Supreme Court Rules to Protect Kids from Pornography

In a historic ruling yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld (6-3) a Texas law requiring explicit websites to verify age a mandatory effort to keep kids off of porn sites. This means that other state laws requiring age verification (including Tennessee) can now go into effect. We have been working, warring, and praying for an end to the mainstream and predatory nature of Big Porn for over ten years, and this is a significant move forward. Children should not be able to access PornHub with the click of a preposterous "I'm over 18" button. Justice for children means actual protective measures so they don’t encounter violent, hardcore (and life-altering) pornography with ease.

The porn industry has failed to show that requiring a verification process to prove site visitors are 18+ would violate the First Ammendment. The fact that they tried to argue a violation of privacy for adults is stunning, as age-verification methods these days are hi-tech, privacy driven, and part of a booming industry. Also, let's not forget sites like PornHub have hosted content with real criminal sexual violence (even that of children) for years, refusing to take it down, and even allowing the free download of that criminal and heinous content. PRIVACY??? The porn industry is concerned with privacy?! I don't think so.

As an article in The Verge put it, "Porn age-gating is the future of the internet, thanks to the Supreme Court."

May it be so. For generations, may this be the turning point. This is an important layer to protect kids from this harmful content, and we are thrilled. But we must remain vigilant, the fight is most certainly not over.

To learn more about the Supreme Court ruling and it's impact, check out this post by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE).