To: Lawmakers and Government Officials

We, the undersigned, call upon state and federal legislators to enact laws that protect adult website operators, content creators, and businesses subject to age verification mandates. While we recognize the importance of shielding minors from adult content, the current laws unfairly place the entire burden of compliance—and the severe financial penalties for failure—solely on lawful businesses, even when they have fully complied with state requirements.

The Issue:
States such as Texas, Louisiana, Utah, and others have enacted age verification laws that impose costly requirements on adult websites, including mandatory third-party verification services that can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month. These laws allow for penalties as high as $10,000 per day—or even $250,000 if a minor gains access—without consideration of whether the website operator took every reasonable step to comply.

Under current laws, if a minor manages to bypass the required verification process—whether through the use of a parent’s device, stolen credentials, or VPN technology—the business is still held liable, facing devastating fines or legal action. Yet, the parents—who failed to monitor or restrict their child’s use of bypassing tools—face no consequences.

This creates an environment where:

Small businesses and new startups are unable to compete due to excessive compliance costs.
Innovation in adult content platforms is stifled, allowing only large corporations to survive.
Parents face no consequences for failing to supervise their children’s online activities.
Compliant businesses are penalized while negligent parenting goes unchecked.
The Privacy and Security Risks for Adults:
Age verification laws also create significant privacy concerns for adults by forcing them to provide personal information, such as government-issued IDs, just to access legal content. This practice:

Invades the privacy of law-abiding adults who must submit sensitive data to access websites.
Creates a dangerous precedent where providing personal information for online activities becomes the norm.
Increases the risk of identity theft, blackmail, and extortion by forcing users to share personal data with third-party verification companies that could be hacked or exploited.
Endangers LGBTQ+ individuals and others who are not publicly out by exposing their viewing habits and personal information.
Requiring adults to verify their identity before viewing legal content sets a dangerous standard, where accessing personal or controversial material online comes with the threat of exposure and potential harm.

The Role of VPNs in Bypassing Age Verification:
Minors frequently use VPNs to manipulate their internet access and bypass geolocation-based restrictions, gaining access to content that has been lawfully restricted in their region. Despite an adult website’s full compliance with verification requirements, children using VPNs can still gain access. Yet, the business remains unfairly penalized, while the parents—who failed to supervise or restrict their child’s use of bypassing technology—are not held accountable.

Our Demand:
We urge legislators to introduce laws that hold parents equally accountable when a minor gains access to adult websites despite the site’s full compliance with state-mandated age verification laws. Specifically, we propose that:

Parental Responsibility: If an adult website has met the legal requirements for age verification, but a minor still gains access—including through the use of VPNs or other circumvention tools—the parent(s) or guardian(s) should be subject to the same fines and penalties that would otherwise be imposed on the website.
Fair Application of Laws: If a website demonstrates full compliance with state verification laws, it should not be held liable for punitive action simply because a minor circumvented safeguards through deception or the misuse of technology.
Parental Negligence in Technology Use: Parents must be held accountable for failing to ensure that VPNs and other tools are used responsibly by their children for legal purposes only, rather than unlawfully bypassing safeguards that websites have spent significant money implementing.
Protection for Privacy and Security: Laws must take into account the privacy risks of requiring adults to provide personal data for access to legal content, preventing the creation of a system ripe for identity theft, blackmail, and exposure of sensitive personal information.
Protection for Small Businesses: Legislators must consider the financial burden placed on small businesses and independent creators, ensuring that competition in the adult industry is not crushed by excessive compliance costs.
Why This Matters:
Age verification laws, as currently written, disproportionately harm new businesses, preventing competition and innovation.
Holding parents accountable for their children's internet activity reinforces personal responsibility and reduces unfair targeting of legal businesses.
VPN circumvention is a growing issue that renders existing laws ineffective unless responsibility is shared by those enabling the bypass—primarily, the parents.
Privacy rights must be protected to prevent government overreach, identity theft, and blackmail risks.
A balanced approach ensures that the adult industry can operate lawfully without undue financial strain while still protecting minors from inappropriate content.
We demand that lawmakers take immediate action to introduce fair and reasonable legislation that protects both children and lawful adult businesses. The burden of responsible internet use should not rest solely on content creators and website operators—it must also include the role of parents in supervising their children’s online activity and ensuring that security tools like VPNs are used responsibly.

Sign this petition to support fairness in age verification laws, protect online privacy, and defend the future of independent adult content creators and businesses.