Trump Ally Forces Pornhub to Leave Texas Over Child Safety Law
One of the most-visited pornographic websites on the internet has restricted its content in the state of Texas following a new age verification law, a lawsuit from an ally of former President Donald Trump, and a ruling by a state court.
Pornhub was no longer accessible in the country’s second most populous state as of Thursday, the website confirmed to The Houston Chronicle.
Texas Republicans passed HB 1181 last year to protect children in the state from accessing pornography online.
The Chronicle noted the law stipulates that websites such as Pornhub that distribute “sexual material harmful to minors” must ask visitors to verify their age with the use of a government-issued ID.
The companies are not permitted to use the IDs for any purpose other than to confirm that viewers of adult content are of age.
Stiff fines for non-compliance were also set amid threats and a lawsuit from state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
For example, if the identifying information is used for any purpose other than to verify age, the company would be fined $10,000.
Displeased with operating in Texas, Pornhub packed up shop on Thursday and is now blocked in the Lone Star State.
On social media, a person from Texas who visited the website shared a message in which Pornhub accused the state of violating its rights.
“As you may know, your elected officials in Texas are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website,” the company said. “Not only does this impinge on the rights of adults to access protected speech, it fails strict scrutiny by employing the least effective and yet also most restrictive means of accomplishing Texas’s stated purpose of allegedly protecting minors.”
JUST IN: PornHub pulls out of Texas due to age verification law pic.twitter.com/eXn4IeqxE5
— BNO News (@BNONews) March 14, 2024
The message concluded that age verification laws were ineffective.
The porn giant added:
“Attempting to mandate age verification without any means to enforce at scale gives platforms the choice to comply or not, leaving thousands of platforms open and accessible. As we’ve seen in other states, such bills have failed to protect minors, by driving users from those few websites which comply, to the thousands of websites, with far fewer safety measures in place, which do not comply.”
In February, Paxton — one of Trump’s closest allies in the state — filed a lawsuit against Pornhub’s parent company to force it to abide by the law.
Paxton issued a statement that defended his state’s right to protect children and threatened Canadian-based Aylo with mounts of civil penalties.
“Texas has a right to protect its children from the detrimental effects of pornographic content,” Paxton stated at the time. “I look forward to holding any company accountable that violates our age verification laws intended to prevent minors from being exposed to harmful, obscene material on the internet.”
Prior to the lawsuit, the state’s Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last fall that companies that violate the law could be fined as much as $10,000 per day.
The fine would increase to $250,000 if children were exposed to pornographic content.
Pornhub has not said whether it has blocked access in Texas temporarily or permanently.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
