Pornhub Shuts Down Access In Texas After State Sues To Enforce Age Verification Law

Pornographic website Pornhub blocked access to users in Texas on Thursday, following a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general Ken Paxton against Aylo Global Entertainment and Aylo USA, Incorporated -- the conglomerate that owns Pornhub -- for failing to verify the ages of users who access the website.

House Bill 1181 became law in Texas last June, requiring porn websites to "use reasonable age verification measures to ensure those viewing their pornography are 18 years of age or older."

Companies that violate the state law are subject to up to $10,000 a day for failing to verify age, an additional $10,000 per day if the sites retain user information, and an additional $250,000 if a child is exposed to pornographic material due to failures in verification.

"AYLO GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT, INC.’s and AYLO USA, INCORPORATED’s publication or distribution of sexual material harmful to minors on the internet without implementing the reasonable age verification methods required by Chapter 129B harms, and continues to harm, Texas children and adolescents," Paxton's office alleged in the lawsuit.

Users in Texas who visit the site will see the following message in part: "Until the real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in Texas. In doing so, we are complying with the law, as we always do, but hope that governments around the world will implement laws that actually protect the safety and security of users."

Pornhub argues that the age verification legislation "the least effective and most restrictive means" to protect minors.

However critics wonder why Pornhub and its parent conglomerate are aggressively pushing pornographic degeneracy to children in western countries. Many on social media have started asking questions and investigating the owners of such degenerate websites.

"While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, providing identification every time you want to visit an adult platform is not effective for protecting users online, and in fact, will put minors and your privacy at risk," the company wrote. 

Pornhub also encouraged users to contact their local representatives to demand "device-based age verification." 

"Until the real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in Texas," the company continued. "In doing so, we are complying with the law, as we always do, but hope that governments around the world will implement laws that actually protect the safety and security of users."

The passage of House Bill 1181 made Texas the seventh state to implement age verification laws on pornography sites.