The social media website Bluesky will begin verifying users’ ages in Ohio under new regulations.
The competitor to X and Threads will enable Kids Web Services’ (KWS) age verification solution in the Buckeye State, TechCrunch reports, to comply with a new law meant to protect children from online pornography.
The law that goes into effect at the end of September 2025 requires websites to verify the ages of their Ohio customers before allowing them to view content “obscene or harmful to juveniles.” TechCrunch reports that it covers the type of adult content that can be found on social media.
Ohio legislators tucked the new law into the state’s two-year budget that was approved in June, after attempts to pass a porn ID bill in past years had failed. Failure to comply could result in civil lawsuits from the Ohio attorney general.
Here’s what to know.
When does Ohio’s pornography ID law take effect?
The new law takes effect on Sept. 30, 2025, along with the rest of House Bill 96, the state appropriations bill that it’s a part of.
What forms of ID are acceptable under Ohio porn ID law?
The new law requires websites to use a commercial service, or third-party or government database, that uses photo IDs or transactional records, such as mortgage or employment data, to confirm the user is at least 18 years old. The data would be deleted once age verification is completed.
According to KWS’ website, the service also lets users verify by facial scans, payment cards and more, TechCrunch reports.
Past porn ID bills have failed in Ohio
Ohio lawmakers have tried and failed to get age-verification laws approved as standalone bills in the past, including Senate Bill 212 in 2024 and House Bill 84 earlier in 2025.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio calls the law a barrier to constitutionally protected speech, and says the term “harmful to juveniles” is subjective. But the Center for Christian Virtue says the law would “help prevent minors from viewing explicit content online, and protect them from an industry that is internationally known for child exploitation.”
What states have porn ID laws? Ohio soon to join Kentucky, Florida, others on list
Ohio joins 24 other states in approving age-verification laws for online pornography, according to the Free Speech Coalition. They are:
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bluesky to verify ages under Ohio pornography ID law. Here’s when the law takes effect
Reporting by Chad Murphy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
