{"ID":63701,"name":"Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/2024\/23-1122","view_count":0,"docket_number":"23-1122","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"Free Speech Coalition, Inc.","second_party":"Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas","timeline":[{"event":"Granted","dates":[1719896400],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55529"},{"event":"Argued","dates":[1736920800],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55554"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[1751000400],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55682"}],"lower_court":{"ID":10,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/10"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003ETexas enacted H.B. 1181, a law regulating commercial entities that publish or distribute material on internet websites, including social media platforms, where more than one-third of the content is sexual material harmful to minors. The law requires these entities to implement age verification methods to limit access to adults and display specific health warnings on their landing pages and advertisements. It defines sexual material harmful to minors using a modified version of the Miller test for obscenity.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EShortly after the law was enacted but before it took effect, plaintiffs sued, claiming H.B. 1181 violates their First Amendment rights and, for some plaintiffs, conflicts with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The district court issued a pre-enforcement preliminary injunction, finding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their claim and suffer irreparable harm. The court ruled that the age-verification requirement and health warnings fail strict scrutiny\u2014that is, that it is not narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government interest using the least restrictive means to achieve that interest\u2014and that Section 230 preempts H.B. 1181 for certain plaintiffs. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded that rational basis review\u2014i.e., rationally related to a legitimate government interest\u2014was the proper standard of review and thus vacated the injunction against the age-verification requirement but affirmed as to the health warnings.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EIs a Texas law that requires any website that publishes content one-third or more of which is \u201charmful to minors\u201d to verify the age of each of its users before providing access subject to \u201crational basis\u201d review or \u201cstrict scrutiny\u201d?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003ETexas\u2019s age-verification law for sexually explicit websites triggers only intermediate scrutiny and is constitutional because it merely imposes an incidental burden on adults\u2019 protected speech while serving the state\u2019s important interest in shielding children from harmful content. Justice Clarence Thomas authored the 6-3 majority opinion of the Court.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EH.B. 1181 requires commercial websites where more than one-third of content is \u201csexual material harmful to minors\u201d to verify visitors are 18 or older through government ID or transactional data. The First Amendment permits states to prevent minors from accessing speech that is obscene from their perspective, and this power necessarily includes the ordinary means of enforcing age limits through verification requirements. Because no person has a First Amendment right to access obscene-to-minors content without submitting proof of age, the law directly regulates only unprotected activity. Adults retain their right to access this protected speech after verification, making any burden merely incidental rather than a direct content-based restriction requiring strict scrutiny.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnder intermediate scrutiny, laws must advance important governmental interests unrelated to suppressing free speech without burdening substantially more speech than necessary. Texas\u2019s interest in protecting children from sexually explicit content is undoubtedly important, even compelling. Age verification represents a traditional, widely-accepted method of reconciling children\u2019s protection with adults\u2019 access rights; similar requirements exist for in-person purchases of sexual materials and numerous other age-restricted products. The specific methods H.B. 1181 permits (government ID and transactional data) are established verification methods already used by pornographic websites and other industries. The law need not adopt the least restrictive means available, and Texas\u2019s decision to initially target websites with higher concentrations of sexual content while excluding search engines represents a reasonable legislative choice that survives intermediate scrutiny.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Elena Kagan authored a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, arguing that strict scrutiny should apply because H.B. 1181 directly burdens adults\u2019 access to protected speech based on its content, and that the majority\u2019s creation of a new \u201cpartially protected\u201d speech category contradicts four prior Supreme Court precedents applying strict scrutiny to similar laws.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":63177,"name":"Derek L. 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