Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has obtained a court-ordered writ requiring the operator of the pornographic website motherless.com to be locked out of its domain name after the company failed to comply with the state’s age-verification law.
The writ directs Verisign, which maintains the “.com” domain registry, to place motherless.com on a registry lock, hold, or similar status, according to a press release issued by the Office of the Attorney General.
Under the order, the site’s owner, Kick Online Entertainment, may only attempt to reclaim the domain by posting a $9.14 million bond. That bond is conditioned on the company implementing age-verification measures that comply with Texas law and paying the civil penalties previously awarded in the case.
Paxton sued Kick Online Entertainment in April 2024, alleging the company violated Texas’s age-verification statute by publishing sexual material accessible to minors. He later obtained a default judgment and permanent injunction ordering the company to stop distributing harmful sexual material to minors and to put reasonable age-verification measures in place.
According to the attorney general’s office, Kick Online, which describes itself as a “moral free” company, did not respond to the lawsuit and did not comply with the court’s order. The company continued to publish and distribute sexual material that could be accessed by minors in Texas, the office said.
“This court order establishes a huge precedent that websites can be stripped of their domain if they ignore the law and harm children with pornographic content,” Paxton said. “This affirms that protecting children from pornographic content is not only about collecting a penalty but also shutting down websites that refuse to obey the law. My office will continue to take action against any website that harms kids by allowing them access to pornographic content.”
The attorney general’s office said the writ demonstrates that Texas can reach beyond its borders to hold foreign operators accountable. The office added that it will continue to pursue available legal tools, including writs of attachment against domain names, to enforce state law regardless of where a company is incorporated. The company is registered in the Netherlands.
