Why it matters: It's been more than two years since residents could directly access one of the biggest names in online pornography.
State of play: Pornhub sent a letter to more than 300 state leaders across the country this week — including Gov. Greg Abbott — asking for them to rethink 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.
Flashback: Texas' 2023 age-verification law ultimately prompted Pornhub to leave the state in March 2024 after a federal appeals court allowed the requirement to be enforced.
The intrigue: In an Axios review of active porn sites last year, roughly 65% failed to ask for age verification in the state.
And since 2024, Texas has been one of the nation's top states for Google searches for VPN services.
And that's kind of Pornhub's point with its letter and push for a law change.
Reality check: There's little indication that state lawmakers have an appetite to revisit the law, RadioIQ reports.
