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Supreme Court sides with Texas’ age verification law for porn sites

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Supreme Court sides with Texas’ age verification law for porn sites


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Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images


The Supreme Court

Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Texas law requiring consumers to provide age verification in order to gain access to commercial websites that provide sexually explicit material. It was the first time that the court has imposed requirements on adult consumers in order to protect minors from having such access.

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Free-speech advocates argued that while the law’s goal is to limit minors’ access to online sexually explicit content, it is overly vague and imposes significant burdens on adults’ access to constitutionally protected expression. Lawyers for Texas said in their filing, and during arguments, that the law’s opponents had failed to show a single person whose rights have been “chilled” by it.

By a vote of 6-3 along ideological lines, the court agreed with Texas, saying the law “only incidentally burdens the protected speech of adults.”

The Texas measure, enacted in 2023, was aimed at protecting kids under the age of 18 from exposure to sexually explicit material.

It did that by requiring every user, including adults, to first provide proof, typically via a government-issued identification, that they were at least 18 years old. The statute applies to all websites that contain content that is one-third or more “sexually suggestive” in nature and “harmful to children.”

More Supreme Court decisions from today:

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Just what the term “harmful to children” means is debatable because, according to the websites, the term covers any sexually suggestive material, including romance novels and R-rated movies.

The Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry trade association, and several adult industry producers challenged the law in court, contending that it violated the First Amendment guarantee to free speech and expression.

The groups noted, among other things, that while the statute does bar companies from retaining the identifying information, it does not prohibit transfer of that information or impose any other protection from disclosure to protect adults’ privacy. Moreover, the challengers maintained the state’s defense of the statute fell apart in light of the fact that it exempted from the law’s coverage the search engines and social-media platforms that are the principal gateways for minors gaining access to sexually explicit content.

Federal judge David Alan Ezra, a Reagan appointee, initially barred the law from taking effect, on the grounds that it was likely unconstitutional.

But a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel voted 2-to-1 to uphold the law, clearing the way for it to take effect. The appeals court said that because the state justified the law as rationally related to its purpose of protecting children, that is all that is necessary. The so-called rational basis test used by the appeals court means essentially that a law passes muster as long as the legislature had any rational justification.

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It is the court’s least rigorous standard, and the challengers maintained that it was far too lax and ignored the impact on adult users.



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Texas Football Opt-Outs: Who’s Likely Playing and Who’s Out for the Citrus Bowl

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Texas Football Opt-Outs: Who’s Likely Playing and Who’s Out for the Citrus Bowl


At this point in time, opting out of bowl games is nothing new, but Texas is going to have more opt-outs in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan than many—self included—expected. This problem pales in comparison to what’s going on in Ann Arbor, but the amount of lost experience will be something for Texas to overcome, primarily on defense.



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Latest in recruiting war for elite 2028 QB has Texas Football joyful

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Latest in recruiting war for elite 2028 QB has Texas Football joyful



Neimann Lawrence list the Longhorns as one school that is standing out

As the Longhorns continue to build for the future, one of their targets is four-star prospect Neimann Lawrence. The Miami native is one of the best quarterbacks in the 2028 class and is attracting interest from some of the nation’s top programs. On Monday, Lawrence revealed the schools that have stood out so far, including the Longhorns. 

While Mondays update was encouraging, Texas was not the only school Lawrence mentioned. He also highlighted Michigan, Miami, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Tennessee. That is not an easy list of schools to go to battle with; the Longhorns have time to make themselves stand out. 

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Currently, the Miami Northwestern High star is ranked as the fourth-best quarterback in is class by 247Sports. They also rank him as the ninth-best player from Florida and the 39th-best player in the nation. With collegiate debut still over a year away, those rankings could change. 

At the moment, the Longhorns do not have a commitment in the 2028 class, but they have made offers to some of the top recruits. That includes Brysen Wright, Jalanie George, Jamarios Canton, Micah Rhodes, and King Pitts. Landing any of those players would give Texas a bright future. 

With a decision still months away, Lawrence will be a player to watch. A lot could change as his recruitment continues, but it is a good sign for Texas that they are standing out early on in the process. 



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Orange County wedding photographer deported on way to job in Texas

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Orange County wedding photographer deported on way to job in Texas


An Orange County photographer is speaking out after he was deported as he was heading to Texas to photograph a wedding.

What they’re saying:

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“I was trying to do it the right way, the legal way and it just feels like they don’t care about that,” said Adan Caceres.

Caceres came to the United States under asylum in 2014, fleeing a violent El Salvador.

“My mom’s sister was murdered and she was thrown in front of our house. She also was abused sexually before they murdered her and then my brother and I were threatened by the gangs,” said Caceres.

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He says he never received the deportation order that was issued in 2018 and only learned about it in 2023. He then started the process of reopening his case.

“I was paying my taxes. I’m a business owner, I’m a wedding photographer. I’m also married,” said Caceres.

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In October, Caceres was going through security at John Wayne Airport, heading to a job in Texas, when he was detained. He says from Santa Ana, he was sent to the Adelanto Detention Center then one in El Paso, Texas where he says the conditions were inhumane.

“We’re not even asking ‘hey let us out’ we’re asking for water, we’re asking for us to be able to use the restroom, these are basic human rights,” said Caceres.

He says now that he’s back in the country he once fled, he’s most concerned about his wife back in Orange County.

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“I was providing a lot of income for our household and now my wife has to take care of all of those things on her own; paying car insurance, the rent, all the bills,” said Caceres.

Caceres says he had no criminal history and feels he was on the path to citizenship when it was ripped away from him, leaving his future with his family uncertain.

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“I don’t know if I’m going to see them. I don’t know when I’m going to see them,” said Caceres.

The other side:

FOX11 reached out to the Department of Homeland Security asking about Caceres’ case but had not heard back at the time this story aired. 

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The Source: Information for this story came from an interview with Adan Caceres.

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