The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for people to access porn websites.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that Texas law would bear the protected first amendment of adults “only by chance” by requiring age verification to access pornography.
The judgment adds that adults do not have the right to initially amend the right to avoid age verification, and the state has the right to protect minors from indecent content.
The ruling could make it difficult for those challenging similar Florida laws.
What is Florida’s law?
The Florida Age Verification Act, passed last year by lawmakers and signed the law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, aims to block most children from social media and porn websites. You need a website and platform with porn content. All visitors should be at least 18 years old through methods such as displaying their IDs.
Several websites, including PornHub, have chosen to deny access to all Florida users to avoid the collection of personal information.
Texas law also restricts small access to porn websites, but does not include social media provisions like Florida law.
Florida law also prohibits children under the age of 13 from creating social media accounts, allowing only 14 and 15 people to use social media with parental consent.
The Internet Industry Group has filed a lawsuit against the national age verification law, claiming it violates its first amendment and privacy rights.
The Texas and Florida lawsuits, both written by groups representing the adult industry, known as the Free Speech Union, alleges that the laws have too broadly restricted protected speeches and put an undue strain on adults seeking to access pornography.
What happens next?
A Federal judge of Florida has heard of two cases against Florida’s age verification law.
One of the lawsuits challenges social media restrictions for minors. US District Judge Mark Walker wrote in the early June in blocking some of the law and deciding that the law is “highly likely to be unconstitutional.”
Other lawsuits deal with age verification requirements for Florida bills. The case was suspended in January when Florida demanded that they wait for a Supreme Court decision to be made in a Texas case.
Walker wrote in his January complaint that the Supreme Court decision “provides substantial guidance” in Florida cases, and that it is likely to determine the outcome.
It is not clear exactly when Walker issues his judgment in a case or whether counsel on both sides will ask for new arguments in the wake of the Supreme Court case.
