Sen Lankford accuses Pornhub of ‘preying on children’ in blistering letter

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) has sent a strongly worded letter accusing Pornhub of "preying on children," rebuking the site's July 28 campaign urging state lawmakers to abandon age-verification laws. The exchange highlights an ongoing clash between adult content platforms and US legislators over how best to prevent minors from accessing explicit material, at a time when at least 25 states have already introduced such age-verification requirements.

Lankford's letter, addressed to a compliance executive at Ethical Capital Partners, the firm behind Pornhub's parent company Aylo, argued the site opposes verification laws chiefly to avoid losing users rather than out of concern for children. He cited American Psychological Association research suggesting boys first encounter pornography at an average age of 13.37, with some as young as five, and pointed to the Supreme Court's ruling in Free Speech Coalition vs. Paxton upholding such laws as not unduly burdensome to adults. Pornhub responded to Fox News Digital saying it agrees effective age verification is needed to keep children from accessing inappropriate content.