AUSTIN — A Texas district judge on Wednesday granted a request to pause proceedings in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Aylo over the implementation of Texas’ controversial age verification requirements for Pornhub, pending the outcome of the lawsuit. the Free Speech Coalition-led lawsuit against Paxton that will be heard by the Supreme Court during the next term
Judge Amy Clark Meachum granted Aylo’s request without providing additional explanation, Bloomberg Law reported.
As XBIZ reported, SCOTUS earlier this month granted the petition for a writ of certiorari in the FSC challenge to the Texas age verification law HB 1181, passed by the Texas Legislature as a greatly expanded version of Louisiana’s age verification law and its many copycat versions promoted by religious conservatives in other states.
At the time, the FSC condemned the law as “blatantly unconstitutional” and a “violation of the First Amendment rights of creators, consumers, and platforms.”
In August 2023, FSC filed a legal complaint in Texas over HB 1181, which remains pending even after the 5th Circuit’s ruling. Joining the FSC as co-plaintiffs were a range of mature platforms and employees, including MG Premium and MG Freesites, which are now Aylo companies; Web group Czech Republic; NKL employees; Sonesta Technologies; Sonesta Media; Yellow production; Paper street media; Neptune Media; Resourse; Midus Holdings; and Jane Doe, an adult content creator.
In February, Paxton filed a lawsuit against Aylo, claiming the company violated Texas’ controversial age verification law, which at the time also required adult websites to post a “health warning,” perpetuating religious anti-porn propaganda myths .
Paxton posted an “alarm” emoji on his X account and wrote that Texas “has the right to protect its children from the harmful effects of pornographic content.” I look forward to holding accountable any company that violates our age verification laws designed to prevent minors from being exposed to harmful, obscene material on the Internet.”
Industry attorney Corey Silverstein of Silverstein Legal told XBIZ at the time: “This is a disturbing and troubling turn of events. The audacity of the state of Texas to pursue this case while the appeals court is weighing the unconstitutionality of this law is an absolute disgrace.”
HB 1181 was authored by Paxton’s wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, reportedly with input from Pastor Mike Buster of the Prestonwood Baptist megachurch, to which the Paxtons belong.
Paxton missed the earlier phase of the FSC-led trial because he was impeached by a bipartisan coalition in the Texas Legislature over corruption and temporarily replaced as AG. He was later acquitted after several Republicans who had initially voted for impeachment voted in his favor during his impeachment trial.