The Supreme Court has refused to block a Texas law that required porn sites to verify a user’s age.
The high court on Tuesday denied an emergency appeal filed by the Free Speech Coalition, which is a trade association for the adult entertainment industry. The association asked the judges in an emergency appeal earlier this month to block the law while it appeals to the high court.
There were no dissents noted in the Supreme Court order.
The law requires websites to verify that users in Texas are at least 18 years of age before they can access pornographic content on the site. It also requires websites with pornographic content to post warnings about the alleged harm pornography can cause.
The law, signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last year, will remain in effect while the justices consider the association’s full appeal.
The law was temporarily blocked in September by U.S. District Judge Alan Ezra, who said the law violated the First Amendment because it “substantially regulates protected speech, is seriously underinclusive, and uses overly restrictive enforcement methods.”
A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s age verification ruling last month. However, the divided panel of judges upheld the district court’s ruling that websites could not be forced to post warnings about their content.
The Free Speech Coalition argued against the Texas law, saying age verification laws are “ineffective, unconstitutional and dangerous”. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also supported the association’s appeal, saying the Texas law would “unduly burden free speech online.”
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