One of the adult industry's biggest stars has fought back against laws that will force porn websites to verify the age of every person accessing their content.The intent of the legislation is to protect children from being exposed to harmful pornographic material.
It's already been passed in 20 US states, while 16 more hope to pass the age-verification legislation before the year is up, according to the Daily Citizen.
But Cherie DeVille, who is famous in the porn world for her MILF persona, has revealed that she believes that the laws will backfire and actually harm children more than it will protect them - along with potentially decimating the legal side of the adult industry.
'It's going to be a massive amount of monetary loss, and I think you're going to see an explosion of illegal, unethical porn because they don't care and they won't comply,' she explained to ABC News.
DeVille added that she thinks that the legislation is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
'I do not care what you think about porn. This should terrify you because this is a massive government overstep in one of our most cherished things in the United State,' she said.
DeVille doubled down on her stance to DailyMail.com, insisting that the laws would do more harm than good.
Adult star Cherie DeVille is fighting back against laws that will force porn websites to verify the age of every person accessing their content
DeVille, 46, is currently one of the biggest names in adult entertainment, boasting 4.5 million followers on Instagram alone
'If this method of age verification were truly effective, I would support it. But in reality, it's easy to bypass, and only legal sites will comply - leaving illegal and often dangerous content as the only unrestricted option,' she warned.
'Instead, we need a real, device-based solution that protects all children from content not meant for them, not just adult material,' she continued.
'If the true goal were child safety, there would be a serious effort to implement real protections such as device-based restrictions.
'Instead, it's clear this is just an attempt to eradicate the legal adult industry. Love us or hate us, but make no mistake - legislation like this puts your freedom of speech on the line.'
DeVille, 46, is currently one of the biggest names in adult entertainment, boasting 4.5 million followers on Instagram alone.
She's been nicknamed 'the internet's stepmom' due to her MILF content, and has won multiple AVN Awards - aka the Oscars of porn.
South Dakota became the 20th state to require pornography companies to check online consumers' ages on February 27, according to Daily Citizen.
The legislation was also already passed in Louisiana, Arkansas, Virginia, Utah, Montana, Texas, North Carolina, Indiana, Idaho, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Georgia, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee.
The intent of the legislation is to protect children from being exposed to harmful pornographic material, but DeVille believes it will backfire and make illegal porn more rampant (stock image)
Mom-of-five Dawn Hawkins (pictured) has thrown her support behind the age-verification legislation
While sex workers like DeVille are fighting the legislation, moms like Dawn Hawkins want even tougher laws in place.
'How are we going to teach our children healthy intimacy and boundaries and consent when what they're viewing across multiple platforms is sharing really the opposite message,' Hawkins told ABC News.
'It's not a matter of if my kids are going to be exposed to pornography. It's a matter of when. It's definitely going to happen,' the mom-of-five continued.
'As long as we're prioritizing adults' access to this content and not also prioritizing children's safety, we are going to destroy the next generation.'
She added, 'We are just asking that the pornography companies put a fence around it and make sure that those accessing this content are of age.'
In January, it was revealed that age-verification laws will soon be rolled out for porn sites across the UK.
DeVille (center) told DailyMail.com, 'In reality, it's easy to bypass, and only legal sites will comply - leaving illegal and often dangerous content as the only unrestricted option'
Any websites which host pornography must introduce 'robust' age checks to stop children from being exposed to it, Ofcom has said.
The regulator has set a hard deadline of July 2025 for the sites to introduce these age checks.
'For too long, many online services which allow porn and other harmful material have ignored the fact that children are accessing their services,' said Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom's chief executive.
'Either they don't ask or, when they do, the checks are minimal and easy to avoid.
'That means companies have effectively been treating all users as if they're adults, leaving children potentially exposed to porn and other types of harmful content. Today, this starts to change.'
South Dakota