SCOTUS Rejects Challenge To Texas Porn/Age Law

The Associated Press reports:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify the age of their users.

The justices rejected an emergency appeal filed by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry. The provision of House Bill 1181, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, remains in effect even as the association’s full appeal is weighed by the Supreme Court.

There were no noted dissents from the court’s one-sentence order. Similar age verification laws have passed in other states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia.

Read the full article. Texas AG Ken Paxton last month sued three porn sites for not complying with the age verification law. The biggest of the three, Pornhub, has blocked access to its site in Texas, resulting in an avalanche of web searches for VPN services.

Justices deny request by adult entertainment industry to pause a Texas law targeting minors’ access to online sexual content while it appeals a lower court ruling. No 23A925 Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. Background: https://t.co/h4BoxnmvL4

— Kimberly Robinson (@KimberlyRobinsn) April 30, 2024