Supreme Court upholds Texas age verification law for online porn

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that Texas’s age-verification law for porn websites is constitutional and does not violate the First Amendment.   

In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring porn sites to verify that users are at least 18 years old. 

“The power to require age verification is within a State’s authority to prevent children from accessing sexually explicit content,” Thomas wrote in the opinion.  

The Texas law, passed in 2023, also required sites to include a warning that pornography is “potentially biologically addictive” and “proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses, and weakens brain function.” 

Free Speech Coalition, a trade association representing the adult entertainment industry, sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). It argued the law violates the First Amendment by creating barriers for adults to access the websites.  

During oral arguments in January, the majority of justices suggested the concept of an age-verification requirement could survive First Amendment scrutiny, while still signaling they may send the case back to the lower court to consider the Texas law under a higher standard of review.   

Texas is among nearly 20 other states to have passed similar laws related to adult content as state lawmakers attempt to limit young children’s access to social media.   

The case brought the explosion in online porn to the country’s highest court, where justices took into account the technological shifts that have made adult content more accessible than ever.   

The decision could have ripple effects for the broader debate over age verification ramping up in Washington.   

Several leading technology companies are clashing over who or what should be responsible for verifying users’ ages for application downloads.   

App makers like Meta, X and Snap argue the onus is on app stores because they already have age data, but Apple and Google, which operate two of the most popular app marketplaces, say the data would still be shared with developers and risk users’ privacy.  

Various tech advocacy or industry groups have expressed concern with either approach due to its risks to privacy or free speech.   

Some told The Hill earlier this month they would prefer a mixed approach, with both the app makers and stores playing a role in age verification. Others contend the responsibility of content moderation falls to parents or guardians of children and teens.  

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