Woodhull Urges the Supreme Court to Find Texas AV Law Unconstitutional

Woodhull Urges the Supreme Court to Find Texas AV Law Unconstitutional

WASHINGTON — The Woodhull Freedom Foundation and the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted a brief to the United States Supreme Court on Thursday, urging the justices to rule against Texas’ age verification law.

“We filed in support of the constitutional challenge brought by the ACLU, the Free Speech Coalition and others, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that, if left standing, would impermissibly burden free speech online, involving the unconstitutional age verification mandate in Texas’ HB 1181,” said a Woodhull rep.

Woodhull’s participation in the case was made possible by a donation from internet hosting provider MojoHost. Woodhull Freedom Foundation is represented by Lawrence G. Walters of Walters Law Group, Corey Silverstein and Kevin Toll of Silverstein Legal, and Aaron Mackey of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“As explained in the amicus brief filed in support of the petitioners’ request that the court review the decision from the 5th Circuit upholding the law, imposing mandatory online age and identity verification to access adult content violates the First Amendment under well-established precedent,” the rep noted.

Ricci Levy, President and CEO of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, explained, “We rely on the court to ignore misinformation and, instead, rule based only on the law. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized the significant burden and risk created by requiring users to verify their age and identity to access protected content, rendering such requirements unconstitutional where less restrictive alternatives exist. In Ashcroft v. ACLU, the court reaffirmed that the government cannot impose age verification on adults in the name of protecting children.

“If the true goal of these measures is to protect children from material that isn’t age-appropriate, which we fully support, other less intrusive options are already available to accomplish this goal — and must be used in order to protect the rights of adults,” Ricci added. “But if the real goal is to block adult access and shut down the adult content currently available, and if the justices allow that to happen, then democracy as we believe it to be is dead. A big thank you to MojoHost for donating the necessary funds to defray the legal fees and costs of filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.”

MojoHost President Brad Mitchell said, “As a parent, business owner and web host for 25 years, I can’t remain silent while our constitution is violated in the name of child protection when I know for a fact that this bad legislation puts both our children and our rights as Americans in peril. I am proud to support Woodhull and the EFF’s efforts in seeking this writ of certiorari. Inhibiting free speech does nothing to protect our children; it will only result in elevating worse content such as CSAM, copyright theft and abusive materials from other jurisdictions outside of the United States, where enforcement is impossible and viewing is freely available. It was a no-brainer to financially support these great organizations in combating outright speech suppression.”

Walters commented, “The outcome of this case, if accepted, will have a monumental impact on freedom of speech, data privacy and First Amendment law. We remain hopeful that the justices will decide to grant certiorari and invalidate the blatantly unconstitutional Texas age verification law. I am grateful to be a part of the stellar legal team that drafted the amicus brief for Woodhull and EFF.”

Silverstein added, “I am very proud of being part of the legal team tasked by Woodhull and the EFF to combat this outright trampling of the First Amendment and existing Supreme Court precedent. Texas’ age verification bill needs to be stopped in its tracks and I am hopeful and confident that the justices of the Supreme Court will utilize their wisdom, grant certiorari and give the petitioner the opportunity to present its case as to why the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has made such a terrible error. Woodhull and the EFF are incredible organizations and their dedication to protecting free speech is unmatched.”

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

Penthouse Announces Digital Archive Launch

Penthouse Magazine has announced that it will launch a comprehensive digital archive in 2026.

Dreamcam Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Dreamcam has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches by Country for August, September

AEBN has released the list of popular searches from its straight and gay theaters by country in August and September.

AV in Focus: A Guide to Unlocking Compliance With Clarity

The age verification era isn’t coming — it’s here. Laws are already on the books in numerous U.S. states, as well as in the U.K., France and beyond.

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Endorses National AV Bill

Philippe Dufresne, privacy commissioner of Canada, has voiced support for a bill that would impose fines of up to $500,000 on adult sites that do not implement age verification for Canadian viewers.

Ricky Johnson Launches 'Ricky's Resort' Through YourPaysitePartner

Ricky's Room studio honcho Ricky Johnson has launched his latest site, RickysResort.com, through YourPaysitePartner (YPP).

Industry Attorney Paul Cambria Retires After 50 Years of Practicing Law

After more than a half-century in practice, during which he provided the defense in some of the adult industry's most notable legal cases, attorney Paul Cambria has retired.

2026 XMA Nominations Party Set for Nov. 19 in Hollywood

The 2026 XMA nominations reveal party will take place at Keys on the Sunset Strip on Wednesday, Nov. 19, with red-carpet arrivals starting at 8 p.m.

New VR Membership Site 'DeepInSex.com' Launches

The new 8K VR membership site DeepInSex has officially launched.

NATS Launches Integrated Content Management System

Too Much Media (TMM) has rolled out an integrated, no-charge Content Management System (CMS) to its NATS platform.

Show More