VICTORY! U. S. Supreme Court Upholds Texas Law Protecting Kids from Porn
Washington D.C. – June 27, 2025: Today, the U. S. Supreme Court upheld a Texas law protecting minors from accessing pornography and explicit content online by requiring age-verification to access these sites.
In 2023, Texas passed HB 1181 by Representative Matt Shaheen that requires pornographic and sexually explicit websites to verify that their users are 18 years of age or older and creates civil penalties for entities who intentionally violate the law by allowing minors to access sexually explicit material online. The adult entertainment non-profit, Free Speech Coalition sued claiming that the law violated their First Amendment rights.
Mary Elizabeth Castle, Director of Government Relations for Texas Values, released the following statement:
“The U. S. Supreme Court got it right. Our Texas age-verification law protects children from pornography and is constitutional. Children should not have access to adult content that is violent, and increases risky behaviors in kids. States have the ability to protect kids and the Court just affirmed the legal authority to do so.“
The case, styled as Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, centered around what standard to apply when reviewing the constitutionality of HB 1181. Opponents of the law argued that the court of appeals used much lower standards than it should have while proponents contended that shielding children from obscene materials falls out of normal First Amendment protections.
Texas Values signed onto a legal amicus brief to the U. S. Supreme Court in this case along with other state family policy councils. This amicus brief argued that state legislatures, as elected bodies must able to assess scientific data and evidence, should be allowed to pass age gate laws tailored effectively to address the problems.
The Texas Values team was present at the U. S. Supreme Court during the oral arguments and our government relations director spoke at the rally in front of the steps at the U. S. Supreme Court in support of protecting kids online from pornography.
Members of Texas Values law and policy team are available for comment. Please email Ashley at media@txvalues.org or call/text 737-314-2450 (m).
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About Texas Values
Texas Values is the largest statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to standing for faith, family, and freedom in Texas. More information is available at txvalues.org.