As reported by SCOTUSblog, on the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a First Amendment case on Jan. 15, 2025, involving age verification on websites providing material that could be harmful to minors.
“In Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the justices will consider a challenge to a Texas law that requires websites to verify the age of their users if at least one-third of their content is ‘harmful to minors,’ such as pornography,” SCOTUSblog reported.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the law, “rejecting an argument that it violated the First Amendment by imposing a burden on adults’ access to that content,” the Supreme Court-watching site said.
In hearing arguments, the justices “will focus on what test courts should use to determine whether the law is constitutional,” SCOTUSblog wrote. “The lower court used a test known as ‘rational basis’ review, which looks at whether the law is rationally related to a legitimate government interest. But the challengers argue that the 5th Circuit should have used a more demanding test, known as strict scrutiny, instead.”
See also: Miss. is latest state sued by tech group over age verification on websites
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