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Attorney General Ken Paxton Wins After Pornography Companies Sued Texas Over Age Verification Requirements
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AUSTIN ? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured an important victory over a host of pornography companies, including Pornhub, that sought to prevent a state law known as HB 1181 from taking effect.?
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HB 1181 requires purveyors of obscene materials online to institute reasonable age-verification measures to safeguard children from pornography. Pornhub and other organizations sued Texas, initially obtaining an injunction from a district court. However, Attorney General Paxton immediately appealed and?secured a stay, allowing him to enforce the law. Now, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has partially vacated the original injunction, ruling that the age verification requirements are constitutional.?
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?Applying rational-basis review, the age-verification requirement is rationally related to the government?s legitimate interest in preventing minors? access to pornography,? the court explained. ?Therefore, the age-verification requirement does not violate the First Amendment.?
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While the court vacated the injunction against the age-verification requirement of the statute, it upheld the lower court?s injunction against a separate section of the law that would require pornography websites to display a health warning on their landing page and all advertisements.?
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To read the decision, click here.?
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