In 2025, Ohio joined a host of the US states pushing to regulate access to adult content online by requiring age verification. Just like other laws, it is aimed at keeping harmful material out of the reach of underage people. In this article you’ll learn how Ohio’s new age verification law is not only changing how online adult content can be accessed in this US state, but also how a seemingly noble cause of protecting minors raises important questions about privacy, compliance, and digital security for all users.
What is the New Ohio Law About?
Ohio’s age verification regulation, tucked into Ohio House Bill 96 (HB 96) in the form of a provision (Section 1349.10) was signed on June 30, 2025, but came into effect on September 30, 2025. This short transitional period of 90 days was given to adult websites and online platforms to get the necessary systems in place to be able to verify the age of Ohio users.
Aiming to protect young people in Ohio from accessing online adult content (pornography) or content considered to be “obscene or harmful to juveniles”, Ohio Law mandates any adult content service or website to verify users’ age before granting access to the contents.
More so, the law aims to force content providers, not consumers, to bear the burden of verifying age. This must be done via “reasonable age verification methods”, such as a government-issued photo ID or transactional data through a commercial age verification system.
Who Must Comply?
The law applies to websites and platforms that sell, deliver, or provide access to material or performances considered “obscene or harmful to juveniles.” Simply put, those are:
- Pornography websites
- Platforms with user-generated adult content
- Sites whose main business revolves around distributing (disseminating) explicit or adult material
As the law shifts compliance responsibilities from consumers (viewers or users) to content providers, individuals will not be penalized for simply trying to access adult content. Also, there is a “geofence” requirement, which states that platforms need to block or gate access only for users located in Ohio. If a user is outside Ohio, the law should not require the gate.
What Counts as Material Harmful to Minors?
It’s time to dive deeper into what this law defines as “obscene or harmful to juveniles” (or “harmful to juveniles”) to describe content that must be gated.
And the trick here is that the law doesn’t list every type of harmful content, it doesn’t just say “porn sites” but rather uses broader terms like “obscene” and “harmful to juveniles”.
So, the examples of businesses that are subject to Ohio Law may include:
- Explicit sexual acts and pornography
- Graphic nudity when intended to arouse
- Sexual content targeting minors
- Erotically explicit images, videos, or writings
In practice, courts and regulators will interpret “harmful to juveniles” and “obscene” using precedents and standards, such as obscenity tests or local community norms.
What is Reasonable Age Verification?
The new Ohio Law has several age verification requirements, one of which is that the adult content platforms must use “reasonable age verification” methods to ensure that their Ohioan users are 18 or older.
Let’s decipher what “reasonable age verification” means, as the term may sound somewhat vague and flexible. Depending on the risk, scale, and content sensitivity, the law outlines 5 acceptable verification methods:
- Photo ID upload: a government-issued ID or a driver’s license.
- Transactional data / public or private records: cross-checking with a credit card, utility bill, employment, home ownership, or educational records.
- Third-party age verification service providers that specialize in identity/age checks.
- Facial biometrics or live selfies matched to ID (if used by the third party with strong privacy protections).
- Hybrid methods: a minimal transaction, or credit card + token.
The law also stresses that any data collected must be deleted immediately after verification unless it’s necessary for account subscription or billing purposes.
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Data Privacy Protection Mechanisms
Ohio’s HB 96 is rather strict when it comes to data privacy. Users and platforms may be concerned about identity theft or misuse of data. So, transparency and strict protocols will be key to minimizing risk.
Here are the key privacy protection mechanisms defined in the law:
- Information used for age verification must be deleted promptly after completing the verification process (unless needed for ongoing service: billing and account management).
- Operators should avoid storing copies of sensitive personal information longer than necessary.
- Platforms must ensure secure data handling (encryption, limited access, audit logs).
- Operators must maintain compliant data privacy policies that meet both federal and Ohio legal standards.
- Ideally, verification can be handled by trusted third-party providers, so the platform itself doesn’t retain raw sensitive data.
As you can see, users’ privacy is a critical component of the new Ohio regulation, aimed to mitigate risks inherent to uploading sensitive data online.
Legal Ramifications of the Age Verification Standard
Since the new Ohio law obliges content providers to adopt methods that are reasonably designed to verify age, adult content operators who choose lax methods may be vulnerable to enforcement or litigation.
And it is the Ohio Attorney General who possesses the sole authority to enforce this legislation, meaning they can initiate civil lawsuits against websites and content providers that fail to comply with the age verification requirements.
The Ohio HB 96 uses fines and civil penalties to make providers comply and keep minors safe. A key point is that users who try to view adult content don’t get criminal charges. Instead, all enforcement efforts are aimed at the providers.
