Age-verification is hurting sex educators and sex workers, studies suggest

Experts have warned about how age verification laws will impact people's work and bank accounts — and now preliminary research suggests that they're right.

Age verification laws vary by state and country, but usually require submitting proof of age, be it a facial scan or uploading a government ID, to view potentially adult content. Since 2022, these laws have been enacted in different U.S. states. Other countries, such as the UK, have also instituted age verification via the Online Safety Act.

Sexual freedom nonprofit, the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, found that around one in five sex educators (18 percent) say these laws have already impacted their work. For sex educators working in states with age verification mandates, one in three (33 percent) report this. 

Approximately 60 respondents completed the survey last month, so this isn't a wide sample, but it hints at the trickle-down effects of age verification. 

"Age-verification laws are already impacting sex education in the U.S.," says Woodhull president and CEO, Ricci Joy Levy, in a press release. 

The majority of sex educators surveyed, 73 percent, are concerned that these laws will impact their work, while 76 percent fear they could be used to restrict access to sex education and related resources. As it is, only 37 percent of U.S. states require school sex education to be medically accurate, according to Boston University.

"Again and again, we were told this was only about keeping minors from accessing porn," Levy's statement continues. "Woodhull warned these vague and overly broad policies would also result in censorship of vital, non-explicit information about sex and gender, and the data bear this out. The current age-verification protocols are ripe for abuse, and educators are right to be scared."

Separate research from adult industry research firm SWR Data hints at a similar story when it comes to adult creators. Nearly half (45.2 percent) of the 500 surveyed last fall reported that their income from adult work decreased in the past year, with two-thirds (63 percent) saying it got harder to earn money in the past year as well.

There are several possible reasons for this trend, including overall socioeconomic uncertainty, but a staggering 98 percent of creators who reported lower income said they've experienced difficulties related to the "War on Porn." 

The so-called War on Porn can refer to age verification as well as other attempts to remove adult content from the internet. Project 2025, the blueprint for President Trump's second term, calls for an outright ban on pornography and imprisoning its creators. In 2024, one of the co-writers of Project 2025, Russell Vought (now the director of the Office of Management and Budget), reportedly called age verification the "back door" to a porn ban. 

The majority of surveyed adult creators who lost income also reported increased social media censorship and increased restrictions on what they can sell, and even fans are having trouble accessing their content.

The latter point — trouble with access — especially affected adult creators in U.S. and UK markets, according to SWR Data. They're also dealing with piracy, showing that viewers are finding ways to work around age verification. 

Two separate studies last year suggested that age verification laws don't work to keep children off of porn sites. Reasons include VPN usage and going to non-compliant websites. But it appears that age-verification is working to hurt sex workers and sex educators.