Utah Delays Enforcement of VPN Age-Verification Law Amid Ongoing Federal Challenge

Utah’s Department of Commerce confirmed it will not enforce SB 73, the state’s first law targeting VPN usage as part of an adult-content crackdown, until a pending federal lawsuit is resolved. The statute, which took effect Thursday, deems anyone physically present in Utah as accessing a website from the state regardless of VPN use and bars sites hosting material harmful to minors from encouraging VPNs. Although it stops short of banning VPNs, it places liability on website operators for users’ VPN activity, prompting alarm from privacy advocates.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation warned the rule could compel sites to block known VPN IPs or require worldwide age verification. The law, signed in March and originally set to begin in May, was paused after Aylo, the parent of Pornhub, challenged it in court. A federal judge said he could not specify when a decision will be issued, leading Utah to delay enforcement again. Aylo and Pornhub have criticized such age-verification measures as posing substantial privacy and identity-theft risks, and Pornhub has already blocked access in 25 states.