A Texas law that would require online age verification for access to pornographic websites will be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
The challenge comes from a trade association representing the adult entertainment industry.
What is HB 1181, the Texas Age Verification Law?
Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1181 late last year. The law requires pornography sites to verify users’ ages with a government-issued ID or reasonable alternative. Other states have similar requirements.
Violators of HB 1181 could be fined $10,000 per day and $250,000 “if a child is exposed to pornographic content because a user’s age was not properly verified.”
The Supreme Court will hear the case in its next term, which begins in October.
More about Texas law: Supreme Court refuses to block Texas law requiring age verification on porn websites like Pornhub
Texas law imposes ‘significant burden on adult access,’ group says
The industry group, The Free Speech Coalition, says the rule raises “unique security and privacy concerns” because it exposes users to the risk of accidental disclosures, leaks or hacks.
“While the law is intended to limit minors’ access to online sexual content, the law imposes significant burdens on adults’ access to constitutionally protected speech,” the group told the court.
Free Speech Coalition is pleased that the Supreme Court has decided to review our case, and recognizes the importance of the issues raised by our Texas challenge. We appreciate the opportunity to argue our case before the Court. https://t.co/ouhePHfNQb
— Free Speech Coalition (@FSCArmy) July 2, 2024
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton responded that there is nothing unusual about the requirement.
“Instead, it simply requires that the pornography industry, which makes billions of dollars from trafficking in obscenity, take commercially reasonable steps to ensure that those who access the material are adults,” he wrote in a filing.
The 5th Court of Appeals has previously upheld Texas law
Last March, in a lawsuit between the state and Aylo Global Entertainment — owner of many popular pornographic websites, including Pornhub — the parties debated whether or not the Texas law violated free speech rights. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that HB 1181 does not violate the First Amendment.
However, the appeals court rejected the part of the law that requires pornographic websites to display health warnings on their content.
In addition to Texas, Pornhub reluctantly blocked access to the site for people in other states with age verification laws, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia.
The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed its support for the industry’s challenge.
“The Fifth Circuit’s ruling wrongly allowed the government to strip adults of their online privacy and restrict their access to protected speech, all under the guise of protecting children,” said Vera Eidelman, an attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “Over the years, we’ve seen similar misguided laws on everything from drive-in theaters to video games to websites, and courts have repeatedly struck down these laws.”
This article originally appeared on the Austin American-Statesman: Supreme Court to Review Texas Porn Age Verification Law
