FSC Urges SCOTUS to Strike Down 'Unconstitutional' Texas Age Verification Law

FSC Urges SCOTUS to Strike Down 'Unconstitutional' Texas Age Verification Law

WASHINGTON — The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) urged the U.S. Supreme Court through a brief filed Monday to strike down Texas’ age verification law as unconstitutional.

The FSC statement regarding the filing follows:

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and Quinn Emanuel today filed a brief in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and other plaintiffs in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, arguing that the age verification provision in Texas’s HB 1181 violates the First Amendment by improperly burdening adults’ right to access sexual content online.

HB 1181 requires any website that publishes content one-third or more of which is “harmful to minors” — a broad category that includes virtually any explicit content — to force their visitors to provide digital IDs or other proof of age before they can access the published material, regardless of what is on the other two-thirds of the site.

“Adults in America have a First Amendment right to read about sexual health, see R-rated movies, watch porn, and otherwise access information about sex if they want to. They should be allowed to exercise that right as they see fit, without having to worry about exposing their personal identifying information in the process,” said Vera Eidelman, staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. “Rather than requiring adults to give up their privacy in order to watch and read content the government doesn’t like, legislators should focus on shaping a safer internet through things like voluntary content filters, which  give control to people, not the government.”

Texas claims this provision is about protecting minors from accessing sexual content deemed harmful to them, not regulating disfavored content, but it does not merely restrict minors’ access. It also restricts adults’ access, requiring them to identify themselves online and burdening their ability to exercise their First Amendment rights to see sexual content or any other material on a regulated site. As the brief explains, requiring individuals to verify their ages before accessing this protected speech robs people of anonymity, and threatens to bar individuals—for example, those who lack government identification or whose age is misidentified by the relevant technology—from accessing certain websites altogether. Such a restriction is not necessary given the availability of other options, like content filtering, that could accomplish the government’s goal while imposing less of a burden on speech.

“While Texas’ law may sound reasonable on its face, in practice, it is extraordinarily burdensome and invasive, effectively deterring adults from accessing legal content,” said Alison Boden, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition. “To make matters worse, this law – and ones like it – fail at their stated goal of protecting children online, despite forcing adult content creators and consumers to operate under the threat of surveillance and censorship.”

At the same time, the law will not accomplish its stated goal. Because the law only applies if one-third of a site’s content is explicit, social media sites  that offer much of the same content, but as a smaller proportion of their total offerings, avoid the law’s requirement. And search engines are exempted entirely, meaning minors can access exactly the same sexual content online via such sites. Moreover, the law’s requirement that regulated sites issue unscientific health warnings about the negative effects of exposure to pornography illustrate the state’s distaste for the regulated speakers.

Before the case reached the Supreme Court, a district court briefly blocked the law from being enforced, concluding that the law’s age verification provision would unconstitutionally chill the speech of adults. However, a divided Fifth Circuit panel vacated that injunction, reasoning that the age verification provisions’ burden on adults’ First Amendment rights merely has to have some rational basis–not face strict scrutiny–because the aim is to protect children. Unless the Supreme Court issues a reversal, this decision will overturn decades of precedent protecting the free speech rights of adults.

In prior cases brought by the ACLU, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that requiring users to verify their age to access protected content is unconstitutional where there are less restrictive alternatives available, like filtering software. In Reno v. ACLU, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that anti-indecency provisions of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, also meant to protect children, violated the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech in part because of the burden it imposed on adults. In Ashcroft v. ACLU, the Court held that a law almost identical to the Texas law had to satisfy strict scrutiny because it restricted adults’ access to protected sexual speech. Where a less-restrictive alternative exists—for example, the voluntary installation of filtering software on minors’ devices—the government cannot impose age verification on adults in the name of protecting children.

Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton is one of several cases in which the ACLU has urged courts to reject age verification schemes that would burden the free speech rights of internet users as part of the organization’s long tradition of defending online free expression.

The ACLU’s brief in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton is a part of the ACLU’s Joan and Irwin Jacobs Supreme Court Docket.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

TrustyFans Introduces New Blog

Creator directory TrustyFans has introduced an official blog to its site, titled "From Hidden to Hype."

JustFor.fans' Dominic Ford Featured in Wired Magazine

JustFor.fans Founder and CEO Dominic Ford is featured in a new article in Wired Magazine, titled "The Internet Revolutionized Porn. Age Verification Could Upend Everything."

Dr. Charlotte Gaydos Joins ProDx Health Advisory Board

Dr. Charlotte Gaydos has joined the Advisory Board of ProDx Health.

Aylo Fined $5 Million as FTC, Utah Settle Safety Practices Complaint

The Federal Trade Commission and the state of Utah on Wednesday settled a complaint against Aylo, requiring the company to pay a $5 million penalty and implement measures to prevent illegal content from appearing on its sites.

New AI Companion Platform 'Pornstar.love' Launches

Pornstar.love, a new AI companion platform, has officially launched.

Pineapple Support, Stripchat to Host 'Navigating Thoughts of Suicide' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Stripchat are hosting a free online support group to help performers deal with suicidal ideation.

Plaiir Names Cade Maddox as Lead of Creator Relations

Networking platform Plaiir has appointed Cade Maddox as its new lead of creator relations.

Go.cam Launches 'One-Line Integration' Verification Solution

Go.cam has introduced a one-line code integration for age verification.

XBIZ Amsterdam to Debut 'Behind the Lens' Screening Series

XBIZ is pleased to announce the debut of “Behind the Lens,” a new screening series presenting discussions with noted directors, taking place at the upcoming annual European conference, XBIZ Amsterdam.

'White Rabbit' Party Headed for XBIZ Amsterdam

XBIZ is pleased to announce the White Rabbit Party, an XBIZ Amsterdam special event set to take place Wednesday, Sept. 3.

Show More