Pornhub targets age verification laws in Texas

Pornhub is pushing back against age verification rules in more than two dozen states, including Texas.

Why it matters: The battle over requiring age verification to access pornographic websites has pit protection of kids against First Amendment rights.

Driving the news: Pornhub, a porn distribution company, sent a letter lawmakers across the country last week, asking them to rethink state laws that require adult website visitors to verify their age, Politico reports.

• The laws, in roughly half of all states, "demonstrably do not work" and fail to shield the minors they were written to protect, Pornhub wrote.
• Among the recipients were two dozen elected officials in Texas, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Flashback: Last year the U.S. Supreme Court, considering a Texas law, ruled that state legislatures can force porn websites to verify users' age.

• The Texas law requires age verifications on websites where more than a third of the context is sexually explicit.
• The law requires adult websites to verify users' ages by asking to submit a copy of their government-issued ID.

Reality check: Users have found ways to work around restrictions by using virtual private networks (VPNs) to hide their device's location and bypass firewalls.

• Instead of site-specific age verification requirements, Pornhub says, lawmakers should put the responsibility on the tech giants — including Apple, Microsoft and Google — to make parental controls the default settings on their operating systems.

The bottom line: Texas lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to pass the 2023 law, so a retreat is unlikely.