SALT LAKE CITY — A lawsuit filed by the parent company of Pornhub and other adult content websites has been put on hold by a federal judge because the Utah State Legislature may tweak the controversial law.
Court records reviewed by FOX 13 News show that Utah's Department of Commerce and Aylo Freesites agreed to stall the litigation. A preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge David Barlow is already in effect, blocking the law from being enforced.
"In light of the Court’s recent ruling regarding S.B. 73, the parties anticipate that the Utah Legislature may consider amending the statute. Rather than continuing to litigate Plaintiffs’ claims against the current version of S.B. 73, the parties therefore agree that staying further proceedings in this case would be the most efficient course for both the parties and the Court to see what, if any, amendments the Legislature makes to the provision of S.B. 73 challenged in this case," lawyers for Aylo and the Utah Attorney General's Office (representing the Utah Department of Commerce) wrote in a joint motion.
Judge Barlow agreed to delay the litigation until after the 2027 Utah State Legislature adjourns, according to court records..
Aylo Freesites sued Utah after lawmakers passed (and Governor Spencer Cox signed) Senate Bill 73 into law. Aylo had argued that the law passed by the Utah State Legislature would require age-verification for adult content sites for people Utah — but then targeted VPNs, which can make it appear someone is outside the state or in another country.
The adult content company said in arguments in July that it feared civil and criminal liability and infringes upon the rights of people outside Utah and around the world.
Judge Barlow sided with Aylo and said the law itself is vague. The Utah State Legislature can modify the existing law, which also imposed a tax on adult-content sites earmarked for youth mental health programs.
For year now, Pornhub and similar sites have already blocked Utah IP addresses in a political protest over anti-porn laws the legislature has passed.