Pornhub disables Texas users access to the site
Texas - Pornhub, one of the most visited pornography sites, announced they were disabling their website in the state of Texas following a recent ruling.
The site released a letter on Thursday mentioning Texas lawmakers are requiring the site to verify users' age before being able to access the website. They claimed the age verification measure is ineffective.
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Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1181 in June 2023. The law would ban minors from viewing explicit content online by requiring the website, such as Pornhub, to have users verify their age.
In February, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Aylo Global Entertainment, the parent company of Pornhub for violating HB 1181 for $1.6 million in fines.
However, in Pornhub's announcement, they stated, "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."
Other states have passed bills aimed at protecting minors, but the website claims those bills just drive users to sites without those compliance and safety measures in place.
Pornhub decided to disable access to their site in Texas until a real solution is offered, they stated. "The safety of our users is one of our biggest concerns. We believe that the only effective solution for protecting minors and adults alike is to verify users’ age on their devices and to either deny or allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that verification. We call on all adult sites to comply with the law."