A Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites is unconstitutional, judge rules – Gist It

A Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites is unconstitutional, judge rules

A Texas law requiring age verification and posting of health warnings on porn sites was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge.

The ruling: U.S. District Judge David Ezra ruled that the law violates First Amendment free speech rights and is too vague.
* The age verification component is seen as problematic as it limits adults’ access to legal sexually explicit material and raises privacy concerns, particularly as it could require divulging personal details to the state government.
* The Texas Attorney General’s office has filed a notice of appeal against the ruling with the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Louisiana.

Concerns over the law: Ezra pointed out the law threatens privacy and free access to legal content.
* The law could force individuals to share details of their sexuality with the government to gain access to certain “messages”.
* The law could deter access due to fears of state monitoring and the risk of exposing sensitive information through potential leaks or hacks.

Ineffectiveness of the law: The legislation was criticized for its potential lack of impact.
* Even with the law, minors could access explicit content through social media sites or search engines, which do not meet the one-third sexual material standard, hence would be exempt from the age verification requirement.
* Ezra stated that while the law allegedly aims to protect minors, it is poorly tailored to this purpose and includes substantial exemptions.

National Trend: Texas is among at least six states to pass such a law, following a similar legislation in Louisiana.
* The law also mandates porn sites to display warnings about supposed psychological dangers of viewing porn and the contact of mental health support lines. However, it was noted that the provided warnings contain language that most minors would not comprehend.

View original article on NPR

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September 2, 2023

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