Pornhub says laws threaten free speech
A high-stakes battle over pornography, child safety and free speech is heating up across the nation, with more than a half-dozen states passing ageverification laws aimed at halting minors from accessing Pornhub and other adult websites.
Last year, Texas became the seventh – and largest – state to pass some form of the controversial legislation, which effectively blocks millions of adult video enthusiasts from entering Pornhub’s site unless they can prove they are at least 18 years old.
Attorneys and advocates for porn sites argue that the laws are not just prohibiting minors but adults, too. Pornhub says it had no choice but “to completely disable access to our website in Texas” in order to reduce the risk of hefty fines and penalties.
Pornhub also has reluctantly blocked site access in other states with age-verification laws, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia.
“We are fighting not only for the rights of our members and the larger adult entertainment community, but for the right of all Americans to access constitutionally protected expression in the privacy of their own home,” said Alison Boden, executive director of Free Speech Coalition, a national advocacy organization for the First Amendment rights of adult businesses. The group filed a lawsuit in federal court last year over what it called an “antiporn ban” by Utah lawmakers.
The HB 1181 law passed in June 2023 in Texas requires companies that offer “sexual material harmful to minors” to verify that those who visit their website are 18 or older, either by proof of government-issued identification or another system.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, sued Pornhub’s parent company Aylo in February to force it to comply with the HB 1181 law. Paxton also threatened the company with millions of dollars in civil penalties – including up to $10,000 per day for noncompliance, and $250,000 “if a child is exposed to pornographic content due to not properly verifying a user’s age.”
“I look forward to holding any company accountable that violates our ageverification laws intended to prevent minors from being exposed to harmful, obscene material on the internet,” Paxton said in announcing the suit.
When Texans now go to Pornhub, they find a message that says the law impinges on the rights of adults to access protected speech. “Not only will it not actually protect children, but it will also inevitably reduce content creators’ ability to post and distribute legal adult content and ... share the artistic messages they want to convey.”
“Until the real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in Texas,” the adult site’s message reads.
Pornhub also disabled access in Utah in 2023 when that state passed its age-verification law. Similar legislation proposed in Indiana could possibly lead to Pornhub also disabling access to that state. Senate Bill 17 is on its way to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, and like HB 1181, it would require “adult-oriented websites” to mandate verification of its users to make sure they are 18 or older.
According to Indiana law, harmful materials for minors can include representations of nudity, sexual conduct and sadomasochism. Pornography websites that don’t abide by the law would face a civil penalty up to $250,000.
But unlike the Texas law, the Indiana bill also allows parents to sue if their children access a pornographic site that is “knowingly or intentionally” not using age-verification measures. A minor’s parent or guardian could receive up to $5,000 in damages if a court ruled in their favor.
The laws – and pushback from the porn industry – cast light on a national debate over balancing child safety online with free speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.