Lawsuit seeking to overturn the Texas legislation was filed Aug. 4 by the Free Speech Coalition, a group that included Pornhub’s parent company, adult industry advocacy groups and adult performer (referred to in filings as “Jane Doe”).

Under the Texas law, which was set to go into effect Sept. 1, 2023, porn sites would have been required to use “reasonable age verification methods” to “verify that an individual attempting to access the material is 18 years of age or older.” In addition, pornography sites would have been forced to display a “Texas Health and Human Services Warning” in at least 14-point font — one such warning was specified to read, “Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child pornography” — along with a national toll-free number for people with mental health disorders. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed H.B. 1181 into law on June 12.

“The statute is not narrowly tailored and chills the speech of Plaintiffs and adults who wish to access sexual materials,” Ezra said in the decision. “[T]he law is not narrowly tailored because it substantially regulates protected speech, is severely underinclusive, and uses overly restrictive enforcement methods.”

Pornhub’s parent company, MindGeek, was sold to Canadian private-equity firm Ethical Capital Partners earlier this year.

ECP has since changed the name of MindGeek to Aylo, saying the rebranding would give it a “fresh start.”

In a statement Thursday, Aylo said, “We are pleased with the court’s decision today, which reaffirms our position that the age-verification law implemented in Texas is unconstitutional. We have publicly supported mandatory age verification of viewers of adult content for years, but any method of age verification must preserve user privacy and safety. The only solution that makes the internet safer, preserves user privacy, and stands to prevent children from accessing age-inappropriate content is performing age verification at the device level.”