Law / United States / 
Texas
HB 1181 (2023), age verification for material harmful to minors
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 129B
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What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.
In force since 1 September 2023.
An adult content age verification (AV) rule binding private bodies.
As of 15 July 2026.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Requires a commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material on a website, including a social media platform, more than one third of which is sexual material harmful to minors, to use reasonable age verification methods for Texas visitors and to protect any identifying information it collects.
If you get it wrong
Private right of actionNo
Penalties
Civil penalty up to $10,000 per day of noncompliance or improper retention of identifying information, plus up to $250,000 if a minor accesses the material as a result of a violation.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Texas Attorney General
Litigation
- Court
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Docket
- Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton, No. 23-1122
- Posture
- The Fifth Circuit had upheld the law applying rational basis review. The Supreme Court affirmed on different reasoning, holding 6 to 3 on June 27, 2025 that intermediate scrutiny, not strict scrutiny, governs age verification laws of this kind, and that HB 1181 survives that standard. Justice Thomas wrote for the majority, Justice Kagan dissented.
What it reaches
Age threshold
18
Covered services
Commercial websites, including social media platforms, more than one third of which is sexual material harmful to minors.
Verification methods
Gov ID, Digital ID, Transactional data
When LexLint raises it
publishes_adult_content
Read the law
official Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code statute text
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.