Arizona Governor Signs Pornography Age Verification Law

by Jeff Johnston | May 16, 2025 | Government Updates

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed a law requiring pornography companies verify online consumers’ ages. Twenty-four states have now passed some form of pornography age verification legislation.

HB 2112 mandates that commercial entities with more than one-third of their website content consisting of pornography, must “use reasonable methods to verify that users are 18 years or older.” Pornography distributors must require users to provide digital identification or utilize a commercial age verification system.

In addition, companies may not retain “any identifying information on individuals.” Companies that violate the act could receive penalties of “$10,000 per day for failure to comply with age verification” and up to $250,000 if minors access pornography due to that failure.

If a minor accesses pornography from a website, parents or guardians can sue those companies who violated the act.

The Center for Arizona Policy (CAP), a Focus on the Family ally that advocates for life, religious freedom, family and parental rights, applauded the victory in an email received by the Daily Citizen, saying:

Porn giants have profited for years by exposing our children to explicit content – until now. HB2112, a bill that was signed into law by Governor Hobbs this past Tuesday, finally creates a critical barrier between youth and harmful material through age verification requirements.
This new law tackles head-on the crisis of children accessing graphic pornography at ever-younger ages, a problem that fuels addiction, distorts healthy sexual development, and makes children vulnerable to exploitation.

CAP added:

By requiring adults to verify their age, this legislation directly confronts the pornography industry’s deliberate strategy to hook young users while providing parents with a powerful tool to protect their children’s innocence.

According to the Arizona Mirror:

The bill passed out of both chambers largely along party lines with only one Democrat in the Senate, Kiana Sears, and two in the House, where Seth Blattman and Kevin Volk voted to pass it.

Opponents of these measures often argue that age verification is a threat to the privacy of online pornography users. But the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) pointed to an amicus brief in a Texas battle over the state’s age verification law.

The Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) explained:

AVPA members provide age-verification systems that present an even lower risk of ‘reveal[ing] intimate desires and preferences’ than verifying age in person at a brick-and-mortar store. Many of those age-verification systems do not require government identification, allowing even Texans without identification to verify their age with ease. 

NCOSE reported on one such provider:

One of the most advanced age verification systems, known as BorderAge, can verify a person’s age simply by having them make three basic hand movements in front of the camera. Further, it “constrains the image to 96 pixels per inch, preventing any capture of fingerprints.” If the camera detects any facial features, the system halts and instructs the user to move their face out of the frame.

Pornography sexualizes and harms children, as CAP pointed out in its news release:

When children are repeatedly exposed to graphic sexual content during formative years, it rewires developing brains, creating addiction patterns similar to drugs. This early exposure distorts healthy sexual development and creates unrealistic expectations about relationships.

The organization urged Arizonans to thank the governor and legislators who supported this important measure.

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UPDATED: Pornography Age Verification Laws — What They Are and Which States Have Them

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