The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday over a Texas law that requires pornography websites to verify the ages of their visitors, a case over salacious content that might influence the power of Congress and states to regulate minors’ access to the internet.
In Free Speech Coalition et al. v. Paxton, a group of challengers are set to urge the justices to overturn the Texas law as an unconstitutional infringement on free speech rights of adults in Texas.
They argue in court filings that Texas’ effort to prevent minors from accessing sexual content online chills the rights of adults to access the online content they want, and requiring verification information exposes those adult visitors to potential identity theft, fraud and other risks.
