The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and several other rights groups have filed an amicus brief in support of a preliminary injunction against a Texas law that would require websites to conduct age verification before users are allowed to access adult content. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Media Coalition Foundation, and TechFreedom joined CDT in filing the brief.
The groups stated that the age verification law, HB 1181, violates the First Amendment in two ways, according to a copy of the brief shared by CDT. First, the law "burdens" Texas residents' ability to view lawful adult content online. Second, the law forces websites that host adult content to express the government's criticism of the content.
The brief said that every person seeking to access adult content, including adults, being required to complete age verification will prevent people from being anonymous, which could alarm "privacy- and security-minded" people. The brief cited previous Court findings which have held that imposing such burdens on people's access to "protected speech" is unconstitutional.
The groups asserted that another "constitutional flaw" of HB 1181 is that it forces websites that host adult content to display three "disclosures" that express the Texas government's view of the content, according to the brief. "Texas may not commandeer private websites to trumpet its own views," the brief said.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law in June, and it was scheduled to take effect on Sept. 1, according to LegiScan.
On Aug. 31, Texas Judge David Alan Ezra issued an injunction to delay enforcement of the bill, writing that while safeguarding children from explicit material is a "legitimate goal," the Court must still ensure that laws do not violate First Amendment rights, TechCrunch reported.