Fortunately, as it closed out its term the Supreme Court upheld Texas’ common-sense law requiring pornography websites to verify the ages of their users and confirm that they are not children. This monumental ruling is key to protecting children from the dangers of the pornography industry. The cost of early exposure to pornography is high, and children deserve better than to be subjected to the violence and degeneracy of this industry.
It will surprise no conservative court observer that the brilliant opinion for the majority was written by Justice Clarance Thomas and that the three Democrat-appointed Justices chose to dissent and side with the pornography industry.
And make no mistake, this case was not about “free speech” or “artistic expression” it was about a multi-billion, perhaps trillion-dollar, industry preying upon children and destroying their mental health with addictive content every bit as deadly as fentanyl.
As Katy Faust explained in a guest column for Blaze media, porn is big business, “and its target consumers are kids. How do we know? Because in the handful of states that have passed age verification laws, some porn platforms have withdrawn altogether, preferring to lose their customers who are 18 to 88 rather than their customers who are 8 to 18.”
Mrs. Faust is the founder and president of Them Before Us, a global movement defending children’s rights to their mothers and fathers and was at the forefront of the fight to protect children from the predatory online pornography industry.
In a news release lauding the Supreme Court decision Faust and her team spelled out what the ruling means:
“An ever-increasing number of children are being exposed to pornography at an extremely young age. This monumental ruling is key to protecting children from the dangers of the pornography industry and the significant harm to children when they are exposed to the content hosted on these websites. The cost of early exposure to pornography is high, and children deserve better than to be exposed to the violence and degeneracy of this industry. Upholding this commonsense law and paving the way for more like it is a matter of justice for children!
The average age of first exposure to pornography is 12 years old, with many children being exposed at an earlier age. Children who are exposed to violent pornography are more likely to engage in problematic sexual behaviors toward other children. As we point out in our brief, a child who accesses even the home page of popular pornography websites would be exposed to violent and disturbing pornographic content with only a single tap on their screen. The Supreme Court acknowledges this in their ruling, noting, “With the rise of the smartphone and instant streaming, many adolescents can now access vast libraries of video content—both benign and obscene—at almost any time and place…”
Additionally, the ripple effects of a generation raised on pornography have resulted in young adults believing that violent behavior in sexual encounters is normal—a 2022 study found that one-third of female college students had been choked by a partner in their most recent sexual encounter. This is what has been normalized in a generation exposed to pornography from a young age.
When adults put children first, commonsense rules the day. This decision reinforces the important truth that the rights of children come before the desires of adults. This ruling not only upholds Texas’s law protecting children online but also paves the way for other states’ laws to put kids first and hold the pornography industry accountable for exploiting children online.”
The average age of first exposure to pornography is 12 years old, with many children being exposed at an earlier age. Children who are exposed to violent pornography are more likely to engage in problematic sexual behaviors toward other children. As we point out in our brief, a child who accesses even the home page of popular pornography websites would be exposed to violent and disturbing pornographic content with only a single tap on their screen. The Supreme Court acknowledges this in their ruling, noting, “With the rise of the smartphone and instant streaming, many adolescents can now access vast libraries of video content—both benign and obscene—at almost any time and place…”
Additionally, the ripple effects of a generation raised on pornography have resulted in young adults believing that violent behavior in sexual encounters is normal—a 2022 study found that one-third of female college students had been choked by a partner in their most recent sexual encounter. This is what has been normalized in a generation exposed to pornography from a young age.
When adults put children first, commonsense rules the day. This decision reinforces the important truth that the rights of children come before the desires of adults. This ruling not only upholds Texas’s law protecting children online but also paves the way for other states’ laws to put kids first and hold the pornography industry accountable for exploiting children online.”
- Supreme Court
- Free Speech
- Pornography
- Texas Law
- Age verification for porn sites
- Justice Clarence Thomas
- Democrat Justices
- Artistic Expression
- Porn platforms
- Childrens rights
- Pornography exposure
- Streaming content
