed content to verify the identity of users visiting those websites. According to a press statement shared by the Missouri Attorney General’s office, PornHub — one of the biggest porn sites on the planet — blocked access to its website within hours of the rule kicking into action.
The objective behind the move is to avoid asking users to submit a legal identification document to verify that they are 18 years old or older. A healthy few sites that fall under the banner of such laws often don’t comply, and simply block access because implementing a secure system for age verification is an added infrastructure burden for them, and makes them a ripe target for hackers to steal personal data of users.
“If a billion-dollar corporation would rather leave Missouri than verify that children are not accessing graphic sexual content, that tells you everything you need to know about its priorities,” said Catherine L. Hanaway, the state’s attorney general. Missouri’s sweeping age verification rule applies not only to websites that are explicitly pornographic in nature. Instead, it also covers sites and services on which one-third, or more, of the hosted content is sexually explicit in nature.
Citing research that highlights how kids get their first exposure to pornographic content as young as 11 or 12 years of age, the state notes that such material seeds violent, degrading, or explicitly misogynistic ideas into the young minds. Scientific research has also proved that watching this type of content not only distorts a person’s perception of natural sexual chemistry and severely affects their ability to handle real human relationships, as a result.
