Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is fighting to enforce a Texas law that he says prevents the porn industry from targeting children with harmful content.
Adopted in 2023 and signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbottthe law requires porn sites to verify users’ ages through official documentation, such as a driver’s license or government-issued ID. By law, failure to implement this age verification will result in fines.
Meanwhile, a collection of porn sites calling themselves the Free Speech Coalition argue that the Texas law restricts their First Amendment rights and places an unnecessary burden on Texas adults to access their content.
TEXAS A&M CANCELS CONFERENCE TRIP EXCLUDING WHITE AND ASIAN STUDENTS AFTER GOVERNOR’S RESPONSE
Dozens of plaintiffs accuse Pornhub and its parent company MindGeek of making money from sexual abuse. (Adrien Fillon/NurPhoto)
Pornhub, the country’s most popular adult content website, went so far disable access to their website for all users in Texas after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold the law.
The two sides finally faced off this Wednesday to argue their case in court Supreme Court.
The nation’s highest court appeared to agree with Paxton’s argument that states have an interest in limiting children’s access to pornographic content. However, some justices still seemed concerned about whether the Texas law’s prohibitions were too broad and could affect other areas of the law. free speech.
The question now before the court is whether the Texas law should be subject to a “rational basis” or a “strict scrutiny,” the latter of which would require Texas to meet the strictest standards to enforce the age verification requirement.
The US Supreme Court is seen in Washington on November 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Regardless, the court’s ruling will likely impact not only the Texas law, but also the more than a dozen other age verification laws on porn sites in states across the country.
In an interview with Fox News Digital after the hearing, Paxton said he is confident the Supreme Court will rule in Texas’ favor.
“When I hear the questions and see the comments from the judges, I feel very optimistic. I think we are going to win this,” he said. “I really have a good feeling about it. I think most judges will be on the right side.”
“Even the other side that presented their arguments admitted that we have an interest in protecting minors,” he continued. “They just said that the way we did it was kind of an adult overload, and so they came up with other suggestions, those suggestions don’t really work and that’s probably why they offered them, they don’t want age verification because it actually works and it affects their bottom line.”
TEXAS AG sues NCAA over trans inclusion in women’s sports
The exterior of the Texas State Capitol is seen on September 5, 2023 in Austin, Texas. The Senate impeachment trial of former Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton begins today with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presiding over the proceedings. Paxton faces several charges, including bribery, making false statements and breaching the public trust. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
In response to criticism that the law may violate free speech, Paxton said, “Look, I’m a big believer in free speech. I see very few restrictions on freedom of speech. However, we have recognized that we need to protect children in many ways. We don’t let them sign contracts, we don’t let them get married before they are 18, we don’t let them serve alcohol, we don’t let them get tobacco, we have protected children. it has been ours (throughout) our entire history.”
“If you look anywhere in the developed world or anywhere (else), children are being protected,” he added. “My job is to enforce Texas law. In this case, I feel very comfortable protecting our children from this fact.”
