Utah Lawmakers Just Adopted Porn Filtering Again
The Utah state legislature recently adopted a new bill that now requires the pre-installed pornography filters found on mobile devices to be turned on at the point of sale. If a device sold doesn't have these filters enabled, liability for device manufacturers and retailers is quite severe.
I wrote about this bill earlier this month and the literal years-long campaign to implement a porn filtering rule on mobile device manufacturers. Utah made it a reality.
Senate Bill (SB) 104, proposed by Sen. Todd Weiler and Rep. Susan Pulsipher, has acquired the requisite support in both chambers of the legislature and could be signed into law by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox if there is no dispute with the bill sponsors and proponents. The law was proposed as a measure to curtail minors from viewing age-restricted materials through mobile devices provided to them by their parents or legal guardians.
Sen. Weiler also says the bill can be used to prevent an adult from acquiring a pornography addiction. There is no such thing as pornography addiction. Also note that the senator is one of the leading proponents of declaring a public health crisis" surrounding pornography despite no scientific evidence suggesting the claim of a crisis.
Weiler and Pulsipher are also behind the state's bounty-style age verification law on porn. It was so extreme that it forced Pornhub to block all of Utah.
But this is beside the point. This time, Weiler and Pulsipher really took the First Amendment short-bus cake. The language of SB 104 outlines a regulatory regime device manufacturers and retailers must follow in order to be in compliance with the law. If an adult who isn't the child's parent or guardian assists a child in disabling the pornography filters, they can be charged with a misdemeanor. Anyone with a prior conviction could be charged with a felony. Both charges feature fines and imprisonment.
Under this definition, an adult could be a Best Buy or Verizon Store employee. The attorney general can sue manufacturers and parents can bring civil action in state courts since the bill also establishes a new tort.
SB 104 advances the implementation of a similar law that was proposed by Rep. Pulsipher in 2021, House Bill 72, which codified mandatory porn filtering on all new devices sold in Utah. The law was also signed by Gov. Cox, but it had language indicating that it would remain unenforceable until at least five other states adopt the same type of laws. Alas, this hasn't happened and the leading anti-porn state government continues to lead" the way as a laughingstock.
The bill status for Senate Bill 104 has both leaders of the Utah state legislature signing the bill for enrollment, but action on the bill by Gov. Cox has yet to happen. It is expected, given the track record of his big child safety" agenda that feels like a drawn-out LDS Church sermon.
Michael McGrady covers the legal and tech side of the online porn business, among other topics.