This gentleman either lives outside of Texas or has figured out how VPNs work. Credit: Unsplash / franco alva
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to block Texas’ Republican-championed law requiring porn websites to verify the age of their users, the Associated Press reports.

Adult-entertainment industry trade group the Free Speech Coalition filed an emergency appeal asking the high court put Texas House Bill 1181 on hold while the justices weigh whether to hear a full appeal of the court dispute over the law.

Last year, a federal judge blocked HB 1181’s age-verification requirement, calling it overly broad and “unconstitutional on its face.” The ruling also said the state can’t require adult-content sites to post a warning about the purported health risks of viewing porn — another of the law’s provisions.

However, a divided 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year reversed the lower court’s ruling on the ID requirement even though it left in place the ban on the state-mandated health warning.

In the wake of the law’s implementation, PornHub pulled out of the Lone Star State, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has pursued legal action against XHamster and Chaturbate, whom he alleges are violating the law by not requiring age verification.

Texas’ ID law carries fines of up to $10,000 per violation, according to the AP. The penalty can rise to $250,000 for each violation by a minor.

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This article appears in Apr 17-30, 2024.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...