United States of America: Announced Lawsuit against Hammy Media LTD for non-compliance with Texas Age Verification Law (HB 1181)

On 19 March 2024, the Texas Attorney General (AG) filed a lawsuit against Hammy Media LTD, a pornography distribution company, for allegedly violating the age verification requirements established by Bill 1181. The Bill mandates reasonable age verification measures to protect minors from exposure to obscene materials. Hammy Media LTD, which operates xHamster.com, is accused of presenting minors with pornographic content without implementing the required age verification systems. The AG is seeking an injunction against Hammy Media LTD to enforce appropriate age verification safeguards and potentially impose civil penalties for non-compliance. The lawsuit follows the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling from November 2023, which allowed Texas to enforce the law. Companies that fail to comply with age verification requirements may be fined up to USD 10'000 per day. They may also face an additional fine of USD 10'000 per day for illegally retaining identifying information and USD 250'000 if a child is exposed to pornographic content due to inadequate age verification.