Why this is important:

We need to talk about a growing crisis affecting young people across the USA, including in Pennsylvania: Pornography. Right now, our laws treat 18-year-olds as if they are fully equipped to handle the lifelong consequences that can result from the multi-billion-dollar adult content industry. But science, psychology, and reality tell a completely different story... 

It is a proven scientific fact that the human brain does not fully develop until around the age of 25. According to neuroimaging research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for long-term risk assessment, impulse control, and emotional regulation) is still actively maturing during these years. We already recognize this restriction in everyday life; you often have to be 25 just to rent a commercial vehicle because insurance and medical data show younger brains process risk differently.

Yet, the moment a young person turns 18, they are targeted by an industry that could alter the rest of their lives.

Right now, Pennsylvania has a historic opportunity to lead the way in digital safety, mental health, and human dignity. Our lawmakers are already debating how to handle the dangers of online adult content through two major bills moving through the General Assembly: House Bill 1513 and Senate Bill 603. These bills are trying to mandate ID age verification for adult sites, to prevent children and minors from gaining access. This would mean any site that includes pornographic or adult content would require it's users to upload a photo ID to verify their age before viewing the content. (Many have also proposed a third party ID verification system to keep users' data secure, which could be implemented along with our proposal here).

While these bills are a massive step in the right direction for minors, we need Pennsylvania to make real strides by stretching this vital momentum to where the science says protection actually belongs:  the age of 25.

Here is why this change is urgently needed:
 

1. A Brand New Era of Addiction Technology: This is a crisis our society has never faced before. In previous generations, pornography was physically restricted. Today, access is unlimited, instant, and completely anonymous. Adult platforms are built like modern social media apps, using high-tech algorithms designed specifically to capitalize on dopamine surges. These algorithms intentionally push users toward increasingly intense, violent, and extreme content just to keep them hooked. To make matters worse, the content itself increasingly features younger performers, feeding a dangerous cycle of exploitation.

 2. The Struggle to Rewire Developing Brains: Brain-mapping studies show that early exposure to pornography triggers massive dopamine spikes that mirror substance addiction, rewiring a young person's reward pathways. Because of this, millions of men are now actively trying to quit but find themselves trapped in a cycle of struggling over and over again. They are fighting compulsive habits that were deeply built into their neurobiology when they were just impressionable teenagers, severely damaging their capacity for real-world, healthy intimacy and adult relationships.

 3. Social Media Coercion & High Regret: Young women are increasingly being pressured, peer-pressured, or digitally coerced by social media and online culture to create adult content the second they turn 18. They are promised quick money, but they aren't prepared for the toll it takes. Industry data shows the average career span for a female performer in the adult industry is less than six months, with roughly 30% leaving after filming just one video. The industry chews them up and spits them out, but their intimate images remain online forever, damaging future career prospects and mental health.

 4. The Link to Sex Trafficking: The massive, unregulated demand for online pornography acts as a major driver for human and sex trafficking networks. By tightening restrictions and requiring real identity verification up to age 25, we cut off a massive avenue for exploitation.
We protect minors, but we are completely failing our young adults during their most vulnerable developmental years. By building upon the framework of HB 1513 and SB 603, Pennsylvania can set a powerful national example for protecting young brains and hearts from digital exploitation.

Our Demand: 

We urge the Pennsylvania General Assembly to build upon current legislation and pass measures that:

 1.  Raises the legal age to view, purchase, produce, or be featured in commercial pornography to 25.

 2. Implements the proposed third-party verification protocols to ensure robust age verification while strictly maintaining consumer anonymity and data privacy.

 3. Holds platforms accountable with severe penalties if they exploit anyone under 25.

*This not only includes platforms such as PornHub and other pornography sites, but websites such as Reddit and X, along with any other platform that allows pornographic content. 

Please sign this petition to protect our young adults (who are just beginning to figure out how to navigate life as adults), to support healthy real life relationships between these young adults, to protect them from dangerous addictions that rewire their brains, and to stop digital exploitation in Pennsylvania!