PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden has signed into law a bill imposing criminal charges on sites that fail to verify users’ ages before providing access to adult content.

The governor’s office has confirmed that the governor signed the bill at a private signing ceremony Thursday morning.

“As parents, we just want to protect our kids,” said Rhoden. “But technology moves so fast that it often seems impossible. I signed a bill to require age verification by websites containing material that is harmful to minors. I will continue to find ways to keep South Dakota safe for our kids.”

South Dakota is the 20th state to pass an age verification law. While most state AV laws make violations actionable solely via civil suits, however, violating HB 1053 is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and any subsequent violation constitutes a Class 6 felony.

Another difference between the new South Dakota law and the other AV laws and bills being promoted around the country by religious conservative activists is the delineation of what sites and platforms are covered.

Most AV bills are copycats or variations on the original Louisiana law that sparked the age verification legislative trend, and define covered platforms as those on which one-third of content is considered “harmful to minors.” In South Dakota, however, covered platforms are websites “for which it is in the regular course of the website’s trade or business to create, host, or make available material that is harmful to minors.”

State Representative Bethany Soye, who sponsored the law, promoted this provision as a way to address the vagueness of the one-third standard and the potential loopholes it leaves open. Soye also argued that the “regular course” model is much more likely to be upheld in court.

A recent debate in the South Dakota state Senate Judiciary Committee focused largely on which piece of AV legislation could best withstand potential legal challenges.

Tennessee’s AV law, the Protect Tennessee Minors Act, also imposes criminal liability. That law took effect in January following the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to lift a district court’s preliminary injunction against enforcement. The injunction was imposed as a result of a legal challenge by Free Speech Coalition and co-plaintiffs.

“Another day, another state disregarding First Amendment protections by enacting an age verification law,” industry attorney Corey D. Silverstein told XBIZ. “This time, South Dakota’s lawmakers have passed a statute that conflicts with established case law and ignores the pending Supreme Court decision that may upend Texas’ approach.”

Free Speech Coalition et al. v. Paxton, the industry trade organization’s challenge to Texas’ AV law, is awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court on what standard of review should apply to such laws, which aim to protect minors but in the process burden adults’ access to protected speech. A lower court applied only the “rational basis” standard, whereas FSC, its fellow plaintiffs and free speech advocates maintain that the highest level of judicial review, “strict scrutiny,” must apply in such cases.

Silverstein also observed that the South Dakota’s law inclusion of criminal liability makes a constitutional challenge “all but inevitable.” 

The law takes effect July 1, which Silverstein noted gives website operators “just a few months to decide how to handle South Dakota users and avoid potential liability.”

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has asked all social media and online messaging platforms with at least 8 million users to register as application service providers beginning this year. 

According to Singaporean newspaper The Star, via the South China Morning Post, Fahmi told Malaysia’s lower house of Parliament that the country’s Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has removed nearly 2,000 pornographic posts and ads from social media since 2022.

Fahmi said that these tech companies have a duty to block “inappropriate content,” noting that a total of 3,670 websites were blocked for displaying such content between January 2022 and Feb. 15, 2025.

As XBIZ has reported, the Malaysian government has cracked down on those who try to skirt the country’s obscenity laws, charging one activist with a crime after she uploaded a collage of vulvas on her Twitter account and arresting a male creator — as well as his two girlfriends and their content partners — for the crime of “offering sexual services” by posting and marketing adult videos online.

The government also worked with Elon Musk’s X to remove pornographic content from the platform in Malaysia, though it remains available in other parts of the world. 

“Social media platforms have a duty of care to avoid putting up inappropriate content and that is why we need to work with them,” Fahmi told parliament, the SCMP reported.

Malaysia’s parliament recently passed a controversial bill known as the Online Safety Bill 2024, which requires licensed application providers to remove “harmful content,” which includes anything the government deems obscene or indecent.

The heart of the controversy lies in the fact that the bill grants law enforcement officials sweeping search and seizure powers that don’t require a warrant — and that includes sensitive user data.

However, due to the “8 million users” stipulation, the bill is expected to affect fewer than a dozen companies.

According to Azalina Othman Said, the minister for law and institutional reforms, those companies include Tencent, which operates WeChat; ByteDance, which owns TikTok; and U.S.-based Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and What’s App. 

