Minor's lawsuits against adult sites show new state law is working as intended to protect kids: state AG

Four first-of-a-kind lawsuits in Kansas were filed Monday aiming to hold porn websites accountable for violating state law, which mandates they use adequate age-verification systems. There are no federal laws requiring porn sites to verify a user's age.

The suits, filed by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and a Kansas law firm on behalf of a minor child and the child's mother, are groundbreaking. It is apparently the first time a minor is seeking a legal remedy through the provisions of state age-verification laws for pornographic sites, according to NCOSE's general counsel.

"The Kansas law also allows for a private right of action, meaning that private individuals and organizations can bring cases against offending companies or websites," Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach told Fox News Digital. Kobach filed Kansas's first lawsuit in January against a porn site over a lack of age-verification mechanisms, a case that is ongoing.

"I think the combination of my office's first action followed by this private action shows that the law is operating as the legislature intended," Kobach said.

According to NCOSE, pornography is harmful to children because it disrupts the natural formation of children's sexual functions and maturation. Studies have also shown links between pornography and sexual violence and a litany of other health and well-being issues.

"The parents in this instance thought they did everything right," NCOSE General Counsel Benjamin Bull said. "It's not enough just to try to prevent children from gaining access. It's just a question of when children will gain access.

Multi Media LLC, Chaturbate's parent company, insisted to Fox News Digital the site "is fully compliant" with Kansas law, calling the lawsuit against it "completely baseless."

"As we explained in great detail to the plaintiff's counsel back in November, the company thoroughly investigated the claim and found the individual was never able to view any explicit content on the company's platform. The platform's ID verification age gate functioned exactly as expected, and the individual's attempts to view adult content without first proving he was an adult were entirely thwarted," a company spokesperson for Multi Media LLC told Fox News Digital.

"The company takes very seriously its responsibility to ensure that the platform only publishes material created and viewed by consenting adults," the spokesperson added. "Since the law went into effect, the company has displayed an 'age gate' page to any visitor who arrives on the site from an IP address that is geolocated in Kansas and who has not previously been verified as an adult, by requiring the individual to provide a government issued photo ID."

The spokesperson added that Multi Media LLC intends "to seek sanctions" against the plaintiff over its "frivolous complaint," noting that when the company was first contacted about the allegations by the plaintiff in November, Multi Media LLC explained why suing it was baseless.

But AG Kobach said the lawsuit brought by the mother and son, along with another unidentified "friend" of the family, shows state law is doing its job.

The 14-year-old and his mother, with the help of NCOSE and others, are seeking statutory damages of no less than $50,000 per violation in each of their four lawsuits. They are also seeking actual damages, attorney fees and any "further relief" that the court considers fair.