Data: Searches for ‘VPN’ increase after Pornhub shuts down in Texas
AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Thursday, Pornhub, a popular adult entertainment website, cut off access to Texas over an objection to the state’s age verification law, which requires online pornography distributors to use age verification methods to ensure all users are 18 or older.
Texans who attempted to access the site were shown a message explaining why the content was unavailable.
Following the announcement, SlashGear, a company covering the tech industry, collected data to show how Google search trends were impacted.
The methods used in the study included using Google Trends to analyze search increase data for terms related to VPN, Texas and Pornhub.
PAST COVERAGE: Pornhub cuts off access to site in Texas over age verification law
Over the past day, searches for “Texas VPN” increased by 1,750%, according to the data collected.
SlashGear said searches for “Is porn banned in Texas” showed a 3,100% increase, as well as a 1,600% increase in search trends for “How to access Pornhub.”
“Many are looking for well-known or paid VPN brands, such as Proton VPN, Tunnelbear, Mullvad, or Windscribe, while others are searching for free options,” SlashGear said. “In fact, Google searches for ‘free VPN for iPhone’ and ‘Free VPN’ increased by 450% and 80% on the day following the news.”
Location-specific search keywords also had an increase of more than 1,500%, according to the collected data. The most searched terms included: “Texas VPN,” “VPN Texas,” “Pornhub shutdown,” and “Pornhub blocked.”
According to Google Trends, over the past day, the most popular areas in Texas related to “VPN” came from the Austin metro area, followed by Houston, San Angelo, Dallas-Ft. Worth and then Waco-Temple-Bryan.
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