Overview

• The ruling affirms a Texas law requiring websites with over a third of sexual content harmful to minors to verify users’ ages with personal identification.
• The Free Speech Coalition challenged the measure on First Amendment grounds, arguing it burdens adults’ rights and exposes them to identity theft and data breaches.
• Justices noted past decisions in 1996 and 2004 that struck down federal restrictions but accepted Texas’s argument that modern technology enables effective age checks.
• The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the age-verification requirement in 2024 after a federal judge’s 2023 injunction was lifted.
• The decision establishes a precedent for roughly half of U.S. states that have enacted or are considering similar safeguards to shield minors from online pornography.