Published May 27, 2025
Can a state place age restrictions on pornography websites so that children cannot access their material? The U.S. Supreme Court will decide that critical question in its forthcoming opinion in the case Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton.
For those who’ve not been following this case, this is a decision worth paying close attention to. It will be of critical importance for future state and federal efforts to protect kids online, especially from pornography.
The case started with a lawsuit, brought by the trade association for the pornography industry, masking itself behind the name “Free Speech Coalition.” The association sued the state of Texas over a law, H.B. 1181, that requires pornographic websites doing business in Texas to “use reasonable age verification methods” to verify that a customer “is 18 years of age or older.” The law applies to any commercial entity that “knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material on an Internet website, including a social media platform, more than one-third of which is sexual material harmful to minors.” Companies that do not institute the required age verification will be subject to fines of up to $10,000 per day and up to $250,000 if a child is exposed to pornographic content because of a failure to verify his or her age.
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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.
