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Holder calls on LGBT attorneys to advance cause of equality

Att’y gen’l addresses annual gay lawyer convention

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U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder called on LGBT lawyers Thursday night to draw on their “considerable passion and expertise” to build on the progress the Obama administration has already made on advancing LGBT rights.

During his keynote speech at the LGBT Bar Association’s annual Lavender Law Conference, Holder said those in attendance are or will be “uniquely situated to use the power of the law” to create a more equal society.

“And you have not only the power, but ā€“ I believe ā€“ the solemn responsibility, to do precisely that: to safeguard the rights and freedoms of everyone in this country, and to carry on the critical but unfinished work that lies ahead,” Holder said.

Holder added as he looked around the room that he “canā€™t help but feel optimistic” about where the efforts of attendees will take the country in the months and years ahead.

The attorney general delivered the remarks before an estimated 1,000 people at the dinner, which took place during the three-day conference at the Washington Hilton in D.C. Attendees discussed the conference as they dined on steak and salmon dinners prepared by the hotel’s kitchen.

During his speech, the attorney general ticked off numerous accomplishments of the Obama administration on LGBT issues, including repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the discontinuation of defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court and working with school districts to investigate and address bullying. Additionally, Holder said the Justice Department continues to “fight for” passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination and an updated Violence Against Women Act with LGBT protections.

Holder cited a Connecticut district court’s recent ruling against Section 3 of DOMA as part of the fallout of the Justice Department’s decision to no longer defend the anti-gay law ā€” noting the judge shared the Obama administration’s belief that laws related to sexual orientation should be subjected to heightened scrutiny, or the assumption they’re unconstitutional.

“Since then, weā€™ve seen an encouraging ā€“ and increasing ā€“ number of courts hold this provision to be unconstitutional, including a federal district court in Connecticut that found that Section 3 fails to survive heightened constitutional scrutiny just last month,” Holder said.

Holder was well received by the audience, which gave him a standing ovation both upon his entrance to the stage and his exit.

Jonah Richmond, a gay 25-year-old student at Vermont Law School, said seeing Holder’s speech was the “opportunity of a lifetime” because of the historic nature of the times on LGBT rights.

Richmond added he was stricken by Holder’s commitment to not defend DOMA and the attorney general’s willingness to cite his LGBT attorneys in the Justice Department to show “he’s very comfortable working with them.”

Steve Ralls, a spokesperson for Immigration Equality, was in attendance during the speech and expressed a similar satisfaction with the attorney’s general remarks.

“I thought the attorney general’s speech was fantastic,” Ralls said. “He did a great job of highlighting the work the administration has done on behalf of the community and highlighting that there’s work left to be done.”

After if anything was absent from the speech that he wished he heard, Ralls replied, “Immigration Equality has a number of outstanding asks to the attorney general and other Cabinet agencies. We remain optimistic that the record of this administration will continue in the direction of progress. We hope by the this time next year, we’ll hear about all the great couples that are getting green cards.”

Among the outstanding requests Immigration Equality has for the administration is placing the marriage-based green card applications for bi-national same-sex couples in abeyance so they can remain together in the United States without fear of deportation.

The attorney general’s full prepared remarks follow:

REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY BY ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER AT THE 2012 LAVENDER LAW CONFERENCE

Thank you, Dā€™Arcy, for those kind words ā€“ and thank you all for such a warm welcome.Ā  Itā€™s a pleasure to be here tonight, and a privilege to join with each of you ā€“ and with so many members of the National LGBT Bar Association ā€“ in celebrating and renewing our shared commitment to advancing the cause of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

Iā€™d particularly like to recognize the Associationā€™s staff and entire leadership team, and to thank them for all theyā€™ve done to bring us together for this yearā€™s Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair.Ā For more than two decades, this important annual event has brought together hundreds of legal practitioners and law students from across the country. This conference provides an opportunity to highlight the extraordinary work that this organizationā€™s members are leading and participating in every day.Ā Ā And it offers a chance to reflect on the progress that, especially over the past few years, each of you has helped make possible ā€“ and to reaffirm our determination to carry this essential work into the future.

