The Virginia legislature just passed a bill requiring anyone who goes to an adult website to give personally identifying information. Since the majority of visitors to adult websites are men, this will affect men the most. This requirement puts men at risk of having their identities stolen, either by real websites getting hacked or by fake websites pretending to be real websites. Even if your identity isn’t stolen, you could be blackmailed by someone based on your name being connected with visiting an adult site or you could have your name published publicly in connection to the sites you visited, threatening your ability to find a job or a relationship.

https://www.virginiamercury.com/2023/03/09/bill-to-require-additional-proof-of-age-for-porn-sites-in-virginia-heads-to-youngkins-desk/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=c17fe3bb-23e0-43f4-a9ce-f5dcb16fdb70

There are already apps that parents can download to limit what their kids see online, so there is no legitimate reason for adults to have to identify themselves just to visit an adult site. This bill is a huge privacy issue that could be disastrous for people’s ability to freely use the internet.

Virginia Governor Youngkin still has the chance to veto the legislation (Senate Bill 1515). If you are a Virginia resident, you especially need to contact him. If you are not a Virginia resident, but still want to have your voice heard, one thing you could do is put in a Virginia address with your comment, though I will let you decide for yourself if you want to do that. But I don’t think many people realize how damaging laws like this can be to internet freedom and I hope as many people as possible e-mail Governor Youngkin.

https://www.governor.virginia.gov/communicating-with-the-governors-office/