The Supreme Court heard a case on Wednesday involving a Texas law that requires age verification for adult-content websites.

The law requires entities to comply if more than one-third of their content is deemed "sexual material harmful to minors."

Texas argues that this measure is necessary to protect children from easily accessing pornography online.

But Free Speech Coalition, an adult-entertainment industry trade group, says that would violate adults' First Amendment rights.

"This really is about how the government can regulate any speech that it doesn't like," ACLU attorney Vera Eidelman said in a press briefing last week. ""Pornography is often the canary in the coal mine for free speech."

The ACLU is representing the Free Speech Coalition in this case.

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During the hearing, justices appeared open to the Texas law but questioned how to ensure it wasn't inhibiting someone's freedom of speech.

"Assuming we agree with you, and I think most people do, that kids are to be protected, how much of a burden is permissible on adults' First Amendment rights?" Justice Clarence Thomas asked.

The case has significant implications, as more than a dozen other states, including Florida and Tennessee, have similar laws to Texas'.

Attorney Andrew Lieb says the outcome in this case is hard to predict because it pits two dueling conservative principles against each other.

"This is such a hard coin to flip of who's going to win," Lieb said. "We have a very conservative Supreme Court which generally doesn't like pornography or obscenity, but they also love free speech. So how do you split the coin of what they're going to do now?"

The court is expected to have a decision by the end of June.

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