February 20, 2021 | The Biz

Utah close to passing porn blocker law

Utah's House of Representatives passed a law this week mandating a porn filter on all phones, computers, or tablets sold in the state starting in 2022. It passed within hours of being approved at the committee level, even though it was considered dead just a few weeks ago.

“These devices are very important parts of our lives. But they also have the capacity to expose us, particularly our young people, to content that may have a negative impact on them for a very long time,” argued the bill's sponsor, Rep. Susan Pulsipher.

It is now before the state Senate, co-sponsored by anti-porn crusader Wayne A. Harper.

The bill failed to pass last year over privacy concerns, and issues of interstate commerce protections. This year, supporters such as NCOSE (formerly known as Morality in Media), were brought in to help push the "porn is dangerous" narrative.

The fear is that major manufacturers like Apple and Google could be held liable if they fail to comply. There was one caveat, however, to the bill actually going into law; "the bill will not go into effect until five additional states have adopted similar language," with a 10-year time limit for it to happen.

Groups like NCOSE are planning a blitz to push other states to follow Utah's example.

“The constitutional problems with this bill are numerous,” said Carl Czabo, Vice President and General Counsel for NetChoice, an organization that advocates for free expression online. “What I’m seeing here is government telling citizens what they can and cannot do with their own devices.”

Yep, because there is literally nothing else happening right now that needs our undivided attention.