Supreme Court upheld the age-verification requirement 6 to 3 on June 27, 2025. The Court’s decision concerned age verification, not an endorsement of every provision of HB 1181.
Texas HB 1181 (Age Verification)
BadLawTX HB 1181
Texas, United StatesHigh threat
Texas, United StatesHigh threatAge-verification requirement upheld by US Supreme Court
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- Became Law
Stage 4 of 4: Became Law
Requires age verification to view adult content, the law the Supreme Court used to greenlight online ID checks.
Latest update
Upheld by the US Supreme Court in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton
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Take action on this issueWhat it does
Texas HB 1181 makes sites with a lot of adult content verify visitors are 18, using government ID or a commercial age-check service. It became the test case for whether a state can require ID to reach lawful online content.
What’s at stake
The Supreme Court upheld it in June 2025. That ruling opened the door to a wave of state age-verification and online ID laws reaching well past adult sites.
Our take
The ruling counts far more than one Texas law. By accepting that a state can require ID to view lawful content, the Court handed every legislature a template, and the same checkpoints are now being written for social media and app stores.
Timeline
Upheld by the US Supreme Court in Free Speech Coalition v. PaxtonLatest
Signed into Texas law
Sponsor
Texas Legislature
Votes
- House — Final passage (141 to 0) · May 9, 2023
- Senate — Final passage (31 to 0) · May 19, 2023
Legal challenges
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