- Missouri age verification rules don’t just affect adult sites
- Mandatory age verification arrived on November 30, 2025
- Experts criticized law for ‘vague’ language
Mandatory age verification landed in Missouri on Sunday, November 30, and some reports suggest more websites may be affected than previously thought.
Missouri’s age verification law requires websites and apps to verify that users are at least 18 years old if 33% or more their content is deemed “harmful” to minors. The law defines “harmful” content as sexually explicit content that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.
Experts speaking to TechRadar warn that these definitions are still too vague, creating a real risk of “mission drift.” And, according to some Reddit users, these concerns aren’t just theoretical: they’re already happening.
One person cited an online lingerie store requiring age checks for certain photos as evidence of the problem, saying: “Seems like that’s scary talk to me.”
As of Monday, December 1, online sports betting is also legal in Missouri, requiring websites to verify that players are at least 21 years old. However, the state’s new age verification law makes no reference to age-restricting this type of content, which could create confusion among providers.
At TechRadar, we’ve tried to check which websites have already been impacted by the new rules by connecting to a virtual private network (VPN), but have had mixed results so far. This suggests that the new requirements may still be rolling out.
“A regime of widespread surveillance and censorship”
“Missouri’s age verification mandate imposes a regime of widespread surveillance and censorship that will exclude millions of adults and young people from vibrant, legal online spaces,” Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) activist Molly Buckley told TechRadar.
Buckley particularly criticizes the law’s “vague standards” and “harsh penalties,” noting that providers can face fines of up to $10,000 per day for noncompliance. She explains that these risks could “push platforms to overcensor important content, shun the state altogether, or ban young people outright in order to avoid any risk of liability.”
His concerns seem well-founded. Beyond user reports that have surfaced on Reddit, Aylo — the parent company of several of the biggest adult sites — has officially blocked access to everyone in Missouri. The company said it has taken this action in Missouri and several other states that have implemented similar laws to avoid compromising the privacy and security of user data.
To access adult content, users must prove their age and identity. They can do this by scanning a government-issued ID, providing other transactional data, or using a digital ID.
Yet according to Buckley and other experts who spoke to TechRadarforcing everyone to hand over their most valuable and sensitive identity data could lead to privacy breaches or data leaks.
“Lawmakers should focus on real solutions for everyone, like strong privacy protections and limits on data brokers, not broad censorship and surveillance mandates like this,” Buckley said.
How a VPN can help you
If you want to share sensitive information or want to bypass website blocks, you may want to consider a VPN. This tool encrypts your Internet connection and hides your IP address, allowing you to bypass geographic restrictions.
Many Missourians are already taking action: Searches for VPNs have quadrupled since the new rules took effect. Be careful, however: dubious companies are exploiting this surge. A search for “Missouri VPN” already reveals top results from providers our expert reviewers have never heard of.
And, while there are a handful of free, secure, and reliable VPNs, they all come with limitations. If you can, now is a great time to get one of the best VPN services on the market, as they all slashed their prices during Black Friday and are still discounted with great Cyber Monday VPN deals.
This includes TechRadar’s top-rated service, NordVPN, which is now offering an even better exclusive Cyber Monday discount for TechRadar readers only. Here are all the details:
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Access a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy abroad. We do not support or approve the use of a VPN service to break the law or conduct illegal activities. Consumption of paid pirated content is not endorsed or endorsed by Future Publishing.
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