Free speech online is “imperiled” by a Texas law requiring multinational pornography websites to verify that their users are at least 18 years old, the lawyer representing them at the Supreme Court said Wednesday.
Most of the Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical, although the pornographers appeared to have found two zealous defenders on the bench.
Pornography companies don’t want to have to verify their users’ ages because they fear that it will “burden” their users’ ability to look at porn, which the Supreme Court has held is “protected free speech.”
Texas, meanwhile, knows that porn is bad for people, especially children, and that children can get easy access to it through the high-speed internet connections on their computers, phones, and video game consoles.
Knowing that the Supreme Court protects adults’ ability to view porn, Texas allows…
