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How to Bypass the Texas Porn Ban

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Recently, Texas joined the handful of states to ban porn sites unless some kind of age verification is in place. This is meant to keep users in compliance with laws that prevent minors from accessing pornographic content. The problem is that verification is complex, time consuming, and expensive for the sites to maintain. To avoid penalties and fines, some companies, like Pornhub, have chosen to completely disable access to their website for those who live in Texas. Thanks to VPNS, however, Texans can circumnavigate this ban easily. We’ll show you how. 

The Texas Porn ID Law

The Texas age verification law has been hotly protested, but attempts to stop it have failed. The basis of the law is in protecting minors from harmful content, a very understandable goal. However, the heavy handed enforcement of the law is what is causing trouble for everyone, particularly legitimate adults who use adult content.

Texas House Bill 1181 requires pornographic sites to verify the ages of their users before giving them access. This would be through methods such as government-issued ID, which not everyone has, regardless of age. Public or private transactional data is another method for age verification, a step not many users want to take as it puts their data at risk and undermines privacy.

Besides the ID issues, these sites must also include warnings and disclaimers of the supposed harmful effects of pornography, many of which are speculative at best. Failure to comply with properly identifying users as over 18 has some hefty penalties. Violations can have fines up to $10,000 a day plus $250,000 if an underage child accesses pornography because their age wasn’t verified. 

Needless to say, these types of websites will have a difficult time sorting all of this out, especially since they’re on the financial hook for any failures. In the case of Pornhub, one of the most popular adult websites out there, they’ve elected to block access for all Texans until a better option is in place and they have a reasonable way to adhere to the new law. This is not the first time this law has been problematic. Other states in the U.S., like Louisiana, have their own version. The U.K. had similar porn bans in mind, but realized the implementation would be more than they bargained for. 

How Can You Watch Porn from Texas?

If you’re a Texan who doesn’t want to jump through all these intrusive hoops, you can try porn sites that haven’t blocked access yet and don’t require verification. There are plenty of these that hope to slip through the legal cracks that are still accessible. 

If your favorite sites have been blocked, like Pornhub, you can use a VPN to get to it. Because these blocks use location associated IP addresses to restrict you, the solution is to use a non-local IP address to hide the fact that you’re in Texas. VPNs protect your privacy, and we’ll show you exactly how to use them.

Use a VPN to Bypass the Texas Porn Ban

VPN stands for virtual private network, which reroutes your connection to a server in a different location, making it look like you’re using a different IP address. It hides your location so you can maintain your anonymity behind a masked, virtual IP address. Sometimes you can find a VPN with a free trial, to help you pick your favorite. There are lots of choices out there so you’re sure to find a VPN you like.

The steps are simple: 

  1. Choose a reputable VPN service. We recommend ones like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, etc. Low cost or free VPNs generally mean you’ll have a slow connection and won’t be as effective, so keep that in mind when choosing your best fit
  2. Access the VPN’s app
  3. Use the app to connect to a server in a region where Pornhub (or similar sites) aren’t banned. There are plenty to choose from
  4. Using this server, you can now connect to your site of choice with anonymity

Fortunately, VPNs have many more uses than just watching pornography, so you’ll get your money’s worth. A popular way to use them is to watch streaming content that isn’t available in your area. Well-loved services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ have programs that are restricted by your location. A VPN opens up your library of content by letting you use servers all over the world. VPNs also make web browsing more secure, navigating around blocks and keeping your privacy private, as it should be.