Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has announced the state’s new age-verification regulation for online pornographic sites will take effect Nov. 30, marking what she called a major victory for families across the state.
Promulgated by the Attorney General’s Office under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, the regulation requires commercial websites and platforms with one-third or more sexually explicit content to implement robust age-verification measures.
Sites that fail to comply will be subject to enforcement under state law, including civil penalties and injunctive relief.
“This rule is a milestone in our effort to protect Missouri children from the devastating harms of online pornography,” Hanaway said in a provided statement. “We are holding powerful corporations accountable, respecting women and victims of human trafficking and helping ensure that minors are shielded from dangerous, sexually explicit material.”
The rule classifies noncompliance as an “unfair practice” under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, placing pornography distributors and technology platforms on notice that they must prove their users are adults before granting access.
Hanaway noted that Missouri will not allow explicit material to remain available to minors without strict guardrails.
“If these companies want to profit off explicit material in Missouri, they will not get a free pass,” Hanaway said. “They must prove their users are adults or they will be shut out of our state.”
The Attorney General’s Office cited research showing that the average age of first exposure to pornography is 11 or 12 years old.
More than 90% of boys and 60% of girls encounter such material by their teenage years, according to the studies referenced in the announcement.
Officials warned that much of the content online is violent, degrading and explicitly misogynistic, posing risks to children and teenagers.
The research further indicated that exposure to pornography can warp developing minds, undermine healthy relationships, and contribute to sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
Studies cited also show neurological effects comparable to those of addictive substances, making adolescents particularly vulnerable to long-term harm.
In response to these concerns, Hanaway’s office took decisive action, moving to create tools that parents can use to shield their children from explicit content and to ensure that corporations distributing pornography are held accountable.
The regulation represents an effort to close gaps that state officials say have allowed pornographic websites to operate without safeguards for young users.
By invoking the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, the Attorney General’s Office framed the issue as one of consumer protection and public safety.
Hanaway framed the new rule as part of a broader effort to protect children, support families and hold companies accountable for the harms associated with online pornography.
She argued that corporations profiting from explicit material must share responsibility in preventing children from being exposed to sexually explicit content online.
The rule will take effect statewide on Nov. 30.
Websites subject to the requirement will be obligated to deploy age-verification tools before allowing access to prohibited content, with enforcement actions available against violators under Missouri law.
