A Tennessee Republican has introduced an age verification bill intended to protect children from being exposed to pornography.
On Wednesday, Rep. Patsy Hazlewood of Signal Mountain introduced the “Protect Tennessee Minors Act,” which would require online pornography distributors to put in place age verification measures to ensure that children are unable to access the explicit content.
“Exposing children to pornography is a form of child sexual abuse and exploitation that can severely damage a child’s intellectual development and emotional well-being. It can lead to difficulty in forming and maintaining positive relationships,” said Hazlewood, the chair of the House Finance, Ways and Means committee. “This legislation will apply the same safeguards and restrictions to the online world that we already have in place in the physical world. The standard should be the same.”
The proposed bill is similar to legislation that has been passed in other states, like Virginia and Utah, where age-verification measures have been implemented. In response, Pornhub blocked access to the site for both Virginia and Utah.
Hazelwood’s bill would require companies to match a photograph of a user to a U.S. photo ID. Websites who didn’t require age-verification would be charged with a Class C felony, which could mean up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
“My top priority is the safety and health of my children,” said Jacob Levy, a Tennessee tech industry executive. “Pornography is a societal disaster. Modernizing existing laws to require age verification will protect children from it and help the internet stay digital, not degenerate.”
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In 2017, Tennessee lawmakers passed a resolution that designated pornography as a public health hazard.
“Pornography treats women and children as objects and often depicts rape and abuse as if they were harmless. Moreover, pornography equates violence towards women and children with sex and pain with pleasure, which increases the demand for sex trafficking, prostitution, and child sexual abuse images/child pornography,” the resolution said.
Exodus Cry, a Christian non-profit that works to help women and others impacted by sex trafficking, has previously praised the enactment of age verification laws.
“The less Pornhub is accessible, the better! These age verification laws have been a long time coming and we’re celebrating every state that moves to protect children from the violent, dehumanizing porn which saturates the online world,” the organization said on Instagram.