Because of your dedicated efforts, you have made this yearā€™s gathering the largest minority recruiting event in the country, and the most successful Lavender Law Conference yet ā€“ with over 260 employers in attendance, including multiple representatives from the United States Department of Justice. In fact, I’m pleased to report that tonight we’re joined by a number of senior Deparment leaders, as well as five United States Attorneys who are strong LGBT allies: Melinda Haag, from the Northern District of California; David Hickton, from the Western District of Pennsylvania; Amanda Marshall, from the District of Oregon; Stephen Wigginton, from the Southern District of Illinois; and Robert Pitman, from the Western District of Texas.

Through workshop sessions, career counseling, and panel discussions, this conference is providing a unique platform for mentoring and engagement among some of the best attorneys in America on cutting-edge legal issues.Ā Youā€™re helping to call attention to the obstacles and biases ā€“ in forms both overt and subtle ā€“ that continue to affect far too many LGBT Americans every day. And youā€™re encouraging collaboration, cooperation, and more effective advocacy as we seek to design and implement innovative strategies for confronting the most persistent challenges that far too many Americans face.

As Attorney General, I consider it a privilege to be part of this annual gathering, and to join such a diverse group of partners, colleagues, and friends in working to strengthen our nationā€™s legal community, and legal system. And as an American, I am deeply proud to stand with you in celebrating the remarkable, once-unimaginable progress that ā€“ particularly over the past three and a half years ā€“ your leadership and coordinated efforts have helped to bring about.

