Missouri now requires age verification for access to pornography websites, prompting Pornhub to block access in the state entirely. This misguided approach prioritizes government overreach over practical solutions, potentially harming both privacy rights and the very children it claims to protect.
Missouri is poised to enact a law requiring pornographic websites to implement third-party age verification checks, codifying an existing rule from the state Attorney General. This well-intentioned but blunt-force approach risks sacrificing adult privacy on the altar of child protection, potentially driving vulnerable users to darker corners of the web where no safeguards exist.
Malaysia has mandated strict age verification for social media users under 16, requiring platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Alphabet to check against government records with heavy fines for non-compliance. This courageous move by a Global South nation challenges the predatory inaction of Western tech giants, shifting the burden of protecting children from vulnerable families onto the very corporations that profit from their exploitation.
