When Texas passed HB 1181 to protect children, a law that requires porn sites to verify the age of its visitors via a third party (using ID), the porn industry tried to fight back.
Pornhub and the porn industry’s advocacy arm, the Free Speech coalition, sued the state of Texas and obtained an injunction. The Texas attorney general then appealed and the U.S. Court of Appeals has now ruled that requiring age verification on porn sites to protect children is constitutional.
“...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.”
This is an immensely significant win in the fight to protect children and it sets a crucial precedent for the foundation of this law nationwide.
For the past two years, through the Protect Children Not Porn campaign, Exodus Cry has been specifically advocating for the very law Texas just won the right to uphold.
With the help of many of you, we were able to host a symposium on Capitol Hill educating lawmakers about the need to protect children from porn, we delivered a petition with nearly 100,000 signatures to the Speaker of the House, and our documentary Raised on Porn has reached over four million views.
The message is spreading quickly and the scales of justice are finally tipping in favor of child protection!
When we began this campaign in 2021, there were no states with laws in place requiring age verification on porn sites. As of today, 38 states have introduced or passed age verification legislation!
We are full of gratitude towards everyone who has supported this fight.
With your help, we’re continuing to press for all 50 states to pass these laws, and we’ll be reaching out directly to the remaining state legislatures this year.
Supporters like you carry these campaigns forward. You can click below to help fuel this campaign to protect millions of children from the life-altering consequences of underage exposure to porn.
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