The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday considered the constitutionality of a law in the Republican state of Texas requiring people visiting pornographic sites to provide their personal information in order to prove that they are adults.
The law, which was originally scheduled to take effect in September 2023, was challenged in court by groups representing the pornography industry on the grounds of the First Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
A federal judge ruled in their favor in August, suspending the entry into force of the provisions of the law on how users’ ages are verified.
An ultraconservative appeals court overturned that decision in March, and the plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
They claim “harm to Texan adults” both because of the “risk of data leaks or hacking” and because, through the verification system chosen, “the law will allow authorities to scrutinize the most intimate and personal aspects of people’s lives.”
The law “simply requires the pornography industry, which makes billions of dollars selling filth, to take reasonable business measures to ensure that those accessing such material are adults. There is nothing unconstitutional about that,” state Republican officials argue, citing a “public health crisis” caused by minors’ access to pornography.
The Supreme Court will consider the issue at its next session, which begins October 7.
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