WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday issued its decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, striking a blow against the online adult industry by ruling in support of Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181.
The issue before the court was what standard of review should apply to such a law, which aims to protect minors — but in the process may burden adults’ access to protected speech. A lower court applied only the “rational basis” standard, whereas FSC, its fellow plaintiffs and free speech advocates maintained that the highest level of judicial review, “strict scrutiny,” should apply.
The court declared that only “intermediate scrutiny” is required, and that the Texas law is constitutional.
The decision was 6-3, with Justice Kagan dissenting, joined by Justices Jackson and Sotomayor.
Justice Thomas wrote the opinion for the majority.
The court’s ruling is expected to impact implementation of state age verification laws around the country, as well as other pending litigation. Some cases that were put on hold in anticipation of the court’s decision in this case, including in Texas, Indiana and Florida, can now be expected to advance, as can similar legislative proposals in other states.
HB 1181 was passed by the Texas legislature in May 2023 and is a much-augmented version of Louisiana’s age verification law and its many copycat versions in other states. FSC has condemned the law as “blatantly unconstitutional” and a “violation of the First Amendment rights of creators, consumers and platforms.”
This is breaking story. XBIZ will update this story as more information becomes available.
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