The announcement in the case known as Free Speech Coalition Inc. v. Paxton was made on Oct. 31.
The respondent, Ken Paxton, is the attorney general of Texas.
In August 2023, a federal district court temporarily blocked the age verification requirement, as well as a requirement that the websites post health hazard warnings about pornography use.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit took up the case, upholding the law’s health hazard mandate but overturning the lower court’s injunction against the verification provision in March of this year.
The coalition argues that the Fifth Circuit erred when it held that the law needed only a “rational basis” instead of “heightened scrutiny” to pass constitutional muster. The two phrases refer to standards that courts use when reviewing limits on speech.
