The justices heard arguments in a challenge to Texasās age-verification law for porn websites.
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A majority of the justices suggestedĀ the concept of an age-verification requirement couldĀ survive First AmendmentĀ scrutiny even as the court seemed inclined to send the Texas law back to a lower panel to apply a higher standard of review.Ā
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Several of the courtās conservatives asserted that the age verification may be statesā only real option to protect children from adult websites, because the content-filtering methods the court endorsed as an alternative two decades ago are no longer viable. Ā
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āKids can get online porn through gaming systems, tablets, phones, computers. Let me just say that content filtering for all those different devices, I can say from personal experience, is difficult to keep up with,ā said JusticeĀ Amy Coney Barrett,Ā who has seven children.Ā
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āSo I think that the explosion of addiction in new online porn has shown that content filtering isnāt working,ā she continued.Ā
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āIt was very difficult for 15-year-olds, whatever, to get access to the type of thing that is available with a push of a button today. And the nature of the pornography, I think, has also changed in those 35 years,ā Chief JusticeĀ John RobertsĀ said.Ā
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The law, passed by the Texas Legislature in June 2023, required sites that host adult content to verify that their users are over the age of 18. Ā
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Nearly 20 other states have passed similar laws related to adult content, and age verification has become an increasingly popular option for states seeking to limit young childrenās access to social media.Ā
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The Texas law also requires sites to post a warning that pornography is āpotentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses, and weakens brain function.āĀ
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Free Speech Coalition, a trade association representing the adult entertainment industry, sued Texas Attorney GeneralĀ Ken PaxtonĀ (R) in August 2023.
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Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the group has argued the law violates the First Amendment by creating barriers for adults to access websites that feature adult content.Ā
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The trade association insists its lawsuit should follow a line of Supreme Court cases in which the justices have held pornography restrictions to an exacting standard.Ā
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āTexasās law is even more problematic than its failed federal predecessors,ā said Derek Shaffer, Free Speech Coalitionās attorney.Ā
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Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
