Texas Escalates Its War on Porn

Pornhub already left Texas like a pizza guy hurrying back to his job after making a “special delivery” to a lonely housewife. It seems like the Lone Star State wants to drive two more popular porn sites to make a quick exit.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Xhamster and Chaturbate for violating the state’s age verification law, according to a press release Thursday. Paxton says he’s seeking an injunction against the sites, and if the companies don’t follow state law, they could be subject to fines of “$10,000 per day, 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.”

Multi Media LLC (Chaturbate’s parent company) and Hammy Media (Xhamster’s overlords) didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub and its sister sites, pulled out of Texas last week leaving horny Texans with fewer websites to find their favorite porn. Those in the Lone Star State who try to visit an Aylo site will see a message from the company explaining that the age verification laws are “ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous.”

Texas is one of nine states that have passed similar laws targeting porn sites. Montana, North Carolina, Arkansas, Mississippi, Utah, Louisiana, Virginia, and Indiana have laws on the books that have led to porn companies leaving some of the states.

As no surprise to anyone, VPNs are in demand after Pornhub left Texas. Searches for VPNs in Texas shot up in number after the porn giant was banned, and Express VPN says traffic to its site from Texas residents increased by 48% the week after the pull-out.