Supreme Court to Hear Case on Texas Pornography Age Verification Law
The case will determine if Texas's age-verification law for adult websites violates the First Amendment or if it is a legitimate measure to protect minors.
- The Supreme Court will hear arguments in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, a case challenging Texas's 2023 law requiring pornography websites to verify users are 18 or older.
- Texas argues the law is necessary to protect minors from harmful content online, citing a public health crisis linked to early exposure to pornography.
- Opponents contend the law violates the First Amendment by restricting adults' access to legal content and raising privacy concerns due to data collection requirements.
- The legal debate centers on whether the law should be reviewed under strict scrutiny, as opponents argue, or the less stringent rational basis review, as Texas claims.
- The outcome could set a significant precedent for age-verification laws nationwide, with similar measures already enacted in over a dozen states and supported by bipartisan majorities.
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Roll Call 
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