No, these states are wrong to legally require porn sites to verify the age of their visitors! It puts a lot of burden on those sites and adult visitors will be put off!
It is also quite strange and weird that a libertarian magazine (i.e. City Journal) publishes such an article with this headline!
Such state laws are an example of excessive government paternalism!
Such state laws may also have the well known adverse effect that adult consumers of porn will resort again to other means to obtain what they are looking for or worse sexual violence against women or children may increase.
Such state laws can also be seen as attempts to roll back the so called sexual revolution of the 1960s/70s. Make love not war etc.! These state laws showcase once more the tendency towards the world famous American prudishness!
Parents can and will protect their children e.g. by making sure their devices and Internet services block access to those sites. It should be primarily left to parents to protect their children from exposure to any harmful Internet content etc..
Concerns about children being exposed to porn (e.g. including perverse sexual acts etc.) are justified, but the solution of laws requiring porn sites to verify the age of their visitors is wrong!
The US Supreme Court only had to decide whether the Texas law conforms with the US constitution. This decision is not an approval of the approach to prevent harm from children.
Caveat: I did not read the entire article.
"In a 6–3 decision issued Friday in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the Supreme Court upheld a Texas law requiring pornographic websites to verify users’ ages before granting access. With similar laws now on the books in at least 21 other states, the ruling empowers state authorities to shield children from sexually explicit online materials—and may also open the door to regulating minors’ access to social media. ..."
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