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CNN
27-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Texas porn age verification law upheld by Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Texas law that requires age verification for pornographic websites in one of the most closely watched First Amendment cases to arrive at the high court in years. The adult entertainment industry had challenged the Texas law as violating the Constitution because it restricted the ability of adults to access protected online speech. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion for a 6-3 court divided along ideological grounds with the court's three liberals dissenting. 'The statute advances the state's important interest in shielding children from sexually explicit content,' Thomas wrote. 'And, it is appropriately tailored because it permits users to verify their ages through the established methods of providing government-issued identification and sharing transactional data.' Texas' law requires any website that publishes a substantial amount of content that is 'harmful to minors' to verify the age of users. The challengers said the law forces adults to identify themselves – such as by providing an ID – before accessing pornography, which the group's lawyers said violates access to free speech online because it would 'chill' adults' access to that content. Texas' law is similar to more than a dozen others across the country that require users to submit some form of proof of adulthood. The Supreme Court, over the past many decades, has embraced a robust view of the First Amendment. Last year, it suggested that social media companies are entitled to First Amendment protection for their content moderation decisions, for instance. In 2023, the court set a higher standard for prosecuting 'true threats' in the case of a man who was convicted of stalking a songwriter. A majority sided with a high school cheerleader in 2021 who argued she could not be punished by her public school for posting a profanity-laced caption on Snapchat when she was off school grounds. But it has taken a more nuanced approach when it comes to laws attempting to limit minors' access to obscene material. The Supreme Court in 1997 unanimously invalidated provisions of a federal law intended to protect minors from indecent material online because it also imposed First Amendment burdens on adults. But in reviewing the Texas law, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals relied instead on a 1968 precedent in which the Supreme Court let stand a New York law barring the distribution of obscene material to minors. Throughout the Texas case, there were signs that a majority of the court might side with Texas. The trade group representing the adult entertainment industry asked the justices last year to block the Texas law while their appeal was considered. But the Supreme Court rejected that request at the time, allowing the law to remain in effect temporarily. It did so in a one-sentence order without explanation. This time, the Supreme Court was asked specifically what level of 'scrutiny' must be applied to the law. That's a legal term that, normally, decides a First Amendment case. If the highest level of scrutiny – known as 'strict scrutiny' – applies, it makes it nearly impossible for a law restricting protected speech to stand. The lowest level of scrutiny, in this case 'rational basis,' almost always works out in the government's favor. The appeals court applied rational-basis review and found that Texas has a 'legitimate interest in preventing minors' access to pornography,' and so it upheld the law. During oral arguments in January, several of the justices signaled they might send the case back to the 5th Circuit to have the appeals court decide if it clears the strict scrutiny hurdle. Several of the conservatives suggested during arguments that it appeared the Texas law might be able to withstand strict scrutiny. In order to satisfy strict scrutiny, a government must have a 'compelling' interest to infringe on a constitutional right and its law must be 'narrowly tailored' to address that interest without sweeping too broadly. During oral arguments, several of the court's conservatives threw cold water on the adult entertainment industry's proposed solution to the issue of minors accessing pornography online: content filtering software. The existence of those systems, those justices said, suggested that Texas could have addressed the problem of minors accessing porn through a more limited means. But at least three justices signaled that approach was insufficient, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who drew from personal experience when she told the lawyer that the software was far from being foolproof. Barrett has seven children. 'Kids can get online porn through gaming systems, tablets, phones, computers. Let me just say that content filtering for all those different devices, I can say from personal experience, is difficult to keep up with,' she said. 'And I think that the explosion of addiction to online porn has shown that content filtering isn't working,' Barrett added. Several members of the court also questioned the Supreme Court's 1960s-era precedents given the nature of today's pornography. Chief Justice John Roberts repeatedly questioned the usefulness of decades-old precedents as the nature of technology and porn has changed. 'One of the things that's striking about the case,' Roberts said in January, was the 'dramatic change' in people's ability to access pornography online compared to the 'brick-and-mortar' magazine stores of the past.
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Stacey Dooley slammed by fans for featuring controversial OnlyFans star Lily Phillips on her documentary show: 'You shouldn't give her a platform!'
Stacey Dooley has been criticised by fans for featuring OnlyFans star Lily Phillips on the upcoming series of her show Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over. The TV presenter, 38, will be spending 72 hours with the controversial porn performer, 23, who attracted global attention when she had sex with 100 men in a day and filmed it for her OnlyFans. The show will air on U&W, with the channel sharing a photo of Stacey and Lily together on Instagram to promote the series. But the decision to feature Lily has not gone down well with some of Stacey's fans who said the presenter should not give the adult film star 'a platform'. One unimpressed user wrote: 'Pretty grim giving that deviant airtime, not a single positive thing can come from the trainwreck of her life, screams if the worst click bait, expected better tbh.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Another wrote: 'Really disappointing, just don't think Stacey Dooley should be promoting or giving this girl a platform. Lowest derivative entertainment, a real regression in content from Stacey. Another added: 'If she is sleeping over at Lily Phillips' gaff I strongly sugggest she getrs the sheets fumegated.' One wrote: 'I'm just losing my conviction towards Stacey's content and the authenticity of her views... is it just documentary clickbait?' Others were more positive about the upcoming episode, saying: 'Oh wow this will be so interesting,' and that they 'can't wait to watch'. MailOnline has contacted a representative of Stacey Dooley for comment. Lily, from Derbyshire, previously said she started 'sleeping around' which prompted her to launch her OnlyFans feed in 2020, when she was not able to attend any lectures because of the pandemic. She said: 'I was sort of selling sex to guys on my nights out without making any money, so I thought I might as well charge for it.' The decision to feature Lily has not gone down well with some of Stacey's fans who said the presenter should not give the adult film star 'a platform'. She added: 'I was at university and already being such a 'sluzza'so I thought, why don't I try OnlyFans and make a bit of money on the side?' Lily appeared on the Getting There podcast with Brogan Garrit-Smith to discuss how her life has changed in the media spotlight and the moral complexities surrounding OnlyFans and other adult content platforms. Speaking to Brogan, Lily revealed she initially earned $20,000 in her first month on the site and would regularly rake in $26,000 or more each month for the first year. However, she refused to disclose how much she currently earns as she doesn't want to mislead other young women into also joining the adult industry. 'I don't ever want to encourage young girls into doing this business [OnlyFans] because they think it's really quick, easy money,' she said. 'I try to stay away from that side. Everyone's going 'oh I earned $43 million last year on OnlyFans.' Of course, all the young girls are going, 'well, why the f*** am I not doing that.' 'I really, really try to be honest and open about the realities of this industry. I try to stay away from that personally in my own consciousness. I don't want to be braggy.' With the money she's earned, Lily is saving to buy a house and has also invested some of her lavish income, admitting: 'I could stop now and I'd be happy.' 'Things just get more expensive the more you earn, you do need more staff,' she added. 'I put it back into the business.' Admitting she feels responsibility for 'glamorizing' her life, she said she hopes to be 'honest and open' about the reality of a life on OnlyFans. She added: 'Everyone who knows you will think about you so much differently once you start doing OnlyFans. 'Even though you were probably doing this behind closed doors without cameras and without putting it on the internet. Now they just have this perception of you that you didn't have before.'
