Pornhub shuts down website in Texas after getting sued under age verification law
Pornhub, a pornographic website, disabled users in Texas from accessing the site on Thursday after the state attorney general and lawmakers sought to require adult websites to verify the age of visiting users.
Last month, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Aylo Global Entertainment and Aylo USA, Incorporated — the conglomerate that owns Pornhub — for failing to verify users' ages before granting access to its pornographic websites.
In a message to users who visit the site, Pornhub called the age verification legislation "the least effective and most restrictive means" to protect minors.
"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 PARENT COMPANY SUED BY TEXAS AG FOR FAILING TO VERIFY USERS' AGES
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."
House Bill 1181 became law in Texas last June, requiring adult websites to "use reasonable age verification measures to ensure those viewing their pornography are 18 years of age or older."
The passage of the legislation made Texas the seventh state to implement age verification laws on pornography sites.
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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.
Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.