Will porn be banned in the U.S.? Will one have to input I.D. to view pornographic content? The Supreme Court is mulling ways to regulate it

The Supreme Court may soon significantly alter pornography's future. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court justices asked whether Texas' age verification law, which was designed to keep minors from accessing explicit content, hindered adults by comparing contemporary online pornographic content to brick-and-mortar pornographic stories and racy magazines.

"What proportion of content on Pornhub is not pornographic?" Samuel Alito, the Justice, inquired. "Do you have essays by the contemporary equivalent of Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. on it, like the old Playboy?"

In the 1970s, the magazine's contributors included conservative publisher and journalist Buckley and novelist Vidal, both of whom were public intellectuals.


Alito's question, which caused a chuckle in the courtroom, seemed to be intended to contrast the more explicit content of online pornography with the earlier era of "gentleman's magazines" from the previous century, as quoted in a report by The Independent.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett inquired about the differences between online and in-person age verification.

How Does Texas's Law Aim to Protect Minors Online?

In their attempt to determine whether the Texas law is constitutional, the justices cited antiquated instances of accessing pornography, partly because the main precedents they must rely on date back to 1968, 1989, and most recently, 2004. Justice Clarence Thomas declared, "We're in an entirely different world."

According to Chief Justice John Roberts, the availability of pornography on the internet has "exploded."

In the era of the internet, 19 states have enacted legislation requiring individuals to authenticate their age in order to access pornographic material. Texas is one of those states that has enacted legislation that some First Amendment advocates feel is excessively stringent.

Although social media platforms are exempt, Texas law mandates that websites with more than "one-third" sexual content confirm a user's age using identification, such as a government ID. Noncompliant websites risk fines of up to $10,000 per day and penalties of up to $250,000.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the law is necessary to protect children from the harms of sexual content. However, the law also requires those websites to issue a health warning declaring that pornography can harm human brain development or weaken brain function, despite the Texas Health and Human Services Commission never declaring such findings. As a result, websites like Pornhub have stopped operating in Texas.

FAQs

Could laws requiring age verification for online pornography be implemented nationwide?
The Supreme Court is considering Texas' law requiring ID verification before accessing pornography. If upheld, it could pave the way for similar laws across the country.

Why are some groups opposed to Texas' age verification law?
Critics argue that the law violates the First Amendment and may expose users to privacy violations such as data breaches and identity theft.