Indiana Sues Porn Sites, Claims VPN Access Violates Age-Verification Law
Porn Sites Must Block VPNs To Comply With Indiana's Age-Verification Law, the state suggests in a new lawsuit. It's an insane—and frighteningly dystopian—interpretation of the law.
Broad Anti-Privacy Logic
In a section of the suit detailing how Aylo allegedly violated the age-check law, Indiana notes that last July, "an investigator employed by the Office of the Indiana Attorney General ('OAG Investigator') accessed Pornhub.com from Indiana using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with a Chicago, Illinois IP address." "Defendants have not implemented any reasonable form of age verification on its website Pornhub.com," the suit states.
It goes on to detail how Indiana investigators also accessed the following adult websites using a VPN:
- Brazzers.com
- Faketaxi.com
- Spicevids.com
The state argues that because some Indiana residents could use tools to get around location-based blocks, location-based blocks "are insufficient to comply with Indiana's Age Verification Law." The logical conclusion from this is that if a porn platform doesn't want to check IDs or to stop existing, it must then stop anyone from using a VPN.
Implications for Online Privacy
This is the sort of logic that won't stop with porn platforms, of course. Increasingly, states are trying to require social media platforms, app stores, and other web services to verify users' ages. Indiana's logic could be used to justify sanctioning all sorts of apps and services for failing to block VPNs and other anonymity-aiding tools. Sure, you might prevent a few more teens from seeing boobs or watching TikTok videos, but at the cost of massively impeding privacy for people of all ages.
It's a regrettable situation in any circumstance, but especially bad for people in countries or situations where free speech online could be dangerous or where repressive governments have blocked access to outside information. No longer could they turn to popular social media platforms to access news or communicate with wider audiences.
And, of course, people aren't always using VPNs to hide their location. VPNs are also used by:
- People whose employers require them in order to access work email and websites.
- College students and faculty who may need them to access school websites.
- Others seeking to maintain digital privacy.
Liability Based on the Failure To Accomplish Impossibilities
The lawsuit from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita accuses Aylo and its affiliate companies of violating not just the Indiana age-verification law (Senate Bill 17) but also its Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. "Defendants' misrepresentations regarding the extent to which Indiana residents, including Indiana minors, could continue to access adult oriented websites after passage of Indiana's Age Verification Law were unfair, abusive, and deceptive," the suit claims.
David Greene of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called this "quite ridiculous." According to Greene, the lawsuit "essentially bases liability on the failure to accomplish impossibilities." This represents a disturbing doubling down on attempts to end online privacy and anonymity.
The logic of Indiana's lawsuit also justifies action against privacy measures of all sorts. For instance: Might companies that sell clothing that help people avoid facial recognition cameras be liable for helping people avoid detection? It's part of two larger trends: trying to use deceptive trade practices to punish online entities and trying to ban VPNs and other tools that may help people avoid internet restrictions.