Supreme Court declines to block enforcement of age-verification requirements for porn sites

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Texas to enforce age-verification requirements for porn sites, rejecting a request from the adult entertainment industry to block the law on First Amendment grounds.

Texas’ law requires any website that publishes a substantial amount of content that is “harmful to minors” to verify the age of users. The challengers said the law also forces adults to identify themselves before accessing pornography, which the group’s lawyers said violates access to free speech online.

A trade group representing the adult entertainment industry filed an appeal at the Supreme Court and then asked the court to block the law while that appeal is considered. The underlying appeal is still pending.