WASHINGTON — Utah’s two U.S. senators are pushing for ways to make it more difficult for children to view pornography online, including requirements for websites to verify ages before granting access to their content.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, reintroduced his Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act on Wednesday, pushing to implement requirements for age verification technology on pornography websites. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, has co-sponsored the legislation.
“It is time for our laws to catch up with technology,” Lee said. “The SCREEN Act addresses the urgent need to protect minors from exposure to online pornography and stop those who profit from stealing the innocence of America’s youth.”
The bill would block websites from simply implementing “simple age attestation,” such as prompts that only require viewers to enter their birthdate without additional verification. Instead, websites must require other verification measures by contracting with a third party company.
The legislation does not lay out requirements for how websites must verify ages. However, it would enact security requirements and prohibit companies from collecting unnecessary data beyond age verification. It would also block companies from retaining information for “longer than is necessary to demonstrate compliance.”
The legislation would require regular audits of websites to ensure compliance. If found in violation, websites will be charged under the Federal Trade Commission Act as an unfair or deceptive act.
Curtis: Porn leads to “psychological and societal harm”
“Like any parent in Utah, I’m deeply concerned that children remain vulnerable to explicit content online, as well as the psychological and societal harm it brings,” Curtis said in a statement. “Our bill ensures that online platforms take responsibility by leveraging modern technology to verify users’ ages and prevent minors from accessing explicit material — all while upholding personal freedoms.”
The bill comes as the Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling on a similar law in Texas, which could determine whether Congress has the power to regulate children’s access to certain content on the internet.
The Supreme Court has previously overturned congressional proposals to block pornography access for underage viewers, ruling that past legislation was too restrictive. However, justices ruled that Congress has a compelling interest in the matter.
So far, 19 states have enacted some form of restrictions for minors to access pornography websites, including Utah.
Under a bill passed in 2023, Utah residents can directly sue pornography websites and collect damages if they do not verify ages. The law does not specify how websites must do so.
The legislation has already garnered support from several anti-pornography organizations, such as National Center on Sexual Exploitation, National Decency Coalition, Heritage Action, Ethics and Public Policy Center, American Principles Project, and Family Policy Alliance, among others.