Texas Attorney General sues pornography distributor over age verification

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the major pornography distribution company that owns Pornhub and other sites over their age verification measures.

The suit, filed against Aylo Global Entertainment, claims the company violates HB 1181, which requires reasonable age verification measures to protect minors from being exposed to obscene materials, according to a release from Paxton's office.

Paxton is seeking an injunction against Aylo Global to require appropriate age verification safeguards and potentially millions of dollars in civil penalties, the release said.

KXAN has reached out to Aylo Global for a response, and this story will be updated if/when we receive one.

Read the full filing below.

In November 2023, the U.S. Fifth Circuit of Appeals appealed an injunction after pornography companies filed a lawsuit attempting to prevent HB 1181 from going into effect. The order allowed the Office of the Attorney General to enforce the new law.

Paxton's website states if a company is found to have violated the law, it will be subject to fines of up to $10,000 per day and an additional $10,000 per day if the corporation illegally retains identifying information, and $250,000 if a child is exposed to pornographic content due to not properly verifying a user’s age.

“Texas has a right to protect its children from the detrimental effects of pornographic content,” Paxton said. “I look forward to holding any company accountable that violates our age verification laws intended to prevent minors from being exposed to harmful, obscene material on the internet.”