Weā€™ve come together at an exciting moment. Thanks to the work of tireless advocates, activists, and attorneys in ā€“ and far beyond ā€“ this room, our nation has made great strides on the road to LGBT equality and the unfinished struggle to secure and protect the civil rights ofĀ all<Ā Americans. For President Obama, for me, and for our colleagues at every level of the Obama Administration, this work has long been a top priority ā€“ and Iā€™m pleased to note that it has resulted in meaningful, measurable, and enduring change. We can all be proud that, today ā€“ for the first time in history ā€“ those who courageously serve their country in uniform need no longer hide their sexual orientation.Ā  As we approach the one-year anniversary of the end of "Donā€™t Ask, Donā€™t Tell," itā€™s worth celebrating the fact that so many brave servicemen and women can now serve their country proudly, honestly, openly, and without fear of discharge.Ā  We can take pride in the fact that, early last year, President Obama and I directed Justice Department attorneys not to defend the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act.Ā  Since then, weā€™ve seen an encouraging ā€“ and increasing ā€“ number of courts hold this provision to be unconstitutional, including a federal district court in Connecticut that found that Section 3 fails to survive heightened constitutional scrutiny just last month. And we can be encouraged by the robust efforts that our nationā€™s Department of Justice is leading to ensure the vigorous enforcement of civil rights protections in order to safeguard LGBT individuals and others from the most brutal forms of bias-motivated violence. Thanks to the outstanding leadership of my good friend, Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez ā€“ and the dedication of skilled investigators, attorneys, law enforcement officials, and support staffers within the Departmentā€™s Civil Rights Division and throughout its partner agencies ā€“ today, this work is stronger than ever before.Ā And our resolve to meet evolving threats with renewed vigilance has never been more clear. This past April, the Department issued its first-ever indictment for a hate crime based on sexual orientation under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act ā€“ a landmark measure signed into law by President Obama in 2009, which many of the people in this room helped to move forward ā€“ in relation to an alleged anti-gay crime in Kentucky. Since then, weā€™ve continued to review reported incidents that may fall under this legislation. Under this law, weā€™re working to strengthen our ability to achieve justice on behalf of those who are victimized simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. And we stand ready to vigorously pursue allegations of federal hate crimes wherever they arise; to bring charges whenever they are warranted; and to support the efforts of our state and local law enforcement partners to enforce their own hate crimes laws. The Civil Rights Division is also taking the lead in bolstering our ability to educate and train federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials on sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination, in order to ensure that those who serve on the front lines are well-equipped to prevent, identify, and stop it wherever it occurs. Just last month, the Department filed an historic consent decree with the City of New Orleans to address allegations of discrimination and harassment by local police, including against LGBT individuals.Ā In this agreement, and in our broader efforts to combat such actions, we have demonstrated the importance ā€“ and the effectiveness ā€“ of working closely with elected and appointed authorities to identify troubling practices, to correct patterns of repeated violations, and to craft policies and procedures that ensure the rights and freedoms of the citizens that our law enforcement officers are sworn to serve and protect.Ā  In recent years, weā€™ve taken significant steps to raise awareness about the role that community leaders, public officials, and educators can play in protecting a variety of vulnerable populations ā€“ particularly the youngest members of our society.Ā  And weā€™ve worked to expand and extend these protections to make certain that our children can feel safe in their homes, on our streets ā€“ and especially in our schoolyards and classrooms. As many of you know all too well, every school year, bullying touches the lives of countless young people. As weā€™ve seen all too clearly, it can have a devastating ā€“ and potentially lifelong ā€“ impact.Ā  In response, the Department has been collaborating with educators, administrators, and students in school districts nationwide to investigate and address this troubling behavior. Weā€™re working with our partners ā€“ including federal allies like the Department of Education, under the leadership of Secretary Arne Duncan ā€“ to explore ways to stop harassment and bullying before it starts.Ā  In places like Minnesotaā€™s Anoka-Hennepin School District ā€“ where an investigation found that some students faced threats, physical violence, derogatory language, and other forms of harassment on a daily basis ā€“ weā€™ve successfully engaged with school districts and advocates to resolve harassment allegations and lay out detailed blueprints for sustainable reform. As we move forward, we will continue to promote safe and healthy learning environments; to support a Student Non-Discrimination Act that would allow us to better address harassment and bullying based on an individualā€™s real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity; to provide assistance to bullying victims; and to work closely with local leaders, parents, educators, and young people themselves to make certain that all of our students can feel safe ā€“ and free to be themselves ā€“ in school. Beyond these efforts, the Justice Department continues to support ā€“ and to fight for ā€“ legislative and policy reforms like an inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would extend protections to LGBT individuals in all workplaces, and an updated Violence Against Women Act that would ensure that the lawā€™s non-discrimination provisions cover sexual orientation and gender identity. Even in the face of extraordinary budget challenges, we remain determined to use every available resource to build the necessary institutional and legal frameworks to end harassment, violence, and discrimination ā€“ and to provide the safeguards that, for LGBT Americans, my fellow citizens, are long overdue. But my colleagues and I arenā€™t merely content to advocate, and speak out, for these changes and reforms. We understand the importance of leading by example. And thatā€™s why the Justice Department ā€“ and a wide range of agencies throughout the Administration ā€“ have taken decisive action to help create a more inclusive work environment for our own employees.Ā To strengthen our mission of serving all Americans by recruiting ā€“ and retaining ā€“ highly-qualified individuals, like you, who reflect our nationā€™s rich diversity.Ā And to make a sustained and concerted effort to provide the opportunities, support, and respect that every aspiring public servant needs to develop, to grow, and to thrive both personally and professionally. No one understands the importance of creating such an environment ā€“ or has advocated more passionately on behalf of the LGBT community ā€“ than President Obama.Ā Thanks to his leadership, this Administration has made historic strides in adopting inclusive policies and sending a clear message that the federal government is ā€œopen for everyone,ā€ and that it is an employer that accepts and respects every potential employee. For instance, within the Justice Department, I launched a new Diversity Management Initiative in 2010 in order to expand and strengthen strategies and programs for promoting fairness, equality, and opportunity for every member of the DOJ family ā€“ which today includes an increasing number of openly gay or lesbian U.S. Attorneys ā€“ including my good friend, Robert Pitman ā€“ as well as senior Department leaders, U.S. Marshals, the keynote speaker at your Transgender Law Institute and three of the attorneys recently named to the National LGBT Bar Associationā€™s ā€œBest Lawyers Under 40,ā€ and an extremely dedicated, and ever-expanding, membership of a wonderful organization known as ā€œDOJ Pride.ā€ Earlier this summer, we held a Department-wide training workshop for managers across the country ā€“ which was conducted by a nationally-recognized expert on diversity and workplace inclusion, Dr. Richard Friend ā€“ who discussed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inclusion as an imperative for effectively recruiting new talent and fully engaging all individuals in the workplace.Ā In addition, the Bureau of Prisons has announced that every federal prison will appoint an LGBT representative to their Affirmative Employment Program, to help start a dialogue about issues facing staff members who serve in more than 120 facilities nationwide. Now, I believe these new actions and policies constitute promising steps in the right direction.Ā  But, like everyone here tonight, I also recognize that our journey ā€“ as a nation, and as a legal profession ā€“ is far from over. I know the progress we seek wonā€™t always come as quickly as we might hope, or as easily as we would like. And thatā€™s why, tonight, Iā€™m not just here to thank you for all youā€™ve done to help bring us to this point; to highlight the Administrationā€™s efforts in service of the same cause; or to celebrate everything that weā€™ve achieved together. Iā€™m also here to ask for your continued help, to draw on your considerable passion and expertise, and to reiterate the Departmentā€™s commitment ā€“ and my own ā€“ to building on the momentum weā€™ve established, and ensuring that the recent successes weā€™ve seen are just the beginning. As current ā€“ and aspiring ā€“ leaders of the bench and bar, everyone here tonight understands whatā€™s at stake. You realize how important every hard-fought legal victory ā€“ large and small ā€“ really is.Ā  You are ā€“ or soon will be ā€“ uniquely situated to use the power of the law, as well as your own gifts and knowledge, to help build a more fair, more equal, and more just society.Ā And you have not only the power, but ā€“ I believe ā€“ the solemn responsibility, to do precisely that: to safeguard the rights and freedoms of everyone in this country, and to carry on the critical but unfinished work that lies ahead. Of course, this never has been ā€“ and never will be ā€“ easy.Ā  But as I look around this room, I canā€™t help but feel optimistic about where your efforts will lead us ā€“ and how far our collective commitment will take us ā€“ in the months and years ahead.Ā  With the benefit of your partnership and the strength of your passion, I know that we can ā€“ and Iā€™m confident that we will ā€“ continue the work that has become both our shared priority and common cause.Ā  And I look forward to all that we will surely accomplish together. Thank you.

