Court Rules in Pornhub’s Favor in Finding Texas Age-Verification Law Violates First Amendment
variety.comTodd Spangler NY Digital Editor Score one for Pornhub: A federal judge ruled Thursday that a Texas law requiring pornography sites to institute age-verification measures and add prominent warning labels about the alleged dangers of porn violated the U.S.
Constitution’s First Amendment prohibition against free-speech restrictions. A lawsuit seeking to overturn the Texas legislation was filed Aug.
4 by the Free Speech Coalition, a group that included Pornhub’s parent company, adult industry advocacy groups and an adult performer (referred to in filings as “Jane Doe”).
Under the Texas law, which was set to go into effect Sept. 1, 2023, porn sites would have been required 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 of which was specified to read, “Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child pornography” — along with a national toll-free number for people with mental health disorders.
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