Pornhub files lawsuit against Texas over age verification legislation.
Pornhub Sues Texas Over First Amendment Violation
A coalition of activists and businesses from the pornographic industry, including Pornhub and the Free Speech Coalition, has filed a lawsuit against Texas over a new law that requires online platforms to verify users’ ages before granting access to pornography. The coalition argues that this law violates the First Amendment.
Challenging Texas’s Age Verification Law
The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Texas on Aug. 4, seeks to block the implementation of H.B. 1181, the state’s recently passed age verification law, which is set to take effect on Sept. 1. Governor Greg Abbott signed the legislation into law on June 15. While other states have also passed similar laws, Texas is the first to face legal action from the industry.
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The coalition argues that the age verification method mandated by Texas is both ineffective and overly restrictive in achieving its stated goal of protecting minors. They point out that minors can easily bypass the age verification by using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access the websites.
In their lawsuit, the coalition alleges that Texas has violated multiple constitutional rights, including the First Amendment right to free speech, the due process requirement of the 14th Amendment, and the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment. They also assert that the websites are protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields platforms from being held responsible for user-generated content.
H.B. 1181 mandates that adult websites display a “Texas Health and Human Services Warning” in 14-point font and require users to verify their age. The warning highlights the potential biological addiction of pornography, its negative impact on brain development, desensitization of brain reward circuits, increased conditioned responses, and weakened brain function.
Texas is not alone in implementing age verification requirements. Louisiana was one of the first states to do so in January, requiring users to provide a government-issued ID before accessing pornographic websites. Several other states, including Virginia, Mississippi, Utah, Arkansas, and Montana, have passed similar bills.
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