Texas Orders All Adult Sites to Post Anti-Porn Propaganda Disclaimers

Texas Orders All Adult Sites to Post Anti-Porn Propaganda Disclaimers

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas legislature has passed a new age verification law that compels adult websites to post pseudoscientific anti-porn propaganda disclaimers declaring that “pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses and weakens brain function.”

The measure, HB 1181, is a much-augmented version of Louisiana’s age verification law and its many copycats, and echoes the debunked “porn addiction” language of faith-based anti-porn groups. It was spearheaded by religious Republicans but was supported by almost every single Democratic state legislator.

The Texas House passed the amended bill on Thursday, and on Tuesday sent it to Gov. Greg Abbott to be signed into law. 

In response, Free Speech Coalition (FSC) condemned the Texas law — along with similar laws recently passed in Louisiana, Utah, Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Montana — as “blatantly unconstitutional” and a “violation of the First Amendment rights of creators, consumers and platforms.” 

“Texas becomes the latest state to pass an antiporn bill, requiring not only invasive age-verification, but that all sites post a pseudoscientific warning about porn from the Texas Health and Human Services Department,” FSC posted on Twitter.

The bill mandates age verification by creating liability for any website when more than one-third of its content is “sexual material harmful to minors,” unless the site “uses reasonable age verification methods to verify that an individual attempting to access the material is 18 years of age or older.”

The age verification methods suggested by the state of Texas would “require an individual to provide digital identification; or comply with a commercial age verification system that verifies age using government-issued identification, or a commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of an individual.”

The Texas law incorporates age verification language similar to that in other states’ laws, but expands upon it by mandating that adult websites accessible in the state post pseudoscientific statements derived from anti-porn propaganda in the form of three “Texas Health and Human Services Warnings.” 

Those warnings read: “Pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses and weakens brain function”; “Exposure to this content is associated with low self-esteem and body image, eating disorders, impaired brain development, and other emotional and mental illnesses”; and “Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation and child pornography.”

The warnings must be posted “in 14-point font or larger” on adult sites’ landing pages as well as on any advertisements for adult sites.

The websites are also compelled by the state to post the phone number of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s helpline.

The law is set to take effect Sept. 1.

The FSC has promised to litigate against the measure however, declaring “We will fight it and we will win."

'Such a Shame'

Industry attorney Corey Silverstein told XBIZ, “It's such a shame that the state of Texas has jumped on this age verification bandwagon. I’m fairly certain that the taxpayers of Texas would not be very happy if they knew that millions of dollars in resources will be wasted when there is assuredly an eventual constitutional challenge that will not go in the state’s favor.”

Silverstein called HB 1181 “blatantly unconstitutional,” adding that, like other states that have passed similar legislation, Texas “completely ignores the Supreme Court’s prior ruling on this very issue. So while Texas lawmakers may be celebrating a victory that is clearly intended to satisfy its conservative base and score some votes, these same lawmakers are now responsible for pushing a law that disregards the constitution that they swore to protect.”

As for the mandated warnings under HB 1181, Silverstein called them “outright lies that clearly expose the real anti-porn agenda.”

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

FSC Publishes Analysis of Federal Trade Commission Event Promoting AV

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has published an analysis of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) event held this week that promoted age verification among other forms of speech regulation.

GirlsDoPorn Owner Michael Pratt Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking

Michael Pratt, former owner of the rogue website GirlsDoPorn, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California on Thursday to sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking charges, according to a report by City News Service.

Master Nico Relaunches Site Through YourPaysitePartner

Master Nico has relaunched his official website through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

Federal Judge Grants Partial Halt of Florida AV Law

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division, has granted a preliminary injunction against HB 3, the state's age verification law, as a lawsuit filed by two online trade associations challenging the law makes its way through the courts.

Aylo Releases Statement on Suspending Access to Pornhub in France

Technology and media company Aylo, which operates adult sites including Pornhub, YouPorn, and Redtube, has released a public statement regarding its decision to block access to its sites in France.

Pineapple Support to Host Wellness Sessions at Bucharest Summit

Pineapple Support is hosting free group and one-on-one therapy sessions at Bucharest Summit, June 3-5.

Pornhub Blocks Access in France in Response to SREN Law

Pornhub parent company Aylo has opted to block access to its sites in France rather than comply with age verification requirements under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

ASACP Highlights Study on Parental Controls

The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) is highlighting the results of a study on the underutilization of parental controls.

Sydney Screams Launches New Site Through Grooby's Blue.xxx

Sydney Screams has launched her new membership site, SydneyScreams.xxx, through Grooby's website management company Blue.xxx.

Mistress Mystii Is LoyalFans' 'Featured Creator' for June

LoyalFans has named Mistress Mystii as its Featured Creator for June.

Show More