A federal judge's recent dismissal of a lawsuit challenging a Utah law requiring age verification on porn sites has disappointed digital privacy advocates and the Free Speech Coalition.
According to Associated Press, the law aims to limit access to explicit content but has faced legal challenges for potentially infringing on free speech and privacy rights.
Lawsuit Against Utah's Law
The lawsuit, filed by the Free Speech Coalition on behalf of adult entertainers, erotica authors, sex educators, and casual porn viewers, argued that the law unfairly discriminates against certain forms of speech and violates the First Amendment rights of porn providers.
However, US District Court Judge Ted Stewart's dismissal did not address these arguments directly. Stewart's ruling noted that the plaintiffs lacked the grounds to sue Utah officials directly for enforcing the law.
Instead, the Utah law enables residents to take legal action against adult websites that do not comply with age verification requirements without the state directly prosecuting these websites.
The judge referred to a 2021 US Supreme Court decision supporting a similar approach in a Texas law, allowing private citizens to sue abortion providers. The age verification law is one element of Utah's ongoing efforts to combat pornography, driven by the state's Republican-supermajority Legislature since 2016.
Concerned about the perceived negative impact of pornography on children's mental and public health, lawmakers have pursued several laws to tackle the accessibility of explicit materials online, especially for young audiences.
While the age verification law does not prescribe a specific age verification method, certain adult websites like Pornhub decided to restrict access to their content in Utah. Other platforms tested third-party age verification services, including facial recognition programs, to estimate users' ages using webcam images.
Detractors of age verification laws for adult websites raised concerns about potential infringements on free speech and digital privacy. They argued that websites might unintentionally retain user identification data during the verification process, thereby jeopardizing users' privacy.
Appeal Coming Soon
In response to the dismissal, the Free Speech Coalition, which is also challenging a similar law in Louisiana, pledged to pursue an appeal. Alison Boden, the group's executive director, expressed apprehension about states trying to delegate censorship to citizens.
She emphasized that government actions aiming to suppress speech, regardless of the approach, are forbidden by the Constitution and well-established legal precedents.
State Senator Todd Weiler, the Republican sponsor of the age verification law, expressed little surprise about the dismissal of the lawsuit and hinted that Utah might consider expanding its digital identification programs.
This expansion could facilitate compliance with age verification mandates for adult websites and social media platforms. Utah recently enacted another law requiring age verification for social media users within the state.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who was named in the lawsuit, lauded the dismissal and asserted that age verification requirements are necessary safeguards to protect children's innocence and safety.
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