Supreme Court weighs challenge to Texas adult website restriction
The Supreme Court on Wednesday considers whether to strike down a Texas law aimed at preventing young people from accessing pornographic content online.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday considers whether to strike down a Texas law aimed at preventing young people from accessing pornographic content online.
The 2023 law is aimed at restricting minors’ access to sexual material, but a challenge led by a pornography industry group called the Free Speech Coalition says it violates the free speech rights of adults who want to access the same content.
The measure requires adult websites to verify the ages of all users, usually by viewing government-issued identification, such as driver's licenses.
Assisted by the American Civil Liberties Union, the challengers say the law violates the Constitution’s First Amendment because it places a “content-based burden” on adults' access to speech.
They cite a 2004 Supreme Court ruling that found a federal law also aimed at restricting access to pornography, called the Child Online Protection Act, was most likely unconstitutional.
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