Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on Sept. 15 that his office would be filing complaints against the parent companies of a variety of porn websites, alleging the sites did not comply with state law by failing to verify their users are at least 18 years old.

According to a news release from Uthmeier's office, two separate lawsuits were filed against the operators of online platforms that Uthmeier alleged failed to verify the ages of their users.

The first was lodged against the publishers and distributors of the website Lustyheroes.com, an online pornographic video game. The second was filed against Pornhub's parent company, but focused on two of its websites, Nutaku.net and SpiceVids.com.

"Florida is committed to being the best place to raise children. We passed strong legislation to keep kids from being exposed to harmful and toxic material, and instead of following it, these platforms ignored it," Uthmeier said. "We are taking them to court to make sure they cannot continue bypassing Florida’s common sense safeguards."

The lawsuits allege that the websites violated Florida state law HB3, which has been effective since January. The law requires websites to verify that their users based in Florida are at least 18 years old.

The latest move against porn sites

In an ongoing effort from Republican lawmakers to restrict pornographic websites across the United States, the lawsuit in Florida is only the latest in a series of legal actions, some of which already came into effect in certain states.

Earlier this year, an Oklahoma senator introduced a series of bills, including one that would ban pornography in the entire state and increase penalties for those who produce child sexual abuse material. Sen. Dusty Deevers called the bill, SB593, and seven others he introduced a "slate of legislation to restore moral sanity in Oklahoma."

In 2023, Pornhub blocked Utah residents from accessing its site over concerns of an age verification law, which took effect in the same year.

According to Pornhub, the site has also blocked access to residents in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming due to the same restrictions.

Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse, Saleen Martin, and Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY; Stephany Matat, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida sues Pornhub operator, other adult sites over age verification

Reporting by Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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