Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton

Decided June 27, 2025. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 23-1122 · 606 U.S. 461 (2025) · Cited 26 times

Holding

Texas law H. B. 1181—which requires certain commercial websites publishing sexually explicit content that is obscene to minors to verify that visitors are 18 or older— only incidentally burdens the protected speech of adults and survives intermediate scrutiny under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union · 542 U.S. 656 (2004)
• Ginsberg v. New York · 390 U.S. 629 (1968)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. · 529 U.S. 803 (2000)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Sable Communications of California, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 492 U.S. 115 (1989)
• Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)
• Butler v. Michigan · 352 U.S. 380 (1957)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)
• United States v. Stevens · 559 U.S. 460 (2010)
• Miller v. California · 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
• Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project · 561 U.S. 1 (2010)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 520 U.S. 180 (1997)
• Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Beach Communications, Inc. · 508 U.S. 307 (1993)
• Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn. · 564 U.S. 786 (2011)
• Boy Scouts of America v. Dale · 530 U.S. 640 (2000)
• Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union · 535 U.S. 564 (2002)
• Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 518 U.S. 727 (1996)
• Moody v. NetChoice, LLC · 603 U.S. 707 (2024)
• Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
• District of Columbia v. Heller · 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
• Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire · 315 U.S. 568 (1942)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• City of Boerne v. Flores · 521 U.S. 507 (1997)
• Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence · 468 U.S. 288 (1984)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Zablocki v. Redhail · 434 U.S. 374 (1978)
• City of Erie v. Pap's A. M. · 529 U.S. 277 (2000)
• United States v. Albertini · 472 U.S. 675 (1985)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2025). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).