The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), along with the Woodhull Freedom Foundation and TechFreedom, has called on the Supreme Court to invalidate Texas' HB 1181. This law mandates age verification for access to online sexual content, which the organizations argue infringes on constitutional rights.

HB 1181, enacted last year, requires websites deemed by Texas to contain “one-third” or more of “sexual material harmful to minors” to collect age-verifying personal information from all visitors. The Supreme Court's upcoming review of a case challenging this law could significantly impact adults' ability to access protected speech online anonymously and safely.

"Texas’ age verification law robs internet users of anonymity, exposes them to privacy and security risks, and blocks some adults entirely from accessing sexual content that’s protected under the First Amendment,” said EFF Staff Attorney Lisa Femia. “Applying longstanding Supreme Court precedents, other courts have consistently held that similar age verification laws are unconstitutional. To protect freedom of speech online, the Supreme Court should clearly reaffirm those correct decisions here.”

Cindy Cohn | EFF

Last year, the Fifth Circuit of Appeals upheld HB 1181 despite prior legal precedent recognizing online ID mandates as imposing greater burdens on First Amendment rights than in-person age checks. In its friend-of-the-court brief, EFF argues that neither HB 1181 nor technological advancements have mitigated the harms imposed by such mandates on adults exercising their constitutional rights.

The Texas law compels adults to submit personal information over the internet for website access rather than specific materials. This requirement necessitates websites retain this information, exposing users to privacy and security risks not present when showing an ID card briefly in person. Additionally, newer technologies like "age estimation" share similar burdens with document-based age verification but are unlikely to meet HB 1181's requirements.

"Sexual freedom is a fundamental human right critical to human dignity and liberty," said Ricci Levy, CEO of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. "By requiring invasive age verification, this law chills protected speech and violates the rights of consenting adults to access lawful sexual content online."

This brief is part of EFF’s ongoing efforts to defend free speech online. In 1997, EFF was involved in ACLU v. Reno, a landmark case affirming strong constitutional protection for internet speech. Over the past year alone, EFF has advocated against state censorship and governmental control over social media content.

For more details: https://www.eff.org/document/fsc-v-paxton-eff-amicus-brief

Further reading on HB 1181: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/05/eff-urges-supreme-court-reject-texas-speech-chilling-age-verification-law