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FIRE Reacts: Supreme Court's decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton

FIRE staff responds to the Court's decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton that addresses a Texas law requiring age verification for accessing certain sexual material online.

Joining us:

Will Creeley — Legal director

Bob Corn-Revere — Chief counsel

Ronnie London — General counsel

Timestamps:

01:06 How the case wound up at the Supreme Court

06:42 Bob’s experience with arguing strict scrutiny in the courts

09:17 Ronnie’s perspective on the ruling

10:07 Brick + mortar stores vs. online sites

11:52 Has the Court established a new category of partially protected speech?

13:21 What speech is still subject to strict scrutiny after the ruling?

15:40 What does it mean to address the “work as a whole” in the internet context?

17:09 What modifications to the ruling, if any, would have satisfied FIRE?

17:51 What are the alternatives to address the internet’s risks toward minors?

20:01 For non-lawyer Americans, what is the best normative argument against the ruling?

22:23 Why is this ruling a “canary in the coal mine?”

23:21 How is age verification really about identity verification?

24:27 Why did the Court assume the need to protect children without citing any scientific findings in its ruling?

26:02 Does the ruling allow for more identity-based access barriers to lawful online speech?

27:49 Will Americans have to show ID to get into a public library?

29:15 Why does stare decisis seem to mean little to nothing to the Court?

31:53 Will there be a problem with selective enforcement of content-based restrictions on speech?

33:57 Could the ruling spark a patchwork of state laws that create digital borders?

36:11 Is there any other instance where the Court has used intermediate scrutiny in a First Amendment case?

37:14 Is the Court going to keep sweeping content-based statutes in the “incidental effect on speech” bucket?

37:59 Is sexual speech considered obscene?

40:18 How does the ruling affect adult content on mainstream social media platforms like Reddit and X?

43:12 Where does the ruling leave us on age verification laws?

Show notes:

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