To ban or not to ban? This is the question lawmakers around the world are wrestling with. How do we protect children from harmful content online without overstepping into privacy or freedom of speech concerns?
Arkansas has joined this debate with Act 612 (formerly known as SB 66) – its age verification law for online content deemed “harmful to minors”. This law officially took effect on July 31, 2023, making Arkansas one of the first states to mandate age checks for adult or sexually explicit material. While the law has sparked heated discussions with supporters calling it a safeguard for children and critics warning of privacy and free speech concerns, it is now in effect.
Key Requirements of Act 612 (SB 66)
Act 612 places a legal obligation on websites, excluding social media platforms, that publish adult or harmful material to verify that visitors are at least 18 years old.
- Who must perform age verification?
Adult content providers and websites where at least one-third of their content is considered “harmful to minors”.
- How must they verify?
By requiring users to provide a government ID or a digitized ID, such as a digital copy of a driver’s license. Alternatively, use of any commercially reasonable age verification system that meets the Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) standard. Notably, Arkansas Act 612 does not require parental consent.
- What are data protection measures?
If age verification is performed by a third-party vendor, the commercial entity must not retain any identifying information of the individual once access is granted.
- What are the penalties for noncompliance?
Publishers and distributors of harmful material are liable if they fail to perform reasonable age verification and a minor gains access, including penalties for damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.
It’s important to stress that Act 612 is focused squarely on pornography and adult entertainment platforms. Unlike earlier proposals, it does not apply to social media platforms (we’ll get to that later).
Age Verification Laws in the US and Worldwide
Arkansas is far from being alone in introducing age verification for adult content.
Other US States
- Louisiana (2023): The first US state to pass an ID-based law requiring age verification for adult websites. Enforcement is ongoing.
- Utah (2023): Passed similar legislation. Some adult platforms (like Pornhub) responded by blocking Utah IP addresses entirely, claiming compliance would threaten user privacy.
- Texas (2023): Enacted its own law, though parts have faced legal challenges on First Amendment grounds.
The pattern is clear: US states are experimenting with laws that force adult websites to take on gatekeeper roles, sparking both constitutional lawsuits and the adult entertainment industry backlash that feels that their constitutional rights are being infringed upon.
Certainly we all want to protect young people from harmful content before they’re ready to see it. … [However,] age check laws raise significant privacy and speech concerns, not only for young people themselves, but also for all users of the internet. … The only way to make sure we are age verifying anyone under 18 is to also age verify everyone over 18. And that could have significant impacts on the speech and privacy rights of adults.” Jennifer Huddleston, Senior Technology Policy Fellow at the Cato Institute.
Internationally
- The United Kingdom: First, a nationwide age verification system was attempted to be launched in 2019. But, then the project collapsed over privacy and security concerns. However, in 2023 the Online Safety Act 2023 was enacted. This law makes online platforms responsible for keeping users safe, especially children, by removing illegal and harmful content quickly. Also, it gives the regulator Ofcom the power to fine companies that don’t follow the rules while protecting free speech on big platforms.
- The European Union: Through the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU sets clear rules for online platforms to remove illegal content quickly, increase transparency about how they moderate content, and protect users, especially minors, though it doesn’t mandate universal age verification yet.
Arkansas’s Act 612 fits into this global wave of age-gating laws, but like others, it faces the tension between the desire to protect minors and protection of free speech rights.
Age Verification Methods Under Act 612
So how do websites actually comply? The law doesn’t mandate one specific tool, but it clearly leans on ID-based age verification systems.
ID-based Age Verification
The main method under Act 612 requires users to upload a government-issued ID. Verification is usually handled by a third-party provider, so websites don’t store sensitive personal data themselves.
| PROS | CONS |
| – Highly accurate – Legally recognized | – Raises privacy concerns, and critics worry about potential misuse or breaches of ID data. – Can deter legitimate adult users who don’t want to share personal details. |
Reusable Age Verification
Since the Arkansas Age Verification Law requires commercial entities to use “reasonable age verification methods” before allowing access to websites that contain a substantial portion of material harmful to minors, the reusable age verification method can be applied.
A reusable age verification method confirms a user’s age once, then issues a token or PIN that can be used across multiple platforms without needing to repeatedly share personal data, allowing quick age verification on different sites within a set time frame.
| PROS | CONS |
| – Enhances user privacy by not storing personal data extensively – Reduces friction as users do not need to verify age multiple times – Faster access to age-restricted content/products on subsequent visits – Lower compliance costs by minimizing repeated age verification checks | – Some users may distrust biometric or token systems – Initial verification process can be complex – Technical errors can lead to false positives/negatives |
You can comply with the new age verification laws while staying anonymous and without storing any personal data – all with the help of Ondato’s OnAge.
Who Must Comply with Act 612?
The law is narrower than many think. It applies to adult entertainment providers and websites where a “substantial portion” (one-third or more) of content qualifies as “harmful to minors”, although it doesn’t apply to social media platforms as other similar laws do.
And the reason this law excludes social media platforms is because Arkansas’ related social media age verification laws faced serious legal challenges in the past. Specifically, Act 689, targeting social media age verification, was blocked by court rulings in March 2025, and SB 611 remains a proposed law not yet enacted. Therefore, social media companies are not currently required to comply with Act 612 age verification mandates.
Other Arkansas Age Verification Laws and Debates
Act 612 isn’t the only age-related law in Arkansas, though it’s currently the only one in force.
Act 689 (2023) is a social media safety act that requires age verification for social media users under 18 to get parental consent before creating social media accounts. Simply put, it aims to block unfettered social media access for minors.
However, in 2025 a federal court blocked this law, ruling it was likely unconstitutional. Chris Marchese, Director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, commented on the federal court’s decision: “The court confirms what we have been arguing from the start: laws restricting access to protected speech violate the First Amendment.”
SB 611 (2025) is also a social media safety act that is proposed as a replacement for Act 689. It introduces stricter parental consent requirements, emphasizes reasonable verification measures, and tries to address constitutional issues. But as of now, it is still just a bill, not law.
These laws highlight Arkansas’s ongoing push to regulate minors’ access to digital spaces, but they do not affect compliance with Act 612, which addresses exclusively harmful content websites, today.
Debates that surround age verification laws in Arkansas (as well as in other US states) mainly revolve around the issues of privacy, censorship and free speech rights. While proponents argue these laws help protect children, critics warn they may lead to a “less secure, less private and less free internet,” undermining anonymity and free expression. The core dilemma is a tradeoff: safeguarding kids often means new verification mandates that expose all users to identity checks, potentially eroding everyone’s privacy and internet freedom.
Many digital rights advocates worry that universal age verification would force even adults to surrender anonymity, effectively “splitting” the internet into verified and unverified spaces.
Putting it all Together
Arkansas’s Act 612 (SB 66) is the state’s only enforceable age verification law right now. It requires adult websites and providers of harmful content to verify users’ ages through ID checks, with penalties for failure.
Other social media age verification laws (Act 689 and SB 611) are either blocked or only proposals, meaning they do not currently apply. In short:
- If you operate an adult content site accessible in Arkansas, you must comply with Act 612.
- If you operate a social media platform, you don’t have to comply yet, but stay tuned as things may change.
The age verification debate isn’t going away anytime soon. The debates over online child protection often focus on finding solutions that shield minors from harm without dismantling privacy safeguards or the open nature of the web.
With states like Arkansas, Utah, and Louisiana leading the charge, and similar discussions brewing worldwide, the next few years will likely shape the future of online access, privacy, and child protection.
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