TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced this week that his office has filed lawsuits against several adult entertainment companies for alleged noncompliance with the state’s age verification law, which became effective on January 1 of this year.
The lawsuit names Webgroup Czech Republic (DBA Xvideos.com), NKL Associates (DBA XNXX.com), Sonesta Technologies Inc. (DBA BangBros.com), GGW Group (DBA GirlsGOneWild.com), and Traffic F (DBA TrafficFactory.com).
As noted in a news alert from attorney Corey D. Silverstein of Silverstein Legal, the lawsuit targets “operators of some of the most-trafficked adult websites” in the world.
“Multiple porn companies are flagrantly breaking Florida’s age verification law by exposing children to harmful, explicit content,” Uthmeier said in announcing the lawsuit. “As a father of young children, and as Attorney General, this is completely unacceptable. We are taking legal action against these online pornographers who are willfully preying on the innocence of children for their financial gain.”
The age verification law under which the lawsuit was filed, referred to by the name of the bill passed by the Florida legislature, HB 3, had been challenged by the Free Speech Coalition (FSC). The lawsuit was dismissed following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the FSC’s challenge to Texas’s age verification law, HB 1181.
In the complaint, Uthmeier wrote that “despite knowing that they must comply with Florida’s age-verification law, the Pornographers have openly defied this law since it since it took effect January 1, 2025.”
“Indeed, the Attorney General wrote letters to two of the Pornographers in April demanding that they comply with Florida’s age-verification law or face legal action,” the complaint adds. “Nothing has changed.”
HB 3 provides for civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation. In addition to alleging noncompliance with HB 3, the complaint also alleges the defendants have violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
In the lawsuit, the office of the Attorney General asks the court to find the defendants in noncompliance with HB 3 and the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, to “temporarily and permanently enjoin the pornographers to prevent future violations” and to “award civil penalties, attorney’s fees, and costs as authorized by” the law.
In his news alert concerning the lawsuit, Silverstein wrote that the action taken by Uthmeier demonstrates that “enforcement risk is real and immediate.”
“Platforms with any significant adult content accessible in Florida must take action now,” Silverstein added.
You can read Silverstein’s full legal alert here. He has also posted a copy of the complaint here. You can read the full statement from Uthmeier’s office here.