Also, failure to verify, or verifying via a method judged to be inadequate, could lead to court injunctions or orders to disable access, in addition to fines.
Penalties for Non-compliance
The new law stipulates that adult content providers may face penalties for non-compliance; i.e. if they fail to verify users’ age, fail to delete their data, or fail to geofence their users.
Courts can issue injunctions or orders to block noncompliant sites, and fines may be imposed, although the law text does not appear to specify exact per-violation amounts in every case. Instead, civil actions are the remedy.
It’s clear that the new legislation and its enforcement is still untested, that’s why specific fines and penalties may be clarified over time through additional regulations or court rulings. Thus, early compliance is safer.
One thing that is 100% clear is that there is no criminal or civil penalty assigned to minors (or adults) for attempting to access content. The law targets the providers.
Are There any Exemptions?
There are certain entities that are not covered by the law. Here is a list of entities that are exempt from the age verification requirements:
- News media, newspapers, magazines, television stations, and similar media, when reporting on sex crimes, court cases, or even explicit cultural issues.
- Mainstream bookstores and libraries.
- Medical/educational websites showing anatomy diagrams or discussing sex education, or LGBTQ+ relationships aren’t “obscene” – they are informational.
- Platforms whose content is not primarily adult or explicit in nature.
- Users who access content from outside Ohio.
Put simply, content that is newsworthy, medically educational, or part of general public discourse is less likely to require gating, but the boundaries are not yet fully litigated.
How Does Ohio’s Law Compare to Other States?
Ohio has joined a growing national trend where around 24 states have enacted or passed similar laws mandating age verification for online adult content (pornography) access.
- Texas Age Verification Law (HB 1181) was challenged on the grounds of violating the First Amendment but upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 2025.
- Louisiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Wyoming, and others have implemented comparable laws requiring commercial sites to verify users’ ages with reasonable methods and data privacy safeguards.
- Utah has passed social media regulation proposals, including age verification components, while some parts are blocked in court.
Ohio’s legal framework is similar in requiring third-party verification, geofencing, and data deletion, aligning with trends established by earlier states. Still, states vary in how strict they are about which platforms are in scope, how penalties are applied, and how aggressively enforcement is pursued.
Why is This Law Controversial?
The Ohio HB 96 faces controversy on several fronts: both supporters and critics have their own arguments.
Free Speech
Critics worry that forcing websites to use age gates restricts adults’ legal access to content, potentially violating the First Amendment. Although the Texas decision suggests such laws may be constitutional, the legal balance remains delicate.
Cost and Compliance Burden
For smaller websites, the cost and technical difficulty of setting up secure age verification can be prohibitive, as they have to deal with high expenses for new infrastructure, legal advice, vendor fees, audits, and ongoing maintenance.
Privacy and Data Security Concerns
Online users often worry about potential data breaches when submitting their personal details. As a result, they don’t want to provide their documents, even if they know that their personal data will be deleted after verification.
Effectiveness and Circumvention
Some argue that minors can simply use VPNs or proxies to bypass these verification systems and reach the content anyway. Worse, if sites block access entirely to avoid the law, users might just migrate to unregulated offshore sites, creating new safety problems. For example, Pornhub, instead of complying, blocked access for all users in the states with strict age laws.
Vagueness and Overreach
The law’s definitions of what’s “harmful to juveniles” and what counts as “reasonable verification” are somewhat vague, leaving them open to lawsuits and different interpretations. Critics worry this could lead to the law being expanded to censor content like LGBTQ+ media, sexual health information, or literature that includes sexual themes.
Naturally, many of these questions are new and yet untested in Ohio. That’s why the early enforcement phase may see litigation, adjustments, and clarifications.
Key Takeaways
The Ohio age verification law (HB 96) marks a major step in regulating how adults and minors access online content. With strict new rules for age checks and data privacy, businesses should start preparing immediately.
Online platforms that host or link to adult or sexually explicit content, or produce such content, need to:
- Evaluate whether their business falls under the new law’s scope
- Design or integrate a robust, privacy-conscious age verification system
- Geofence users located in Ohio
- Make sure they delete verification data once users are approved
- Be ready for periodic re-verification
- Keep an eye on enforcement trends and future litigations in Ohio
Because this is a newly minted law, many parts remain untested. That’s where expertise in digital identity verification systems, and compliance comes in. For instance, Ondato, with experience in identity verification, age verification, and AML compliance, can help platforms put in place systems that meet regulatory standards while preserving user privacy and trust.
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