FIRE staff responds to the Court’s decision in Free Speech
Coalition v. Paxton that addresses a Texas law requiring age
verification for accessing certain sexual material online.
Joining us:
Will
Creeley — Legal director
Bob Corn-Revere — Chief counsel
Ronnie London — General counsel
Timestamps:
01:21 How the case wound up at the Supreme Court 06:57 Bob’s
experience with arguing strict scrutiny in the courts 09:32
Ronnie’s perspective on the ruling 10:22 Brick + mortar stores vs.
online sites 12:07 Has the Court established a new category of
partially protected speech? 13:36 What speech is still subject to
strict scrutiny after the ruling? 15:55 What does it mean to
address the “work as a whole” in the internet context? 17:24 What
modifications to the ruling, if any, would have satisfied FIRE?
18:06 What are the alternatives to address the internet’s risks
toward minors? 20:16 For non-lawyer Americans, what is the best
normative argument against the ruling? 22:38 Why is this ruling a
“canary in the coal mine?” 23:36 How is age verification really
about identity verification? 24:42 Why did the Court assume the
need to protect children without citing any scientific findings in
its ruling? 26:17 Does the ruling allow for more identity-based
access barriers to lawful online speech? 28:04 Will Americans have
to show ID to get into a public library? 29:30 Why does stare
decisis seem to mean little to nothing to the Court? 32:08 Will
there be a problem with selective enforcement of content-based
restrictions on speech? 34:12 Could the ruling spark a patchwork of
state laws that create digital borders? 36:26 Is there any other
instance where the Court has used intermediate scrutiny in a First
Amendment case? 37:29 Is the Court going to keep sweeping
content-based statutes in the “incidental effect on speech” bucket?
38:14 Is sexual speech considered obscene? 40:33 How does the
ruling affect adult content on mainstream social media platforms
like Reddit and X? 43:27 Where does the ruling leave us on age
verification laws?
Show notes:
– Supreme Court ruling: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1122_3e04.pdf
– FIRE statement on FSC v. Paxton ruling: https://www.thefire.org/news/fire-statement-free-speech-coalition-v-paxton-upholding-age-verification-adult-content
– FIRE’s brief for the Fifth Circuit: https://www.thefire.org/news/supreme-court-agrees-review-fifth-circuit-decision-upholding-texas-adult-content-age
– FIRE’s amicus brief in support of petitioners and reversal:
https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/amicus-brief-support-petitioners-and-reversal-free-speech-coalition-v-paxton