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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court declines to hear case over drag show at Texas university

Students argue First Amendment protects performance

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The U.S. Supreme Court justices on June 30, 2022. ((Photo by Fred Schilling of the U.S. Supreme Court)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear a First Amendment case over a public university president’s refusal to allow an LGBTQ student group to host a drag show on campus.

The group’s application was denied without the justices providing their reasoning or issuing dissenting opinions, as is custom for such requests for emergency review.

When plaintiffs sought to organize the drag performance to raise money for suicide prevention in March 2023, West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler cancelled the event, citing the Bible and other religious texts.

The students sued, arguing the move constituted prior restraint and viewpoint-based discrimination, in violation of the First Amendment. Wendler had called drag shows ā€œderisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny,” adding that “a harmless drag show” was “not possible.”

The notoriously conservative Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who former President Donald Trump appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ruled against the plaintiffs in September, writing that ā€œit is not clearly established that all drag shows are inherently expressive.”

Kacsmaryk further argued that the High Court’s precedent-setting opinions protecting stage performances and establishing that “speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend” was inconsistent with constitutional interpretation based on ā€œtext, history and tradition.”

Plaintiffs appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is by far the most conservative of the nation’s 12 appellate circuit courts. They sought emergency review by the Supreme Court because the 5th Circuit refused to fast-track their case, so arguments were scheduled to begin after the date of their drag show.

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Federal Government

EXCLUSIVE: USAID LGBTQ coordinator visits Uganda

Jay Gilliam met with activists, community members from Feb. 19-27

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U.S. Agency for International Development Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam (Photo courtesy of USAID)

U.S. Agency for International Development Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam last month traveled to Uganda.

Gilliam was in the country from Feb. 19-27. He visited Kampala, the Ugandan capital, and the nearby city of Jinja.

Gilliam met with LGBTQ activists who discussed the impact of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, a law with a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality” that President Yoweri Museveni signed last May. Gilliam also sat down with USAID staffers.

Gilliam on Wednesday during an exclusive interview with the Washington Blade did not identify the specific activists and organizations with whom he met “out of protection.” 

“I really wanted to meet with community members and understand the impacts on them,” he said.

Consensual same-sex sexual relations in Uganda were already criminalized before Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act. Gilliam told the Blade he spoke with a person who said authorities arrested them at a community meeting for mental health and psychosocial support “under false pretenses of engaging in same-sex relations and caught in a video that purportedly showed him.” 

