---
title: Supreme Court Traps Itself in Muddy First Amendment Standards
date: 2025-07-18T16:24:00-04:00
author: Mary Katherine (MK) Terrell
canonical_url: "https://www.kelleydrye.com/viewpoints/articles/supreme-court-traps-itself-in-muddy-first-amendment-standards"
section: Articles
---
# Supreme Court Traps Itself in Muddy First Amendment Standards

  July 18, 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

Partner and Privacy chair [Alysa Hutnik](https://www.kelleydrye.com/people/alysa-z-hutnik) and Special Counsel [Greg Pruden](https://www.kelleydrye.com/people/gregory-c-pruden) authored, ​“Supreme Court Traps Itself in Muddy First Amendment Standards” published by *Bloomberg Law*. The article explores the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in *Free Speech Coalition v. Paxon* which upheld an age verification law in Texas. They discuss the decision’s potential impact on future First Amendment restrictions and protections.

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in *Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton* denying a First Amendment challenge to a Texas law requiring online publishers of sexual content to verify the ages of Texas users likely represents a narrow holding applicable only to obscene content. But the court’s analysis raises broader questions that bear on the constitutionality of other age verification provisions.”

Read the full article [here](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.kelleydrye.com/content/uploads/Supreme-Court-Traps-Itself-in-Muddy-First-Amendment-Standards.pdf).

 

 

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