Published January 16, 2025
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a pivotal case. Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton concerns the constitutionality of a Texas law that aims to shield children from online obscenity by requiring pornography websites to require users over the age of 18 to pass through an age gate to view content.
On the positive side, a majority of the justices seemed to indicate they would rule in favor of Texas in the case. The questioning got off to a strong start when Justice Amy Coney Barrett pressed the attorney for the Big Porn websites about why the barrier for restricting kids’ access to obscenity should be different online than for brick-and-mortar stores. Justice Neil Gorsuch likewise emphasized that we don’t want two separate constitutional regimes in our country, one for the online world and one for the real world, but rather, the goal should be to have those be as similar as possible.
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Clare Morell is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she directs EPPC’s Technology and Human Flourishing Project. Prior to joining EPPC, Ms. Morell worked in both the White House Counsel’s Office and the Department of Justice, as well as in the private and non-profit sectors.