Wisconsin Governor Says ‘No’ to Age Checks for Porn

Governor Tony Evers has vetoed a bill in Wisconsin that would have mandated age verification for accessing pornographic websites, asserting that such a measure would place an unwarranted burden on adults seeking constitutionally protected content. The proposed legislation, AB 105, aimed to require sites hosting a significant amount of adult material to implement age verification processes, like requesting a government-issued ID. Although similar laws exist in over two dozen states, prompting companies like Pornhub to restrict access in those areas, Evers expressed concerns about privacy and data misuse. Despite rejecting the bill, Evers remains open to exploring alternative age verification methods that would focus on users’ devices rather than personal information. Initially, the bill also sought to ban VPNs, a proposal that lawmakers eventually abandoned, although VPNs remain under scrutiny globally.