PornHub disabled access to its site in Texas on Thursday. The reason is that the pornography website objects to the implementation of House Bill 1181.
Texas House Bill 1181 addresses age verification. The law went into effect on September 1. It requires commercial websites that publish sexually explicit or pornographic material to verify that users are over 18 years of age. Websites must ask for government-issued identification, digital identification, or transactional data from online visitors to make sure minors are not on the site.
The bill was signed into law in June.
House Bill 1181 asks websites that host explicit material to show a substance abuse hotline and a mental health helpline phone number. And, it requires three 14-point or larger notices that state the following:
1. “Pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses and weakens brain function.
2. “Exposure to this content is associated with low self-esteem and body image, eating disorders, impaired brain development and other emotional and mental illnesses.
3. “Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation and child pornography.”
Companies who refuse to meet age verification requirements can be fined up to $10,000 per day. That fine applies per instance if the company retains identifying information. If at least one minor is exposed to porn tied to a company’s lack of compliance with the law, the fine can go as high as $250,000.
So, what is the reason PornHub won’t comply with Texas state law? PornHub has a message that pops up when a Texas user tries to open the site. It says the law limits adults’ ability to access the material. PornHub said, “The law is employing the least effective and yet also most restrictive means of accomplishing Texas’s stated purpose of allegedly protecting minors.”
The PornHub statement also says the law puts the privacy of users at risk. It argues that the burden of confirming users’ ages should be on the device they are using, not the websites they visit.
In the summer of 2023, porn sites and their advocates came together to sue Texas. The group included more than a dozen businesses. It claimed that HB 1181 targets the free speech of “internet platforms and individuals.” The group claims it violates the Constitution and the federal Communications Decency Act.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Aylo Global Entertainment Inc. and Aylo USA Inc. The lawsuit alleges that the companies published and distributed sexually explicit material through websites like PornHub and fails to comply with the law.
A federal judge ruled in their favor and in November, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a temporary injunction that blocked the implementation of HB 1181.
Texas Attorney General Paxton responded on social media.
PornHub has now disabled its website in Texas. Sites like PornHub are on the run because Texas has a law that aims to prevent them from showing harmful, obscene material to children. We recently secured a major victory against PornHub and other sites that sought to block this law…
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) March 14, 2024
It seems to me that requiring age verification on porn sites is just common sense to protect minors. Beer and liquor company websites do age verification before anyone can view their sites. Porn sites aren’t being singled out.
In November, AG Paxton said, “Texas has a right to protect its children from the detrimental effects of pornographic content. As new technology makes harmful content more accessible than ever, we must make every effort to defend those who are most vulnerable.”
PornHub has pulled its access in seven states. The states include Utah, Arkansas, and North Carolina. It says age verification laws will not keep minors off the websites. That may be true since minors have grown up learning the tricks of pirating information and getting around barriers to information. Still, the need for guardrails exists. Companies should try to protect minors from adult content. It’s not too much to ask.