Court rules in favour of Pornhub, calls Texas age-verification porn law 'unconstitutional'

Big win for Pornhub as a federal judge in Texas ruled that the law requiring pornography sites to institute age-verification measures is unconstitutional and violates the US Constitution’s First Amendment prohibition against free-speech restrictions. Free Speech Coalition had filed a lawsuit against the Texas legislation for the same and won today. This Coalition includes Pornhub’s parent company, adult industry advocacy groups and an adult performer.

What the age-verification law would have meant for pornography sites

The controversial Texas law would have gone into effect from September 1, 2023, and if not overturned would have required pornography sites to use “reasonable age verification methods” to “verify that an individual attempting to access the material is 18 years of age or older.” In addition, pornography sites would have been forced to display a “Texas Health and Human Services Warning” in at least 14-point font.One such warning was specified to read, “Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child pornography”.A national toll-free number for people with mental health disorders was also to be carried.

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This is why the court found the law "unconstitutional"

The Texas law has been overturned as the judge presiding over the case ruled, “The court finds that H.B. 1181 is unconstitutional on its face. The Court agrees that the state has a legitimate goal in protecting children from sexually explicit material online. But that goal, however crucial, does not negate this court’s burden to ensure that the laws passed in its pursuit comport with established First Amendment doctrine. There are viable and constitutional means to achieve Texas’s goal, and nothing in this order prevents the state from pursuing those means.”

Meanwhile, at least five other US states have enacted similar age-verification laws aimed at blocking access to pornography sites: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Utah and Virginia.

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