Court leaves in place a Texas law requiring
pornographic websites to verify users' ages
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify the age of their users.
The justices rejected an emergency appeal filed by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry. The provision of House Bill 1181, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, remains in effect even as the association's full appeal is weighed by the Supreme Court.
There were no noted dissents from the court's one-sentence order.
Similar age verification laws have passed in other states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia.
The Texas law carries fines of up to $10,000 per violation that could be raised to up to $250,000 per violation by a minor.
Last year, a federal judge blocked the law's age verification requirement and health warnings, finding that they likely violated the Constitution. But in March, a divided panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the age verification ruling, although it upheld the health warnings ruling that adult sites can't be forced to publish statements with which they disagree.
The health warnings, disputed by the industry, included that pornography is addictive, impairs mental development and increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation and child sexual abuse images.
The justices rejected an emergency appeal filed by the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry. The provision of House Bill 1181, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, remains in effect even as the association's full appeal is weighed by the Supreme Court.
There were no noted dissents from the court's one-sentence order.
Similar age verification laws have passed in other states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia.
The Texas law carries fines of up to $10,000 per violation that could be raised to up to $250,000 per violation by a minor.
Last year, a federal judge blocked the law's age verification requirement and health warnings, finding that they likely violated the Constitution. But in March, a divided panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the age verification ruling, although it upheld the health warnings ruling that adult sites can't be forced to publish statements with which they disagree.
The health warnings, disputed by the industry, included that pornography is addictive, impairs mental development and increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation and child sexual abuse images.
Justices reject Musk appeal over social media
posts that must be approved by Tesla
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Elon Musk over a settlement with securities regulators that requires him to get approval in advance of some social media posts that relate to Tesla, the electric vehicle company he leads.
The justices did not comment in leaving in place lower-court rulings against Musk, who complained that the requirement amounts to "prior restraint" on his speech in violation of the First Amendment.
The case stems from messages Musk posted on Twitter in 2018 in which he claimed he had secured funding to take Tesla private. The tweets caused the company's share price to jump and led to a temporary halt in trading.
The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission included a requirement that his posts on Twitter, now known as X, be approved first by a Tesla attorney. It also called for Musk and Tesla to pay civil fines over the tweets in which Musk said he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 per share.
The funding wasn't secured, and Tesla remains public.
The SEC's initial enforcement action against Musk alleged that his tweets about going private violated antifraud provisions of securities laws. The agency began investigating whether Musk violated the settlement in 2021 when he did not get approval before asking followers on Twitter if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock.
Musk acquired Twitter in 2022.
The justices did not comment in leaving in place lower-court rulings against Musk, who complained that the requirement amounts to "prior restraint" on his speech in violation of the First Amendment.
The case stems from messages Musk posted on Twitter in 2018 in which he claimed he had secured funding to take Tesla private. The tweets caused the company's share price to jump and led to a temporary halt in trading.
The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission included a requirement that his posts on Twitter, now known as X, be approved first by a Tesla attorney. It also called for Musk and Tesla to pay civil fines over the tweets in which Musk said he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 per share.
The funding wasn't secured, and Tesla remains public.
The SEC's initial enforcement action against Musk alleged that his tweets about going private violated antifraud provisions of securities laws. The agency began investigating whether Musk violated the settlement in 2021 when he did not get approval before asking followers on Twitter if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock.
Musk acquired Twitter in 2022.
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