WASHINGTON — Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is spearheading efforts in the Senate to adopt a national definition of obscenity to make it easier to crack down on online pornography and prosecute those who disseminate obscene content.
Lee introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act on Thursday seeking to establish a uniform definition of obscenity under the Communications Act of 1934 that would be enforced across state lines. The bill would also update current definitions to include modern adaptations of obscene content to make violations more identifiable.
“Obscenity isn’t protected by the First Amendment, but hazy and unenforceable legal definitions have allowed extreme pornography to saturate American society and reach countless children,” Lee said in a statement. “Our bill updates the legal definition of obscenity for the internet age so this content can be taken down and its peddlers prosecuted.”
By implementing a new definition, Lee argues, it will replace any “ambiguity with practical standards” to prevent pornographic materials from evading prosecution.
To do that, the proposal would amend current definitions of obscenity to include content that “appeals to the prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion”; depicts or represents “actual or simulated sexual acts” with intent to “gratify the sexual desires” of the viewer; and if the content lacks “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”
The legislation would also remove current requirements that only prohibit transmission of obscene content if there is proof of “abusing, threatening, or harassing a person.”
Additionally, the bill would give law enforcement increased authority to identify and prevent obscene content from being transmitted across state lines.
In doing so, lawmakers are pushing to amend the Miller Test, a legal standard developed in the 1973 Supreme Court case “Miller v. California” that requires content to meet three criteria in order to be considered obscene.
Current law defines content as obscene only if the average person would find the materials appealing to sexual interest; if the work depicts sexual content in an offensive way as defined by state law; and if the work lacks serious value.
However, lawmakers such as Lee argue those criteria were developed long before pornography and other obscene content became accessible through the internet, thereby making it unclear which “applicable state law” should be applied for content that is accessed across state lines.
The same bill has been introduced in the House by Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., who called the legislation crucial to keep “dangerous material … out of our homes and off our screens.”
“The Interstate Obscenity Definition Act equips law enforcement with the tools they need to target and remove obscene material from the internet, which is alarmingly destructive and far outside the bounds of protected free speech under the Constitution,” Miller said in a statement.