Does Texas’ Age-Verification Requirement for Adult Websites Violate the Constitution?
Ken Paxton, Respondent In June 2023, Texas enacted H.B. 1181, which requires age verification by any commercial website with content “more than one-third of which is sexual material harmful to minors.” The state exempted internet search engines. The law also requires sites covered by the age-verification requirement to post scripted “sexual materials health warnings” that claim pornography is harmful to mental health and potentially addictive. A group of adult-content creators and free-speech advocates sued Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, alleging that the law violates First Amendment protections. A federal district court agreed and temporarily blocked the law pending…
