Wisconsin Governor Vetoes Age Verification Bill for Adult Content

Protect Privacy or Protect Peers? Evers Vetoes Digital ID Mandate

MADISON, Wisconsin — Governor Tony Evers has officially vetoed a controversial bill that would have required Wisconsin residents to provide government-issued identification to access adult websites. The decision sets Wisconsin apart from a growing list of states moving toward strict digital age verification.

The legislation, known as Assembly Bill 105, targeted websites where more than one-third of the content is deemed "harmful to minors." Under the proposed law, these platforms would have been forced to implement "reasonable" age verification methods, typically involving the scanning of a user's driver’s license or other official documentation.

Privacy Over Regulation

In an official letter to the state assembly, Governor Evers explained his decision by highlighting the potential for overreach. He argued that the mandate "imposes an intrusive burden on adults who are trying to access constitutionally protected materials."

The Governor’s concerns centered on several key areas:

• Data Security: The risk of sensitive personal information being leaked or mishandled by third-party verification services.
• Surveillance: The potential for tracking adult online activity through centralized ID databases.
• First Amendment Rights: The chilling effect such requirements might have on legal speech.

"I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to this bill’s intrusion into the personal privacy of Wisconsin residents," Evers wrote, echoing testimonies provided by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin, which had previously warned of the bill's implications for civil liberties.

National Context and the VPN Debate

Wisconsin’s rejection of the bill comes at a time when more than 20 states—including Texas, Florida, Virginia, and Arizona—have enacted similar laws. These legislative shifts have led major platforms like Pornhub to completely block access in those states to avoid the overhead and legal liability of ID collection.

Interestingly, an earlier draft of the Wisconsin bill included a provision to ban Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), tools commonly used to bypass geographic restrictions and maintain anonymity. While that provision was stripped from the final version in February, it signaled an escalating desire by regulators to control digital borders.

The Path Forward

While Governor Evers blocked the ID-sharing mandate, he did not rule out the possibility of future age-gating technology. In his veto message, he indicated an openness to "device-based" methods. Such solutions would verify a user’s age locally on their smartphone or computer, potentially protecting minors without requiring users to share their private identity documents with external websites.

For now, Wisconsin remains one of the few states resisting the nationwide trend toward mandatory digital ID checks for adult content.