In Olathe, Kansas, a mother is taking legal action against several adult websites after discovering her 14-year-old son had repeatedly accessed explicit content online. The lawsuit, one of the first filed under a newly enacted state law, accuses websites like Jerkmate, Chaturbate, Superporn, and Hentaicity of failing to protect minors by not verifying users’ ages.
The mother, whose name remains private to protect her son’s identity, claims her son accessed these sites 185 times over two months after stumbling upon an old laptop in their home last August. The device, though forgotten in a closet, was still working — and had no parental controls. Once online, the teen, referred to in court documents as “Q.R.,” was able to freely browse adult content without encountering any age barriers.
Under Kansas’ law passed last year, websites with at least 25% of content deemed “harmful to minors” must implement measures to confirm that visitors are at least 18 years old if they’re accessing the site from Kansas. This lawsuit is among the first attempts to hold companies accountable under that statute, which is part of a growing national push to restrict minors’ exposure to online pornography.
Despite the law, the mother says her son had “unfettered access” to explicit material — and alleges that these companies did nothing to stop it. Each visit to these adult sites, she argues, represents a violation of both the age verification law and state consumer protection laws. Legal experts say that could lead to tens of thousands of dollars in penalties per infraction.