Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against two more prominent pornography distributors, Chaturbate and xHamster, alleging violations of HB 1181, a Texas law mandating reasonable age verification measures to shield minors from exposure to explicit material. The operators of these sites, Multi Media, LLC, and Hammy Media, are the subjects of these legal actions.

Paxton stated, “Instead of adhering to Texas law mandating age verification systems for obscene material, the companies expose minors to pornographic content without adequate screening.” He seeks an injunction compelling the companies to implement proper age verification measures and warns of potential civil penalties reaching millions of dollars for non-compliance.

In November 2023, Attorney General Paxton secured a win, allowing Texas to enforce HB 1181 despite legal challenges from pornography companies. Earlier this month, a ruling affirmed that Texas’s age verification requirement does not infringe on the First Amendment, as argued by the pornography industry.

Furthermore, in February 2024, Texas sued Aylo Global Entertainment, the operator of several major pornography websites, including Pornhub, for HB 1181 violations. Instead of complying, Pornhub chose to shut down its Texas operations entirely.

“PornHub has ceased operations in Texas,” Paxton remarked. “Platforms like PornHub are feeling the pressure due to Texas laws aimed at protecting children from harmful material. In Texas, companies cannot freely expose minors to pornography. Non-compliance means leaving Texas.”

Companies flouting HB 1181’s age verification mandates face fines of up to $10,000 per day, with an additional $10,000 daily penalty for unlawfully retaining user data and a $250,000 penalty if a minor accesses explicit content due to inadequate age verification.

“I will vigorously enforce HB 1181. Pornography companies without proper age verification mechanisms are violating Texas law and should expect consequences,” Paxton affirmed.