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Writer's pictureMorris Mims

Do Texas Pornography Laws Restrict First Amendment Rights?

The Supreme Court has decided to review a challenge to a Texas law that aims to stop minors from seeing pornography online.


The challenge comes from the Free Speech Coalition, a group representing the pornography industry, and several companies. Earlier this year, the court chose not to stop the law while legal arguments continue.


Critics say the law, known as H.B. 1181, breaks the First Amendment of the Constitution because it requires everyone using certain websites, even adults, to give personal details. The law demands that platforms verify users' ages by confirming their identities.


The goal is to block children from seeing sexual material, but the lawsuit argues that these rules also impact adults.


The case will be argued and decided in the court's next session, which runs from October to June 2025.


A judge had already decided that the law's requirements were too broad because they affected more than just minors. But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled in favor of the state and refused to delay the law while the Supreme Court considers the case.


After the appeals court's decision, websites like Pornhub stopped Texans from using their platforms, fearing the law would soon be enforced.


Have you been effected negatively from online porn?

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