LOS ANGELES — Content creator cloud storage company SceneLocker has extended its closed beta test.

Participating creators will receive 1TB of free storage space for the duration of the test, as well as discounted pricing in the future.

“We at SceneLocker are excited to announce that we are extending our beta for established content creators,” said co-founder Matt Slayer. “The input of creators, after giving SceneLocker a spin on their own workflows, has been invaluable. We feel the input from the community will help us shape the product even further to be the number one resource for creators. If you have a good idea, and it plays, we will implement it.”

For more information or to register for the beta test, visit SceneLocker.com.

LOS ANGELES — This past weekend at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, photographer Rosie Marks and writer Esra Padgett celebrated the release of “Raw Talent,” their new monograph about Aylo’s iconic studio Brazzers.

Wednesday, Interview Magazine’s Mekala Rajagopal published a tê­te-à-tête-à-tête with the two authors, who go behind the scenes and break down the circumstances behind several photographs from the book.

Up first is a photo of megastar Angela White enjoying a meal at In-N-Out Burger, with her just-won Pornhub Award for Female Performer of the Year on the table in front of her.

“It’s like the paparazzi pictures of people sitting with In-N-Out burgers after winning an Oscar,” says Marks.

Adds Padgett, “Winning Female Performer of the Year is like the apex, but Angela’s also a very intelligent performer and businessperson. I hesitate to say she’s at the peak of her career because she’s had a long career already and probably will continue to for a really long time. She’s masterful at figuring out how to reinvent herself as a performer.”

Next, superagent Mark Spiegler is pictured in his Woodland Hills home, surrounded by boxes of awards his clients have won.

“At least half of the female contract stars in Brazzers are represented by him, and to get repped by him is like your ticket to the porn Oscars,” says Marks.

She goes on to point out Spiegler’s seemingly clairvoyant knowledge of industry trends.

“When we were at his house, Esra was asking him who he thought was the next big thing, and the first name he gave was Gal Ritchie, who is an English girl who has been in the industry for less than a year,” she says. “But then at all the awards three weeks ago, she won Best New Star, which is the award that basically all of the Angelas of the world have won. So he’s got a good instinct.”

The two talk at length about Brazzers’ now-infamous “performer gets stuck in object” genre, accompanied by pictures of Danny D “stuck” in a vending machine at Brazzers’ U.K. headquarters, and Abella Danger’s entrance at the studio’s 20th anniversary gala, emerging from a giant washing machine.

“Getting stuck in things is a major trope of Brazzers,” says Padgett. “Any common household appliance or situation that you could possibly imagine getting stuck in, or would never think of getting stuck in, happens. And at Danny’s studio, they build all these special contraptions that people can get stuck in. The classic one is the washing machine.”

Frequent Brazzers collaborator Mick Blue’s versatility is also discussed, accompanied by a picture of the star behind the wheel of his race car, with which he’s won multiple championships.

“He seems to excel at everything he does,” says Marks. “He’s now a race car driver and has won all these awards for that. And then he started doing jiujitsu and ended up as a black belt, and now he’s building his acting career outside of porn and he’s got a recurring role on ‘General Hospital.’”

Following a picture of Miami’s notorious Bang Bus and its driver Chubbs, the two discuss Brazzers’ early days.

“Brazzers is Canadian, so when they started, they were trying to emulate things like the Bang Bus, and they took a lot of inspiration from these classic American early internet porn sites,” says Padgett. “Now, the interior of the Bang Bus is just insane. It’s just dirty, ratty old yoga mats and nasty blankets and it’s all torn out so they can just have sex in the middle of it, but there’s a little bench in the back. Chubbs has one of those claw grabbers to pick up dirty tissues or whatever in the back.”

Says Marks, “I think Abella Danger and Luna Star, who were big contract stars, had their first or first major scenes there.”

The interview concludes with photos from after a shoot in a Hollywood bar for the studio’s “Sneaky Dive Bar Throwdown.”

“This scene was shot in a public place, and most of the shoots that we were on were either in private houses or a set in the Brazzers headquarters,” says Marks. “So that one was unique. They were shooting until 5:57 and at 6:00 the bar opened to customers, so that was a real last minute scrub down.”

Padgett notes that not every studio could get away with that type of shoot.

