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United States Supreme Court case
Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton is a pending United States Supreme Court case about whether states may require Internet pornography websites to verify the age of viewers in order to prevent access by minors .
In 2023, the Texas Legislature enacted House Bill 1181,[ 1] a law requiring age-verification on websites with more than a third of its content "harmful to minors",[ 2] by a broad bipartisan vote.[ 1] The Free Speech Coalition , a trade association for the pornography and adult entertainment industry, sued to challenge the law.[ 2] By the FSC's count, Texas was among 23 states that had adopted similar laws in 2023 or 2024.[ 2]
The district court struck down the provision,[ 1] but the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed that ruling and upheld the age-verification requirement.[ 2] However, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's decision to strike down another provision of H.B. 1181 that required the websites to post warnings about health dangers of pornography.[ 2]
The majority opinion for the Fifth Circuit panel was by Judge Jerry Smith , who said that it was within the state's legitimate interest in preventing minors' access to pornography.[ 1] Judge Patrick Higginbotham dissented, saying that the law infringed adults' protected speech and had chilling effects .[ 1]
The Supreme Court declined to block the Texas law pending appeal.[ 2]
Applying rational basis review , the Supreme Court upheld state laws banning the sale of pornography to minors in Ginsberg v. New York (1968), provided that it was "obscene as to minors" – even if it would not meet an ordinary legal test for obscenity as to adults.[ 3]
In Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union II (2004), the Supreme Court affirmed a preliminary injunction against the Child Online Protection Act , a federal law that required age verification for commercial websites hosting "material harmful to children". In a 5–4 decision written by Justice Kennedy , the court applied strict scrutiny and said that the government had not shown that voluntary use of filtering software by parents – a less restrictive alternative – was inadequate to meet the government's interest in protecting minors.[ 3]
The Supreme Court announced on July 2, 2024, that it would hear the case.[ 3] It is expected to be decided during the 2024-25 term.[ 2]
^ a b c d e Jankowski, Philip (March 8, 2024). "Texas can enforce new age-verification law for porn sites, court rules" . The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved July 2, 2024 .
^ a b c d e f g Stohr, Greg (July 2, 2024). "Porn-Site Age Verification Law Will Get Supreme Court Scrutiny" . Bloomberg Law . Retrieved July 3, 2024 .
^ a b c Volokh, Eugene (July 2, 2024). "S. Ct. Will Decide: May States Require Age Verification to Access Porn Sites?" . The Volokh Conspiracy . Reason . Retrieved July 3, 2024 .
Public displays and ceremonies Statutory religious exemptions Public funding Religion in public schools Private religious speech Internal church affairs Taxpayer standing Blue laws Other
Unprotected speech
Incitement and sedition Defamation andfalse speech Fighting words and the heckler's veto True threats Obscenity
Rosen v. United States (1896)
United States v. One Book Called Ulysses (S.D.N.Y. 1933)
Roth v. United States (1957)
One, Inc. v. Olesen (1958)
Smith v. California (1959)
Marcus v. Search Warrant (1961)
MANual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day (1962)
Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964)
Quantity of Books v. Kansas (1964)
Ginzburg v. United States (1966)
Memoirs v. Massachusetts (1966)
Redrup v. New York (1967)
Ginsberg v. New York (1968)
Stanley v. Georgia (1969)
United States v. Thirty-seven Photographs (1971)
Kois v. Wisconsin (1972)
Miller v. California (1973)
Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton (1973)
United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Film (1973)
Jenkins v. Georgia (1974)
Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad (1975)
Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville (1975)
Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. (1976)
Vance v. Universal Amusement Co., Inc. (1980)
American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc. v. Hudnut (7th Cir. 1985)
People v. Freeman (Cal. 1988)
United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc. (1994)
Reno v. ACLU (1997)
United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. (2000)
City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc. (2002)
Ashcroft v. ACLU I (2002)
United States v. American Library Ass'n (2003)
Ashcroft v. ACLU II (2004)
Nitke v. Gonzales (S.D.N.Y. 2005)
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American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression v. Strickland (6th Cir. 2009)
United States v. Kilbride (9th Cir. 2009)
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Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass'n (2011)
FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (2012)
Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton (2025)
Speech integral to criminal conduct
Strict scrutiny Overbreadth Vagueness Symbolic speech versus conductContent-based restrictions Content-neutral restrictions
Compelled speech Compelled subsidy of others' speech
Government grants and subsidies Government as speaker Loyalty oaths School speech Public employees Hatch Act and similar lawsLicensing and restriction of speech Commercial speech
Valentine v. Chrestensen (1942)
Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept. (1970)
Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Comm'n on Human Relations (1973)
Lehman v. Shaker Heights (1974)
Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar (1975)
Bigelow v. Virginia (1975)
Virginia State Pharmacy Bd. v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
Linmark Assoc., Inc. v. Township of Willingboro (1977)
Carey v. Population Services International (1977)
Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977)
In re Primus (1978)
Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Association (1978)
Friedman v. Rogers (1979)
Consol. Edison Co. v. Public Serv. Comm'n (1980)
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission (1980)
Metromedia, Inc. v. San Diego (1981)
In re R.M.J. (1982)
Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. (1982)
Zauderer v. Off. of Disciplinary Counsel of Supreme Court of Ohio (1985)
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Comm'n of California (1986)
Posadas de Puerto Rico Assoc. v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico (1986)
San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. U.S. Olympic Committee (1987)
Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Association (1988)
Riley v. Nat'l Fed'n of the Blind (1988)
State University of New York v. Fox (1989)
Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois (1990)
City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network (1993)
Edenfield v. Fane (1993)
United States v. Edge Broadcasting Co. (1993)
Ibanez v. Florida Dept. of Business and Professional Regulation, Bd. of Accountancy (1994)
Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corp. (1995)
Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co. (1995)
Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc. (1995)
44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island (1996)
Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliot, Inc. (1997)
Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Assn., Inc. v. United States (1999)
Los Angeles Police Department v. United Reporting Publishing Co. (1999)
United States v. United Foods Inc. (2001)
Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly (2001)
Thompson v. Western States Medical Center (2002)
Nike, Inc. v. Kasky (2003)
Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Ass'n (2005)
Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. v. Brentwood Academy (2007)
Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.A. v. United States (2010)
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich LPA (2010)
Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc. (2011)
Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman (2017)
Matal v. Tam (2017)
Iancu v. Brunetti (2019)
Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants (2020)
Vidal v. Elster (2024)
Campaign finance and political speechAnonymous speech State action Official retaliation Boycotts Prisons
Organizations Future Conduct Solicitation Membership restriction Primaries and elections