Supreme Court Upholds Texas Social Media Age Verification Law

The Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring age verification for online pornographic content in a 6-3 decision, ruling that adults do not have a First Amendment right to avoid age verification measures. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that any burden on adults is incidental to regulating material not protected by the First Amendment, a move expected to encourage other states to pass similar laws targeting social media and online content. However, the ruling leaves many questions unresolved regarding the application of such laws to broader internet content, with experts cautioning that extending these requirements could threaten free expression and create complex compliance challenges for tech companies. Critics, including the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), argue the law infringes on adults' rights to access protected speech and raises privacy concerns due to the required sharing of sensitive information. Legal analysts note the Court’s reaffirmation of the strict scrutiny test’s high bar for content-based speech restrictions, though they accept age verification for obscene material as an exception. The decision signals a potentially significant shift in online content regulation, with ongoing debates about balancing child protection and adult free speech rights.