“They have an impeccable reputation for cleanliness,” she says. “Not all places would even let them rent out their venue for having a porn shoot, so once they do, they have a pretty high bar of cleaning it. This was a real divey bar in Hollywood, so I think they genuinely left it cleaner than when they came in.”

To read the full interview, visit InterviewMagazine.com.

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Feb 26, 2025 3:41 PM PST

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Newly crowned XMAs Girl/Girl Performer of the Year Lilly Bell is featured in a new article for Bazowie! Magazine.

The eight-page article features a cosplay photospread by Dean Capture and an interview by Peter P. in which Bell discusses her favorite characters to cosplay, the distinctions of VR shoots, and her background in theater, among other topics.

“I’m honored to have won Best VR Video twice from the Bazowie! Awards and to be featured in the latest issue of their magazine,” Bell said. “It seems like I did this interview so long ago, but I’m excited it’s finally out and that my fans and their readers can enjoy it.”

To download the issue free, enter code “bz12” here; to purchase the print edition, click here.

Follow Lilly Bell on X.com.

Feb 26, 2025 3:39 PM PST

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Newly crowned XMAs Trans Performer of the Year Ariel Demure is interviewed in a new article on Adult Empire’s website.

During the interview, Demure discusses her favorite content, working in the industry, and her recent XMAs Award-winning release, “Gorgons and Goddesses,” among other topics.

“This was one of my favorite recent interviews,” said Demure. “Charlie really did his research and had me dialed in. Whether you’re a long-time or new fan, you’ll definitely learn something new about me in this interview, and that’s the way it should be. Wait until you see my answer to the question ‘What’s coming up next?’”

To read the full interview, click here.

Follow Ariel Demure on X.com.

Feb 26, 2025 3:37 PM PST

MALAGA, Spain — Magnus Loki and Mika Ayden star in the first episode of the new MenAtPlay series, “Ready to Fly,” titled “The Layover.”

Directed by Raul Marcos, the episode opens with airline attendants Loki and Ayden taking advantage of a layover before their next flight.

“No matter what you’re looking forward to this year, there’s no way to be completely ready for what’s next on MenAtPlay,” said MenAtPlay Executive Producer Hector Camacho. “This is our biggest and most ambitious year yet, with ‘Ready to Fly’ releasing as our first series.”

“The Layover” drops Friday on MenAtPlay.

Follow the studio on X.com.

LOS ANGELES — Australian lingerie brand Honey Birdette doubled its global sales on Valentine’s Day compared to last year, according to company CEO Kim Kidd.

“2024 was a year of transformation — learning, resetting, and defining our future strategy,” Kidd told Ragtrader. “We did everything differently.”

As a result, he said, the company set new benchmarks across all regions, “surpassing expectations on all fronts.”

The sales bump could not have come at a better time, as Honey Birdette was nearly sold last year by its parent company, PLBY Group, whose CEO Ben Kohn said that his long-term vision for the company didn’t include the lingerie brand.

Following two consecutive quarters of positive sales growth, Honey Birdette’s revenue decreased by $3.8 million in Q2 of 2024, according to Ragtrader. A few months later, PLBY Group listed Honey Birdette as a “discontinued operation” for Q3 — never a good sign.

However, by January 2025, PLBY Group had decided not to sell Honey Birdette due to “meaningful improvements” in the company’s operational metrics and the increased strength of its own balance sheet.

To capitalize on Valentine’s Day, Honey Birdette created a marketing campaign to showcase its bestselling products, and the company also hosted a pair of events in Sydney and Miami that brought out plenty of influencers.

Kidd told Ragtrader that Honey Birdette really focused on the customer experience this season, offering fast deliveries and a wide range of sizes.

“Our designers curated a [Valentine’s Day] collection that catered to every customer, whether they were shopping for themselves or someone special,” she said, singling out the company’s hot-pink bondage collection, Jasmin, as a top seller this year.

“At the heart of everything we do is our product,” Kidd told Ragtrader. “We are continually pushing boundaries across stores and online — however, this Valentine’s, we focused on ensuring both channels worked seamlessly together.”

PLBY Group is slated to release its Q4 and full-year results in late March. Those numbers could shed further light on why it decided to reverse course on selling Honey Birdette.