The US Supreme Court has upheld a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify users’ ages.

The decision, released on June 27, 2025, was split 6-3 along ideological lines.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion, stating the law aims to protect minors.

The ruling supports one of 24 similar state laws introduced since 2023, according to the Free Speech Coalition, which challenged the Texas law.

The law’s implementation has already led to major industry changes, including the shutdown of Pornhub in Texas.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ A significant reversal in the court’s approach to online content regulation

The Supreme Court’s latest ruling marks a major shift from its previous positions on age verification laws for online content.

In 2009, the Court struck down the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) after a decade of litigation, finding that age verification technologies were ineffective and infringed on adult access to protected speech 1.

Similarly, in 2016, a federal court permanently blocked Louisiana’s law requiring age verification for accessing non-obscene material, ruling it created an unconstitutional chilling effect on free speech 2.

This new 6-3 decision in favor of Texas’s law represents a clear ideological and jurisprudential shift in how the Court balances child protection against First Amendment concerns.

The ruling could open the door for similar legislation, as 24 states have already passed age verification laws since 2023, with Louisiana being the first in 2022 followed by a dozen others by mid-2024 3.

This change in judicial interpretation may signal a broader willingness to permit state regulation of online speech when justified by child protection concerns.

2️⃣ Privacy and data security risks create parallel concerns

The verification methods mandated by these laws raise significant privacy questions that extend beyond free speech issues.