Supreme Court Upholds Texas Porn Age Verification Law in 6-3 Ruling

Washington D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, June 27, 2025, delivered a significant 6-3 ruling, upholding a Texas law that mandates age verification for commercial pornography websites. The decision, centered on Texas House Bill 1181, affirms states' authority to protect minors from sexually explicit content online, navigating complex First Amendment considerations. This landmark ruling sets a precedent for age-gating digital content across the nation.

Texas H.B. 1181 requires websites where more than one-third of the content is deemed "sexual material harmful to minors" to implement age verification measures. Users must prove they are 18 or older through government-issued identification or transactional data. Violators face civil penalties up to $10,000 per day, with fines increasing to $250,000 if a minor accesses content due to non-compliance. At least 18 other states have enacted similar legislation, with more considering such measures.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the 6-3 majority, concluded that the Texas law survives judicial review under an intermediate scrutiny standard. The Court reasoned that the law's burden on adults' First Amendment rights is "incidental" to the state's traditional power to prevent minors from accessing content deemed obscene for them. Thomas emphasized that adults have no constitutional right to avoid age verification when accessing such material. This standard is less stringent than the strict scrutiny sought by challengers.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Elena Kagan, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, argued that the law should have faced strict scrutiny. Kagan contended that H.B. 1181 constitutes a direct, content-based regulation of speech, which burdens adults' access to constitutionally protected material. She highlighted previous Supreme Court rulings, including Reno v. ACLU and Ashcroft v. ACLU, which applied strict scrutiny to similar attempts to regulate online content for minors. The dissent expressed concern that the ruling could allow states to restrict adult speech unnecessarily.

The Supreme Court's decision provides states with broader latitude to regulate online content for child protection, potentially impacting future legislation on social media and other digital platforms. The ruling balances the compelling interest of protecting minors with concerns over free speech and privacy. Following the announcement, Senator Mike Lee reacted on social media, stating,

"Age-verification laws to protect kids from porn have now been upheld as constitutional This is 💯 right." This sentiment reflects a growing push among lawmakers to implement stronger safeguards for children online.