TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed complaints Monday against several major pornography websites and related companies, accusing them of violating the state’s new age-verification law and allowing minors to access sexually explicit material.
The complaints target two groups of defendants. One filing names Gethins Limited, Toccata Inc., Segpay Gateway LLC, Segregated Payments Inc., and Segpay. The operated site distributes pornographic video game content and lacks an age-verification process compliant with Florida law, according to Uthmeier’s office.
A second complaint was brought against Aylo Holdings USA Corp., Aylo Billings US Corp., Aylo Group Ltd., and Nutaku Entertainment Ltd. The filing says SpiceVids and Nutaku have no legally sufficient system to prevent minors from accessing their content.
“Florida is committed to being the best place to raise children,” Uthmeier sait. “We passed strong legislation to keep kids from being exposed to harmful and toxic material, and instead of following it, these platforms ignored it. We are taking them to court to make sure they cannot continue bypassing Florida’s common sense safeguards.”
The complaints allege that the platforms have knowingly flouted HB 3, a measure enacted last year requiring commercial entities distributing sexually explicit material harmful to minors to confirm users are at least 18 before granting access. The law, codified in Sections 501.1737 and 501.1738 of Florida statutes, took effect Jan. 1.
Each day the sites operate without proper verification amounts to “numerous violations” and fuels a lucrative Florida user base that includes “vulnerable children and teens,” according to the filings.
Violations of the law carry fines of up to $50,000 per offense. Uthmeier’s office is asking courts to impose civil penalties, attorneys’ fees and costs; to order temporary and permanent injunctions barring future violations; and to require the companies to comply with state age-verification and deceptive trade practices laws.