Across the United States, lawmakers have been pushing to make adults hand over government IDs before they can visit legal adult sites. Florida has now jumped into the fray, not only enacting such a requirement but also suing some of the largest platforms on the internet for refusing to comply.
We obtained a copy of the lawsuit for you here.
HB3, which took effect January 1, is at the core of Florida’s latest fight over online speech, forcing adult sites to demand proof of age and show ID before allowing anyone in.
Civil liberties groups warn that the measure is a digital surveillance trap and an alarming step toward government control over lawful online content. They point to years of experience in other states showing that these rules fail to keep minors away from adult material while putting adult privacy in jeopardy.
More: Tea App Leak Shows Why Digital ID Age Verification Laws are Dangerous
The Free Speech Coalition, backed by O.school, Adam & Eve, JustFor.Fans, and Florida attorney Barry Chase, initially challenged the law.
That lawsuit was dropped after the US Supreme Court let Texas enforce a similar statute. But the coalition says it remains on alert.
Only after this legal retreat did Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier launch a lawsuit against major adult platforms.
Several of the companies operate outside the US. Uthmeier alleges that they are “flagrantly breaking” state law and violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
“Multiple porn companies are flagrantly breaking Florida’s age verification law by exposing children to harmful, explicit content. As a father of young children, and as Attorney General, this is completely unacceptable,” Uthmeier said in announcing the suit. “We are taking legal action against these online pornographers who are willfully preying on the innocence of children for their financial gain.”
The industry has mostly responded by pulling out of Florida rather than handing over user data to the state.
With 29 states either enforcing or considering similar laws and eight rejecting them outright, the clash between free speech advocates and age verification supporters is far from settled. Florida’s lawsuit signals that the next round will not be fought quietly.
