We the People

Can Texas Require Age Verification on Adult Sites?

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The Supreme Court will determine whether a Texas law requiring age verification for adult websites violates the First Amendment. Nadine Strossen of New York Law School and Adam Candeub of Michigan State University join Jeffrey Rosen to preview oral arguments in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, examine the text, history, and tradition of the First Amendment, and debate whether the Texas law is constitutional.


Resources: 
  • Nadine Strossen, Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights (1995, republished 2024) 
  • Nadine Strossen, Brief of Amici Curiae First Amendment Scholars in Support of Petitioners, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton  
  • Adam Candeub, Amicus Curiae Brief of Scholars in Support of Respondent, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton 
  • Adam Candeub, “How the Supreme Court Can Protect Digital Childhood,” Law & Liberty (Jan. 9, 2025) 
  • Free Speech Coalition, Brief for Petitioners, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton 
  • Attorney General Ken Paxton, Brief for Respondent, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton 
  • Judge Jerry Smith, Opinion of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton 
  • Ginsberg v. New York (1968) 
  • Sable v. FCC (1989) 
  • Reno v. ACLU (1997) 
  • Ashcroft v. ACLU (2004)


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      We the PeopleBy National Constitution Center