Victory for Texas Families

In a major win for parental rights and the protection of children, the United States Supreme Court has officially upheld the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that allows Texas to enforce its age-verification law on pornographic websites. Texas House Bill 1181, passed during the 88th regular session and signed into law in 2023, is now fully enforceable thanks to a 6-3 vote by the nation’s highest court.

The law requires “adult” websites to verify users’ ages before granting access, something any responsible society should expect. It’s a simple, commonsense measure to prevent minors from stumbling into dangerous, explicit content online. And yet, unsurprisingly, the law faced immediate backlash from the pornography industry and its allies in the activist legal system.

Shortly after the bill’s passage, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took action by suing Aylo Global, the parent company of major pornographic platforms like PornHub. As a result, PornHub made the decision to pull out of Texas altogether, refusing to comply with the new age-verification requirements. 

Although U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra temporarily blocked the law, Texas pressed forward. The state took the fight to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which wisely put Judge Ezra’s order on hold while the case moved forward. The challengers then took their complaints to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking them to stop Texas from enforcing the law. The high court initially declined to intervene, but has now delivered the final blow to the opposition by upholding the 5th Circuit's decision in a 6-3 ruling.

This decision sends a clear message: states like Texas have a sovereign right to safeguard children and uphold public decency within their borders. The days of big porn having unchecked access to young minds in Texas are coming to an end.

Texas Family Project sends a huge thank you to Attorney General Ken Paxton for his unwavering leadership and dedication to protecting Texas families. While many in the media and on the left have attacked him relentlessly, Paxton continues to stand in the gap for the values that matter—faith, family, and freedom.

Let this be a reminder to the rest of the nation: Texas will not bow to the pressures of radicalized courts or political activists. We are proud to lead the charge in restoring moral sanity and defending the innocence of our children!