Be careful not to conflate obscenity laws and pornography laws. Porn that isn't obscenity is protected by the First Amendment. Children are not allowed to acces

Be careful not to conflate obscenity laws and pornography laws. Porn that isn't obscenity is protected by the First Amendment. Children are not allowed to access any porn. Obscenity (determined by the Miller test [1]) is by definition not protected by the First Amendment [2]. Both children and adults are not allowed to access obscenity. In the featured case, the Fifth Circuit decided that some sexual material can be obscenity in one context — when viewed/read by children — and not obscenity in another context — when viewed/read by adults. Whether obscenity precedent supports a concept of "obscene only when viewed by children", hypothetical regulations which rely on such a concept would still have to pass a test stricter than rational basis review [3] if they create hurdles to adults' access to speech which is "obscene only when viewed by children". The Fifth Circuit incorrectly applied the rational basis review standard to age verification; if the means of achieving a government interest impact (not necessarily target) a fundamental right (such as freedom of speech, which encompasses adults' freedom to access porn), then strict scrutiny [4] applies by default. The Texas age verification law concerns porn in general, not just obscenity. Obstacles to adults' access to protected speech must pass strict scrutiny in most cases. Perhaps mandated age verification on porn sites could be interpreted as a "place" restriction to support intermediate scrutiny [5] rather than strict scrutiny, but I'm not sure that public decency laws governing physical spaces such as strip clubs are applicable to digital websites. If you enter a strip club then the staff will instantly have a visual estimate of whether you're an adult. If you go to a porn website with an age verification system then you might have to give the website or the verifying party much more information than your age. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_test https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_test [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_obscenity_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_obscenity_law [3] https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/rational_basis_test https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/rational_basis_test [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strict_scrutiny#Applicability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strict_scrutiny#Applicability [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_scrutiny#Free_speech https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_scrutiny#Free_spe...