iPhone Official Adult Apps and the Legal Challenges of Age Verification

This week was a weird one in the world of tech, where Apple got flustered by the iPhone's first-ever official porn app. Beyond this development, significant legal questions are being raised as Porn Sites Must Block VPNs To Comply With Indiana's Age-Verification Law, according to suggestions in a new lawsuit.

The Legal Battle Over Age-Verification and VPNs

In a section of the suit detailing how Aylo allegedly violated the age-check law, Indiana notes that an investigator accessed Pornhub.com from Indiana using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with a Chicago, Illinois IP address. 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.

During the investigation, the state documented how Indiana investigators also accessed various adult websites using a VPN:

  • Brazzers.com
  • Faketaxi.com
  • Spicevids.com
  • Pornhub.com

Implications for Mobile Software and Privacy

This is the sort of logic that won't stop with porn platforms, as 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. Increasingly, states are trying to require social media platforms, app stores, and other web services to verify users' ages. 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.

Moreover, 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, and others. Regarding the current situation, an Aylo spokesperson stated that "Aylo has restricted access to its platforms for users in Indiana, and in doing so, is fully compliant with the law." However, regulators have been repeatedly warned that age-verification laws won't actually stop people from viewing content, since the internet is global and there are many ways around location-specific rules.