U.S. Supreme Court
Law requiring proof of age to access online adult content will get Supreme Court review
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider what standard should be used to evaluate the constitutionality of a Texas law that requires proof of age to access websites with pornography and other adult content. (Image from Shutterstock)
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider what standard should be used to evaluate the constitutionality of a Texas law that requires proof of age to access websites with pornography and other adult content.
The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether courts should evaluate the law under the First Amendment using strict scrutiny or a rational-basis test.
The Texas law known as House Bill 1181 requires websites to verify the age of their users if at least one-third of their content is harmful to minors. Because the law burdens access to websites by adults, as well as minors, it should be evaluated using strict scrutiny, the challengers argue in their cert petition.
The more exacting standard of strict scrutiny makes it more difficult for the government to defend the constitutionality of a law. In the Texas case, that standard requires the state to show that its law is narrowly drawn to serve a compelling interest in protecting minors, according to the cert petition.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans opted for a rational-basis analysis when it vacated an injunction blocking the law in a March 7 opinion. The appeals court said the age-verification requirement does not violate the First Amendment because it is rationally related to a legitimate government interest in preventing access to pornography by minors.
The case was previously before the Supreme Court when challengers sought to block the law pending appeal. The Supreme Court allowed enforcement of the age-verification requirement when it rejected the emergency request, SCOTUSblog reported April 30.
Those challenging the law include an adult industry trade association called the Free Speech Coalition and companies that produce, sell and host pornography.
The case is Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton.
Law.com and Law360 have coverage of the cert grant.
The American Civil Liberties Union announced the filing of the cert petition in an April 12 press release.
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