In June of 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 1181, forcing companies offering access to adult sexual material online to verify the age of its users. Sites such as Pornhub, Brazzers and YouPorn — all subsidiaries of the Aylo corporation — have already suspended operations in Texas in protest of the law.
According to the Washington Post, HB 1181 would require individuals wishing to access websites offering adult sexual content to verify their age by “either entering information from a government-issued ID or using a third-party system that uses public and private data — such as employment, education or mortgage information — to verify age.”
Additionally, these websites would also have to display “health warnings,” which would include phrases such as “TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child pornography.”
The decision by Pornhub and its subsidiaries to suspend operations in Texas came after the 5th Circuit Appeals Court ruled to uphold the age verification aspect of the law, citing the Supreme Court case Ginsburg vs. New York (1968), which prohibited the sale of obscene material to minors. However, the 5th Circuit Appeals Court decided to overturn the health warnings aspect of the law.
Opponents of HB 1181 argue that the law violates adults’ rights to access constitutionally protected speech while doing very little to protect minors from accessing the content. A statement from the Free Speech Coalition following the 5th Circuit Appeal Court’s decision states, “Our battle, of course, is just beginning. Unfortunately, we’ve already seen how this designation has been weaponized to censor and ban LGBTQ+ literature, reproductive rights resources, sex education, art, and healthcare. Sexual expression, online and off, has been and continues to be the canary in the coal mine of free speech.”
Regardless of the nuances behind the protection of pornography, HB 1181 represents a serious breach of personal privacy by the Texas government. Texans should not be forced to enter information from their government-issued ID — which includes very sensitive personal information like home address and date of birth — in order to access content online. This law, pioneered by politicians who have turned heel against the typical views of the Republican party and have embraced the ideals of big government, is a grave overreach into the lives of Texans. As Texans, we cannot let this law stand and must advocate for a revised version that does not violate citizens’ privacy or for its repeal.
Contact information for your local representative’s office at The Texas at Representatives and The Texas Senate website.
