Age verification for adult websites upheld by Supreme Court

Zoom in: At issue is the constitutionality of a Texas law that would require age verifications on websites where more than a third of the context is sexually explicit.

• The law requires adult websites to verify users' ages by asking to submit a copy of their government-issued ID.
• A federal appeals court previously upheld the law, saying it furthers the "government's legitimate interest" in protecting children from pornography and does not violate the First Amendment.

Context: The Supreme Court had repeatedly struck down federal laws that would compel websites to verify the age of their users in order to protect children.

• Louisiana adopted the nation's first age verification law in 2022. Since then, more than 20 states have passed copycat legislation, according to Free Speech Coalition.
• Versions of the law in Georgia, South Dakota and Wyoming are expected to go into effect on July 1.

The other side: Free speech advocates argued the law not only violates adults' privacy but also fails to protect children from accessing porn.

• The broad definition of sexually explicit materials could affect streaming services, online bookstores and other mainstream websites, according to opponents.
• The law does not apply to search engines or social media platforms where children are most likely to be exposed to sexually explicit material, they said.
• Some adult sites have gone dark in states with age verification laws rather than complying with the requirements, pushing users to use virtual private networks to circumvent the age verification.