The person, according to Gilliam, said authorities outed them and drove them around the town in which they were arrested in order to humiliate them. Gilliam told the Blade that prisoners and guards beat them, subjected them to so-called anal exams and denied them access to antiretroviral drugs.

“They were told that you are not even a human being. From here on you are no longer living, just dead,” recalled Gilliam.

“I just can’t imagine how difficult it is for someone to be able to live through something like that and being released and having ongoing needs for personal security, having to be relocated and getting support for that and lots of other personal issues and trauma,” added Gilliam.

Gilliam said activists shared stories of landlords and hotel owners evicting LGBTQ people and advocacy groups from their properties. Gilliam told the Blade they “purport that they don’t want to run afoul of” the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

“These evictions really exacerbate the needs from the community in terms of relocation and temporary shelter and just the trauma of being kicked out of your home, being kicked out of your village and having to find a place to stay at a moment’s notice, knowing that you’re also trying to escape harm and harassment from neighbors and community members,” he said.

Gilliam also noted the Anti-Homosexuality Act has impacted community members in different ways.

Reported cases of violence and eviction, for example, are higher among gay men and transgender women. Gilliam noted lesbian, bisexual and queer women and trans men face intimate partner violence, are forced into marriages, endure corrective rape and lose custody of their children when they are outed. He said these community members are also unable to inherit land, cannot control their own finances and face employment discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.Ā Ā 

US sanctioned Ugandan officials over Anti-Homosexuality Act

The U.SĀ imposed visa restrictionsĀ on Ugandan officials shortly after Museveni signed the law. The World Bank Group later announcedĀ the suspension of new loansĀ to Uganda.

The Biden-Harris administration last October issued a business advisory that said the Anti-Homosexuality Act ā€œfurther increases restrictions on human rights, to include restrictions on freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly and exacerbates issues regarding the respect for leases and employment contracts.ā€ The White House has also removed Uganda from a program that allows sub-Saharan African countries to trade duty-free with the U.S. and has issued a business advisory for the country over the Anti-Homosexuality Act. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Dec. 4, 2023, announced sanctions against current and former Ugandan officials who committed human rights abuses against LGBTQ people and other groups. Media reports this week indicate the U.S. denied MP Sarah Achieng Opendi a visa that would have allowed her to travel to New York in order to attend the annual U.N. Commission on the Status of Women.

Museveni, for his part, has criticized the U.S. and other Western countries’ response to the Anti-Homosexuality Act. 

Gilliam noted authorities have arrested and charged Ugandans under the law.Ā 

Two men on motorcycles on Jan. 3 stabbed Steven Kabuye, co-executive director of Coloured Voice Truth to LGBTQ Uganda, outside his home while he was going to work. The incident took place months after Museveni attended Uganda’s National Prayer Breakfast at which U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) spoke and defended the Anti-Homosexuality Act.

The State Department condemned the attack that Kabuye blamed on politicians and religious leaders who are stoking anti-LGBTQ sentiments in Uganda. Gilliam did not meet with Ugandan government officials while he was in the country.

“We in the U.S. government have already made it clear our stance with government officials on how we feel about the AHA, as well as broader human rights concerns in country,” said Gilliam. “That’s been communicated from the very highest levels.”

The Uganda’s Constitutional Court last Dec. 18 heard arguments in a lawsuit that challenges the Anti-Homosexuality Act. It is unclear when a ruling in the case will take place, but Gilliam said LGBTQ Ugandans with whom he met described the law “as just one moment.” 

“Obviously there is lots of work that has been done, that continues to be done to respond to this moment,” he told the Blade. “They know that there’s going to be a lot of work that needs to continue to really address a lot of the root causes and to really back humanity to the community.” 

Gilliam further noted it will “take some years to recover from the damage of 2023 and the AHA (Anti-Homosexuality Act) there.” He added activists are “already laying down the groundwork for what that work looks like” in terms of finding MPs, religious leaders, human rights activists and family members who may become allies.

“Those types of allyships are going to be key to building back the community and to continue the resiliency of the movement,” said Gilliam.

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Texas

Pornhub blocks Texas accessing site over age verification law

Court battle forced statute to take effect

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Washingtonporn Blade graphic

Aylo (formerly MindGeek) the largest global adult online entertainment conglomerate, owned by Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners, has restricted access to its platforms including its flagship Pornhub in Texas after a court battle forces the state’s age verification law to take effect.

