Stop It Or You’ll Go Blind! Texas Bill Breaches The First Amendment, Says Judge
Texas’ House Bill 1181 is seeking to restrict access to adult sites by instituting new requirements such as age-verification and a contentious warning on these sites. On Thursday, August 31, US District judge David A Ezra passed an injunction against HB1181 citing that it skirts constitutional doctrines.
Preventing minors from accessing adult content can’t contravene the First Amendment
Judge Ezra passed a preliminary injunction against HB1181 after concerns were raised that the legislation would interfere with the First Ammendment. HB1181 would have it so that any individual seeking to access a pornography site such as PornHub would need to provide a government-issued ID to prove they’re of legal age.
Once inside, visitors would be met with a disclaimer saying, “Pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitises brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses, and weakens brain function.”
Judge Ezra delivered his opinion in which he calls HB1181 “unconstitutional on its face”. He stresses the desire for the state to end the exposure of adult materials to minors but believes HB1181 is not the right bill to achieve that.
“The state has a legitimate goal in protecting children from sexually explicit material online,” he says. “But that goal, however crucial, does not negate this Court’s burden to ensure that the laws passed in its pursuit comport with established First Amendment doctrine.”
Folks on both sides of the issue feel strongly about the decision. On the one hand, making it harder for minors to access graphic material sounds like a very good thing. On the other hand, instituting these measures could be interpreted as a punitive measure against those who make, disseminate and enjoy adult content legally.
