Supreme Court to hear arguments on Texas anti-porn law: NPR

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case involving a Texas law that requires adult users of pornographic websites to verify their age before they can access the material. It’s a case that angered free speech advocates as well as the adult entertainment industry and, despite the controversy, inspired other states to pass their own versions of the law.

In Free Speech Coalition et al. v. Paxtonopponents of the Texas law (represented by the ACLU), will urge judges to overturn the mandate on the grounds that the law unconstitutionally infringes on adults’ free speech.

In court records, They argue that while the law’s goal is to limit minors’ access to sexually explicit content online, it is too vague and “places significant constraints on adults’ access to constitutionally protected expression.” . They also argue that a user, including adults, must submit personally identifiable information to access the material, which poses security and privacy concerns.

The law, signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2023, requires porn sites to verify official documents, such as government-issued IDs, or face hefty fines. Under the law, a website that contains “one third party” of sexual material is considered an age-verified site. Social media sites, however, are exempt. Texas law also requires sites to post health notices on the website’s landing page stating that watching pornography is addictive, impairs brain function, and is associated with low self-esteem and image. physical, among other problems.

Texas lawyers said in their filing that opponents of the law failed to show a single person whose rights had been “chilled.”

“Texas seeks to protect children from some of the most lascivious sexual content imaginable. And the means Texas chooses are appropriate,” they said in their court filing. “Texas only addressed pornography websites, allowed them to comply using common age verification technology, and did not impose criminal penalties. modest but important satisfies any level of control.”

Additionally, they point to the perceived addictive nature of pornography, which they argue is ultimately harmful to minors. “Online pornographers are sophisticated. Like social media companies, they use complex algorithms to hook users,” they said in response to the Free Speech Coalition’s petition. “Their content triggers neurological effects similar to gaming.”

Despite legal challenges since the law’s passage, Texas’ age verification law remains in effect ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.

A decision of U.S. District Judge David Ezra temporarily blocked the law last September. Ezra said it’s unclear whether the warning labels, which say they came from “Texas Health and Human Services,” are actually proven findings from that agency.

The judge said in his ruling that “the State provides virtually no evidence that this is an effective method of combating children’s access to sexual materials” and that the warnings contain language that most minors would not understand.

A divided fifth circuit canceled this injunctionasserting that the age verification requirement does not violate the First Amendment. “The appropriate standard of review is based on a rational basis and not on strict scrutiny,” the decision states. “Applying rational scrutiny, the age verification requirement is rationally related to the government’s legitimate interest in preventing minors’ access to pornography.”

States continue to pass age control laws

Many other states have passed laws requiring age verification for porn sites, after Louisiana became the first state to pass such a law in January 2023.

Free Speech Coalition, the adult entertainment group challenging the Texas law, says age verification laws in Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee took effect at the start of the new year. At least 19 states have adopted some version of this policy in recent years, according to the group.

Republican members of Congress expressed interest in a federal version of the law in amici briefs filed in the Texas case. Utah Sen. Mike Lee and 19 other Republican members of Congress wrote to the Supreme Court in support of the Texas law, saying the policy poses a minor barrier for adults while better protecting children.

Despite their popularity, these laws continue to face legal challenges. On Monday, the 6th panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Tennessee’s law can take effect while a trial continues.