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton had appealed a U.S. District Court decision that enjoined him from enforcing House Bill 1181. Paxton and others argued that purveyors of obscene materials online needed to institute reasonable age-verification measures to safeguard children from pornography.Ā 

A week ago the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially vacated the original injunction, ruling that the age verification requirements are constitutional.Ā 

ā€œApplying rational-basis review, the age-verification requirement is rationally related to the governmentā€™s legitimate interest in preventing minorsā€™ access to pornography,ā€ the three judge panel of the 5th Circuit explained. ā€œTherefore, the age-verification requirement does not violate the First Amendment.ā€

While the court vacated the injunction against the age-verification requirement of the statute, it upheld the lower courtā€™s injunction against a separate section of the law that would require pornography websites to display a health warning on their landing page and all advertisements. 

Texas users are greeted with this notice.

The Houston Chronicle reported people who go to the site are now greeted with a long message from the company railing against the legal change as ā€œineffective, haphazard, and dangerous.ā€ The company calls for age verification by the makers of devices that let people on the internet, instead of individual websites.

Age verification legislation was enacted in several states in 2023 in addition to Texas, including North Carolina, Montana, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Utah and Virginia.

The new laws require users to provide digital confirmation via a certified approved third party vendor like London-based digital identity company Yoti. The other possibility would be a state approved digital ID such as the California DMVā€™s Wallet app, which contains a mobile driverā€™s license.

Users accessing Pornhub from within Louisiana are presented with a different webpage that directs them to verify their age with the stateā€™s digital ID system, known as LA Wallet. The law passed in 2022 subjects adult websites to damage lawsuits and state civil penalties as high as $5,000 a day if they fail to verify that users are at least 18 years old by requiring the use of digitized, state-issued driverā€™s licenses or other methods.

The Associated Press reported this past October that an adult entertainment groupā€™s lawsuit against a Louisiana law requiring sexually explicit websites to verify the ages of their viewers was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan in New Orleans.

Texas users are greeted with this notice.

Potential or existing Pornhub users in North Carolina and Montana are directed to a video that features adult film star Cherie DeVille, who recites a message also written under the video.

ā€œAs you may know, your elected officials in your state are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website. While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.ā€

ā€œMandating age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply,ā€ the statement continues. ā€œAs weā€™ve seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place.ā€

ā€œUntil a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in [the aforementioned locales]ā€ the message ends with.

The company previously blocked Utah on May 7, 2023. CNN reported at the time:

Affected users are shown a message expressing opposition toĀ Senate Bill 287, the Utah law signed by Gov. Spencer Cox in March that creates liability for porn sites that make their content available to people below the age of 18.

ā€œAs you may know, your elected officials in Utah are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website,ā€ the message said. ā€œWhile safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.ā€

Courthouse News reportedĀ that after Virginiaā€™s bill was passed in June, state Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat, criticized the state for not creating a system for age verification, and instead leaving it up to websites to manage the process, citing security risks.Ā Ā 

ā€œWe passed a bill during this session to protect children from online porn. However the executive branch had an obligation to create a system for age verification,ā€Ā Lucas saidĀ on X, formerly Twitter. ā€œWe will continue our work to keep pornography out of the hands of minors ā€¦ but we will also work to ensure that this Governorā€™s error does not put the privacy of Virginians at further risk.ā€

Beyond the U.S. in the European Union, Pornhub and two more of the worldā€™s biggest porn websites face new requirements in the European Union that include verifying the ages of users, under the EUā€™s Digital Services Act.

According to a December 20 report from the Associated Press, Pornhub, XVideos and Stripchat have now been classed as ā€œvery large online platformsā€ subject to more stringent controls under the Digital Services Act because they each have 45 million average monthly users, according to the European Commission, the EUā€™s executive branch.

They are the first porn sites to be targeted by the sweeping Digital Services Act, which imposes tough obligations to keep users safe from illegal content and dodgy products, the Associated Press reported last month.

In addition to the adult entertainment websites, any violations are punishable by fines of up to 6% of global revenue or even a ban on operating in the EU. Some 19 online platforms and search engines have already been identified for stricter scrutiny under the DSA, including TikTok, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Google and more.

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