Texas Interim Attorney General Argues All Adult Content is 'Obscene,' Not Protected by 1st Amendment

Texas Interim Attorney General Argues All Adult Content is 'Obscene,' Not Protected by 1st Amendment

AUSTIN — Texas’ interim attorney general, Angela Colmenero, on Tuesday issued a response to the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) lawsuit against the state’s controversial age verification law, contending that adult content is “obscene” and therefore not entitled to First Amendment protections.

As XBIZ reported, the Republican-authored HB 1181 was passed by the Texas legislature with bipartisan support in May and will go into effect September 1.

The new Texas age verification law — part of a state-by-state campaign by religious conservatives and anti-porn activists to outlaw all sexual material online — compels adult websites to post pseudoscientific anti-porn propaganda disclaimers declaring that “pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses and weakens brain function.”

Earlier this month, FSC filed a legal challenge in Texas over HB 1181, with an array of adult platforms and workers joining as co-plaintiffs.

In her reply to the lawsuit, Colmenero argued that HB 1181 does not violate the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights “because the material is obscene, and some of the plaintiffs are foreign companies,” Austin NBC news station KXAN reported.

Colmenero’s line of argument is consistent with the strategy of the anti-porn crusaders behind the bill, many of whom have publicly acknowledged that the real purpose of these state-by-state “age verification” bills is to reinstate obscenity prosecutions of all adult content at the federal level.

“Porn is absolutely terrible for our kids,” Colmenero wrote. “They are ‘particularly susceptible’ to porn because their brains are underdeveloped. Our kids may be more likely to emulate what they see in porn, even if it involves violence or coercion.”

Colmenero argued that the law is constitutional because it is a First Amendment case, and she considers all affected adult content “obscene” and therefore not protected under the First Amendment.

Industry attorney and noted First Amendment expert Lawrence Walters, of the Walters Law Group, told XBIZ that Colmenero's response "invites the district court to revisit the Supreme Court’s established and binding decision in Miller v. California, and goes on to suggest that modern adult content 'is obscene' and therefore not deserving of First Amendment protection."

The state’s response, Walters added, also disregards "clear legal precedent" declaring similar age verification and forced speech laws unconstitutional.

Colmenero's arguments, he concluded, "are meritless and dangerous to established free speech jurisprudence.”

The Revolving Door of the Texas AG Office 

Colmenero is the second interim AG appointed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to serve in place of Texas AG Ken Paxton, who was suspended in May after being impeached, with bipartisan support, by the Republican-controlled state House. Prior to her appointment last month, Colmenero served as Abbott's deputy chief of staff. The former interim AG, Abbott's erstwhile secretary of state, John Scott, left the position after seven weeks when he came under scrutiny for his role in a controversial lawsuit.

Attorneys for the FSC and the other plaintiffs immediately filed a reply to Colmenero, arguing her response “concedes dispositive points, such as the absence of any satisfactory justification for discouraging consumption of adult content by adults, which the State neither denies is a statutory purpose nor defends.”

Arguing for a preliminary injunction, which would delay enactment of the new law until it can be litigated in court, the plaintiffs noted that the state’s defense of the law was “pitched in part as a bid to change Supreme Court precedent,” something they labeled “not likely to succeed when measured against the law as it exists today and the current record. The likely result here is the same one that the Supreme Court and lower courts have repeatedly and consistently reached when invalidating laws, such as the Act, that limit adults’ access to adult content under the guise of protecting minors, without accounting for less restrictive alternatives.”

As XBIZ reported on Tuesday, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services has declined to confirm or deny whether the “health warnings” mandated by HB 1181 are supported by any official documentation or statement produced by that office.

A hearing on FSC’s motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Wednesday.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Trump Administration Issues Executive Order Against 'Debanking'

The White House on Thursday issued an executive order limiting financial institutions’ ability to restrict access to financial services for people or groups involved in lawful industries, a longtime goal of adult industry advocates and stakeholders.

Go.cam Launches Free Age Verification Solution, Anti-Fraud Features

Go.cam has announced that its age verification solution is now free with updated anti-fraud and identity protection features.

Florida AG Sues EU-Based Adult Companies for Failing to Age-Verify Users

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit Monday with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida against five EU-based adult companies for allegedly failing to require age verification before allowing access to adult content.

SkyPrivate Launches 'Telegram Pay-Per-Minute' Feature

SkyPrivate has launched a new pay-per-minute (PPM) private show option on Telegram.

Pineapple Support to Host 'Money and Mental Health' Online Event

Pineapple Support is hosting a free, online event to help performers balance financial wellbeing with mental health, Aug. 18-19.

Arcom Warns 5 Adult Sites Over Age Verification

French media regulator Arcom has sent enforcement notices to the operators of five adult websites that the agency says have failed to implement age verification as required under France’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

MojoHost Debuts NVIDIA Blackwell-Powered Hosting

MojoHost has announced the launch of NVIDIA Blackwell-powered hosting featuring RTX 6000 Pro MaxQ GPUs.

FSC: Identity Theft Targeting Adult Performers

The Free Speech Coalition has put out an alert warning of an individual found to be targeting adult performers for identity theft.

Assylum.com Implements New Age Verification System

Assylum.com has introduced an age verification system across its member sites.

European Commission to Assess Pornhub, XVideos, XNXX Compliance With Digital Services Act

The European Commission plans to conduct a study to determine how well adult sites Pornhub, XVideos and XNXX are addressing illegal content and other potential harms under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Show More