Texas Law Aimed At Blocking Kids From Online Pornography Upheld By Supreme Court
In a 6–3 decision split along ideological lines, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for online access to pornographic material. The law is one of many across nearly half the states…
In a 6–3 decision split along ideological lines, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for online access to pornographic material.
The law is one of many across nearly half the states aiming to limit children’s access to explicit material amid growing concerns about smartphone accessibility, according to the Associated Press.
The majority opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, concluded the Texas statute does not infringe upon adults’ free speech rights.
“Adults have the right to access speech obscene only to minors … but adults have no First Amendment right to avoid age verification,” Thomas stated.
The ruling rejected the Free Speech Coalition’s challenge, a trade group representing the adult industry, which argued the law imposed undue burdens on lawful adult content consumption.
Justice Elena Kagan dissented, arguing the Court should have applied stricter scrutiny when evaluating potential free speech infringements.
“The court’s decision … has the potential to upend access to