SCOTUS Porn Ruling: Internet Age Verification Changes

Supreme Court Upholds Texas Age Verification Law for Websites

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on Friday, affirming the legality of a Texas law. This law mandates that websites featuring content considered “sexual material harmful to minors” must implement age verification for all users.

Legal Challenge and Court Decision

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC), representing the adult entertainment industry, initiated legal action against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Their challenge aimed to invalidate the state’s age verification legislation.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, stated that states possess the authority to require age verification. This is to safeguard children from accessing sexually explicit materials. The court’s decision was 6-3 in favor of Paxton, with Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson dissenting.

What Does Age Verification Entail?

Age verification, in this instance, goes beyond a simple self-declaration of adulthood. It necessitates the submission of official government identification or the utilization of third-party verification services to confirm a user’s age.

Wider Implications and State Laws

This ruling carries significant implications for online privacy. Currently, eighteen states have enacted similar age verification laws for websites. An additional six states have passed legislation that is yet to come into effect.

The Texas law, as challenged by the FSC, defines a pornographic website as one where at least one-third of the content is classified as “harmful to minors.”

Privacy Concerns and Data Security

Advocates for internet privacy have consistently voiced concerns regarding the potential compromise of user digital security through these age checks. This is despite assurances from verification companies that identifying information will not be stored.

Instances of data breaches within government databases, particularly when age checks are conducted using governmental tools, are not uncommon.

Impact on LGBTQ+ Rights

Concerns have been raised that laws of this nature could be exploited to categorize information related to the LGBTQ+ community, including sex education resources, as “sexual material harmful to minors.”

These concerns are amplified by the previous removal of references to civil rights movements and LGBTQ+ history from certain government websites during the Trump administration.

Related Legislation in Texas

The original Texas age verification law, designated HB 1181, was enacted alongside other legal restrictions targeting the LGBTQ+ community. These included limitations on public drag performances and prohibitions on gender-affirming care for minors.

However, the law concerning drag shows was subsequently deemed unconstitutional due to its violation of the First Amendment.

Criticism of the Ruling

Aaron Mackey, Litigation Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, stated that the ruling “allows states to enact onerous age-verification rules.” He further explained that these rules will restrict adult access to legal content, limit anonymity, and put data security and privacy at risk.

Mackey concluded that the Court erred in disregarding these substantial burdens on adults while upholding the Texas law.