MindGeek

News Summary:

On September 29, 2026, a federal judge blocked Utah's "actual-location rule," which treated VPN users as in-state visitors for age verification purposes, thereby removing strict liability for websites unable to geolocate traffic with certainty, although the state's 2023 age-verification law remains in force. This followed a preliminary injunction issued on September 24, 2026, by U.S. District Judge David Barlow, temporarily blocking a Utah law provision that aimed to apply online age-verification rules to individuals using VPNs. That injunction resulted from a lawsuit brought by Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub, challenging the state's attempt to police adult websites by asserting jurisdiction over anyone physically located in Utah, regardless of their use of location-hiding tools. Earlier, on September 24, 2026, Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, initiated an investigation into Aylo's age-assurance system after receiving reports that children could still access Pornhub. Ofcom is assessing whether Aylo's age verification methods for its UK market re-entry meet the legal compliance standards of the Online Safety Act. Aylo had ceased registering new users in the UK in February 2026, arguing the Act was unworkable and suggesting age checks should occur at the device level, after receiving a letter from Ofcom on September 21, 2026, concerning its compliance.