A Texas law demanding age verification and health cautions to view pornographic websites has been shut down by a federal judge. The judge also blocked the state Attorney General’s office from enforcing the law.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra stated on Thursday that House Bill 1181, which Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law in June, violates free speech rights and is ‘both overbroad and vague’.
The law is being defended by the state attorney general's office, who filed an appeal notice with the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans. On August 4th, the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association representing the adult entertainment industry, and an adult performer referred to as Jane Doe, who is featured on various adult websites, including Pornhub, filed a lawsuit. The law, which was scheduled to take effect on Friday, has been flagged by Judge Ezra over privacy concerns. The use of a traceable government-issued ID for age verification gives the government access to data that it is not mandated to delete.
The ability of the state government to log and track access to controversial speech is a concern for people, according to Ezra. “By verifying information through government identification, the law will allow the government to peer into the most intimate and personal aspects of people’s lives.”
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Texas has a legitimate goal of safeguarding children from online sexual material, Ezra stated, but he pointed out that blocking and filtering software are among the other measures available. Ezra stated that these methods are less restrictive and more effective in shielding minors from adult content.
The judge concluded that the law is unconstitutional as it obligates adult websites to display disputed health warnings that claim that pornography is addictive, impairs mental development, and leads to an increased demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child sexual abuse imagery.
The disclosures present scientific findings as facts, but Ezra argues that many of them are either heavily disputed or have no supporting evidence.
Several other states, such as Arkansas, Mississippi, Utah, and Louisiana, have passed age verification laws similar to that of Texas. Despite a lawsuit challenging it, the Utah law was upheld by a federal judge who dismissed it last month.
