Oh yes, "simply" obey a law that would not respect the privacy of people, and given the current religious zealousness in the US, may expose customers to future danger.
Good for Pornhub. They made the right call.
> would not respect the privacy of the people
How does age verification break privacy? I have to show ID to get into an adult "bookstore," to enter a bar, or purchase alcohol. I have to show ID to check into my hotel, get through airport security, drive my car, buy Pseudo. Are you saying there is absolutely no way to perform this action online in a way that respects privacy just the same as all of those operations? No way at all to do a verification that's immediately tossed in a privacy preserving way?
If so, then it sounds like maybe things that require age verification shouldn't be allowed to operate on the internet.
And even if the private sector innovated here, there's no approval from the government to accept math nerd solutions as legally valid.
Which means you basically have to scan and upload your photo ID to these websites, or use a payment card, or something else that will stand up in court.