On Friday a majority decision was reached by the US Supreme Court to uphold in full a Texas age verification law for websites carrying pornographic content.
This now means such sites can face heavy fines if they don’t put systems in place to check the age of their users, with the potential penalties capped at $250,000.
The law also demands that websites display health warnings about the potential health risks of pornography.
The decision was welcomed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, whilst adult entertainment industry groups expressed disappointment and said the decision could undermine adults’ access to constitutionally protected speech.
Pornhub’s owner Aylo Holdings said it would adopt government-approved age assurance methods to comply with the law.
This latest move by the US Supreme Court could represent a setback for those campaigning for online privacy and free speech.
