Texas Bill Would Require Photo ID to Buy Sex Toys Online, Calling Them 'Obscene Devices'

• A propsed bill in Texas could require age verification for the online sale and purchase of sex toys, which it calls "obscene devices"
• It's currently illegal to own more than six sex toys in Texas, although a judge called that law "unenforceable"
• The bill could risk the safety of trans people and others, critics say, by allowing the government to track purchases

A new bill introduced in Texas would require age verification for the sale of “obscene devices” — aka, sex toys — bought online.

The bill, SB 3003, was introduced by state senator Angela Paxton, wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. It would require anyone purchasing a sex toy online to provide proof that they are 18 or older, such as a government-issued identification or through a third-party age-verification service. The proof would be required even if the purchase is made with a credit card, which in the United States can’t be issued to someone younger than 18.

It’s currently illegal to own “six or more obscene devices” in the state, according to Texas Penal Code Section 43.23. An "obscene device," according to Penal Code Section 43.21, means “a device including a dildo or artificial vagina, designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.”

The six-limit law was deemed “unenforceable” in 2022 — but is still an existing law in Texas. 

As Hallie Lieberman, author of Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, told 404 Media, “We are literally going back in time with this law.” 

Lieberman told the outlet that the devices were often branded as “medical devices” and sold as such, in an effort to get around the law. “I can see something like that happening again, with people saying on their sex toy store websites that vibrators are for back massage and butt plugs are for rectal strengthening,” Lieberman told 404 Media. “It's similar to how sex toys were marketed in the early 20th century to get around obscenity laws … Butt plugs were sold as cures for asthma and vibrators for sciatica.” 

They do have a medical benefit, the National Library of Medicine says. Vibrators, for example, are "an evidence-based treatment for a variety of sexual dysfunctions and sexual enhancement," listing erectile dysfunction, ejaculatory difficulties, and anorgasmia, among the disorders treated. The devices have also "shown benefit for pelvic floor dysfunction and vulvar pain." 

However, as Lieberman told the outlet, "The government should not have a record of what sex toys we buy. This isn't just a frivolous concern.”

“In a nation where the president has declared that there are only two genders and that transgender people don't exist," Lieberman continued, "where trans people are erased from government websites and kicked out of the military, it would be dangerous for the government to have a record that you purchased sex toys designed for trans people.”

Online retailers could have to pay fines up to $5,0000 and be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor if ages aren’t verified.

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