AUSTIN, Texas—Republican state Sen. Angela Paxton, the wife of far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, introduced a measure that would require age verification for online sex toy purchases made from local IP addresses in the state's digital space. Sen. Paxton introduced the measure on March 14 to the whole Senate floor.
Senate Bill (SB) 3003 is an extreme measure compared to the state's controversial age verification law that specifically targets adult entertainment platforms. If adopted by fellow far-right Republican, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, SB 3003 would make it a criminal misdemeanor offense if e-commerce websites don't verify the age of sex toy buyers.
"A person commits an offense if, with criminal negligence, the person sells or delivers an obscene device online," reads Sen. Paxton's current legislation. "A violation of this section is a Class A Misdemeanor. ... [A] person who violates this section is also subject to a civil penalty of an amount not to exceed $5,000 for each violation."
Misdemeanor charges would be levied against companies that fail to comply, and even against minors who use documents or fake government ID cards.
Age verification is defined by the bill as "commercially reasonable" third-party identity verification providers, like Yoti or Incode—i.e. ones "that use public records or other reliable sources to verify the purchaser's identity and age," via the language of the bill. Senate Bill 3003 is presented as a measure to "protect" children from "obscene devices." If Paxton is successful in her crusade against sex toys, the bill would complicate Texas' existing laws governing so-called "obscene devices."
AVN previously noted that state statute already defines an “obscene device” to be a “device including a dildo or artificial vagina, designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.” This chapter in the state laws openly highlights the fact that Texas remains one of the only states in the union that has a cap on the number of sex toys an individual can own. It is illegal for an individual to own six or more sex toys or exhibit an “intent to distribute” them, as if the products were illicit drugs.
A pre-filed bill in Texas, House Bill 1549, would “protect” children from viewing what the bill sponsor considers to be “obscene devices” in stores that aren’t classified as sexually oriented businesses by state law. The bill would prohibit the sale of such products at virtually every major retailer, including Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens and Kroger.
