Jul 2, 2025 - Politics
Supreme Court backs age checks for porn sites
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State lawmakers can keep forcing porn websites to verify users' age, the Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Why it matters: Louisiana was the first state to pass that kind of law in 2022, with it going into effect Jan. 1, 2023.
Zoom in: The Supreme Court weighed in after a challenge to a similar law in Texas.
- In total, 19 states have passed age verification laws. The case could have determined the fate of them all.
- The laws are meant to prevent underage kids from accessing pornographic websites.
- But free speech advocates — like the Free Speech Coalition, which challenged Texas' law — say such rules infringe upon adults' First Amendment rights.
How it works: Age verification laws typically require adult websites to implement a way of checking users' ages, often via government-issued IDs.
- Some adult sites, like Pornhub, have decided to go dark in states with age verification rules rather than comply with the requirements.