Texas and its Attorney General Ken Paxton have achieved a significant victory in their efforts to enforce an age-verification law, leading to the closure of PornHub’s operations statewide. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit recently overturned a previous injunction against the age-verification requirement, allowing the rules to remain in effect.
However, the court did uphold an injunction against a section of House Bill 1181 that mandated PornHub to display a health warning on its landing page and advertisements.
In response, PornHub issued an open letter to users, arguing that the age-verification law violated its First Amendment rights and highlighted the ineffectiveness of such measures in protecting minors. The company expressed concerns about the law’s impact on content creators and announced its decision to disable access to its website in Texas until a more effective solution is implemented.
Conservative groups, including the Texas Family Project, celebrated the court’s decision, viewing it as a victory for Texas families. Similar age verification laws have been passed in other states, leading PornHub to withdraw from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Utah, and Virginia as well.
