Maitland Ward Praises 'Not Perfect' PornHub for Rebuffing Florida Age Verification Law

Pornhub will no longer be available in Florida ... a major response to a new state law requiring age verification to visit adult platforms -- and one porn star tells TMZ the stand is a double-edged sword.

Here's the deal ... Pornhub's parent company, Aylo, opted to block access to horny Floridians rather than comply with the law taking effect on Jan. 1, requiring a state ID be shared to prove that would-be lookers are 18.

Maitland Ward tells TMZ ... Pornhub is "not perfect" and could do more to ensure minors are not viewing the free site, but as she sees it -- Florida tracking people's porn habits is a slippery slope that'll make horndogs mighty uncomfortable.

Applauding Pornhub's stance, which is seen as standing for free speech, Maitland anticipates the decision will push more people to paid sites of stars and, of course, OnlyFans.

Still, MW points out that by pulling out of Florida, the popular Canadian-based site is alienating a huge population that might hold a grudge ... in only one of the four states where it is legal to film professional porn ... so the decision is a big deal.

Paid sites require a credit card, so sharing an ID with that information does not seem as invasive ... but again -- PH is free, so uploading a driver's license is seen as going too far.