Current:Home > ContactKansas moves to join Texas and other states in requiring porn sites to verify people’s ages -Blueprint Wealth Network
Kansas moves to join Texas and other states in requiring porn sites to verify people’s ages
View
Date:2025-04-16 08:19:40
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is poised to require pornography websites to verify visitors are adults, a move that would follow Texas and a handful of other states despite concerns about privacy and how broadly the law could be applied.
The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature passed the proposal Tuesday, sending it to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The House voted for it 92-31 and the Senate approved it unanimously last month. Kelly hasn’t announced her plans, but she typically signs bills with bipartisan backing, and supporters have enough votes to override a veto anyway.
At least eight states have enacted age-verification laws since 2022 — Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Utah and Virginia, and lawmakers have introduced proposals in more than 20 other states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures and an analysis from The Associated Press of data from the Plural bill-tracking service.
Weeks ago, a federal appeals court upheld the Texas age-verification requirement as constitutional and a the Oklahoma House sent a similar measure to the state Senate.
Supporters argue that they’re protecting children from widespread pornography online. Oklahoma Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, a sponsor of the legislation, said pornography is dramatically more available now than when “there might be a sixth-grade boy who would find a Playboy magazine in a ditch somewhere.”
“What is commonplace in our society is for a child to be alone with their digital device in their bedroom,” said Hasenbeck, a Republican representing a rural southwest Oklahoma district.
In Kansas, some critics questioned whether the measure would violate free speech and press rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Last year, that issue was raised in a federal lawsuit over the Texas law from the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry.
A three-judge panel of the conservative, New Orleans-based Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Texas’ age-verification requirement did not violate the First Amendment. The judges concluded that such a law can stand as long as a state has a rational basis for it and states have a legitimate interest in blocking minors’ access to pornography.
The Kansas bill would make it a violation of state consumer protection laws for a website to fail to verify that a Kansas visitor is 18 if the website has material “harmful to minors.” The attorney general then could go to court seeking a fine of up to $10,000 for each violation. Parents also could sue for damages of at least $50,000.
Under an existing Kansas criminal law, material is harmful to minors if it involves “nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sadomasochistic abuse.”
But critics of the bill, mostly Democrats, argued that the law could be interpreted broadly enough that LGBTQ+ teenagers could not access information about sexual orientation or gender identity because the legal definition of sexual conduct includes acts of “homosexuality.” That means “being who we are” is defined as harmful to minors, said Rep. Brandon Woodard, who is gay and a Kansas City-area Democrat.
Woodard also said opponents don’t understand “how technology works.” He said people could bypass an age-verification requirement by accessing pornography through the dark web or unregulated social media sites.
Other lawmakers questioned whether the state could prevent websites based outside Kansas from retaining people’s personal information.
“The information used to verify a person’s age could fall into the hands of entities who could use it for fraudulent purposes,” said southeastern Kansas Rep. Ken Collins, one of two Republicans to vote against the bill.
Yet even critics acknowledged parents and other constituents have a strong interest in keeping minors from seeing pornography. Another southeastern Kansas Republican, Rep. Chuck Smith, chided the House because it didn’t approve the bill unanimously, as the Senate did.
“Kids need to be protected,” he said. “Everybody in here knows what pornography is — everybody.”
___
Murphy reported from Oklahoma City.
veryGood! (81)
Related
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- True crime’s popularity brings real change for defendants and society. It’s not all good
- 'Unless you've been through it, you can't understand': Helene recovery continues in NC
- Adding up the Public Health Costs of Using Coal to Make Steel
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Federal Court Ruling on a Reservoir Expansion Could Have Big Implications for the Colorado River
- Tucker Carlson is back in the spotlight, again. What message does that send?
- Chloë Grace Moretz shares she is a 'gay woman' in Kamala Harris endorsement
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Harris, Obamas and voting rights leaders work to turn out Black voters in run-up to Election Day
Ranking
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Dak Prescott injury update: Cowboys QB shares outlook for next week vs. Eagles
- Proof Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO Will Be There for Each Other ‘Til the Wheels Fall Off
- 2 Ohio officers charged with reckless homicide in death of man in custody after crash arrest
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- 2025 NFL draft order: Updated list after early slate of Week 9 games
- Hugh Jackman Marvelously Reacts to Martha Stewart's Comments About Ryan Reynolds' Humor
- Jill Duggar Details Complicated Relationship With Parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar
Recommendation
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
When is the NASCAR Championship Race? What to know about the 2024 Cup Series finale
Chloë Grace Moretz Comes Out as Gay in Message on Voting
Nevada lithium mine will crush rare plant habitat US said is critical to its survival, lawsuit says
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Cecily Strong is expecting her first child: 'Very happily pregnant from IVF at 40'
Trump talks about reporters being shot and says he shouldn’t have left White House after 2020 loss
‘Womb to Tomb’: Can Anti-Abortion Advocates Find Common Ground With the Climate Movement?