Should minimum age rules apply to access porn online?

The US Supreme Court is set to hear a challenge to a Texas law that requires porn websites to verify that its users are at least 18 years old. The court found that the law does not violate the First Amendment and that the state has a “legitimate interest in preventing minors’ access to pornography.” The court also said the lower court was wrong to apply the strictest judicial review. “They should be allowed to exercise that right as they see fit, without having to worry about exposing their personal identifying information in the process.” Eidelman said the challengers look forward to “defending the First Amendment rights of all Americans to access the internet free from surveillance and suppression.” The 5th Circuit, Eidelman said, “wrongly allowed the government to rob adults of their online privacy and burden their access to protected speech, all under the guise of protecting children.” “While Texas’ law may sound reasonable on its face, in practice, it is extraordinarily burdensome and invasive, effectively deterring adults from accessing legal content,” Alison Boden, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, was quoted as saying by UPI.com. Pixabay In the smartphone era when children can easily access “virtually unlimited” hardcore pornography, Texas said in a filing, the law “simply requires the pornography industry that billions of dollars from peddling smut to take commercially reasonable steps to ensure that those who access the material are adults.” UPI.com quoted Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nelson as saying that the law does not ban adults from accessing pornography – nor does it require them to identify themselves.