Summary

The Supreme Court signaled support for state-enforced age-verification laws for pornographic websites, as argued in Texas’ case.

Conservative justices cited the surge in children’s access to online pornography and technological changes, calling for reconsideration of past 1st Amendment rulings.

Texas’ law requires websites to confirm users are 18+, a model supported by 23 Republican-led states.

Critics argue it could chill adult free speech, but justices noted filtering software is ineffective. The court may uphold the law or send it back for further review by the 5th Circuit.