Porn Filters Required in Utah: What Could Happen Next?

This Week’s Wacky Wednesday: Porn Filters Required in Utah: What Could Happen Next?

The Internet has made so many aspects of life easier. You can get online and order a book, clothes, a new bike, and just about anything else that you might want. You can watch the latest movies and TV shows on your phone. You could have a bestseller downloaded to your Kindle Fire in a matter of seconds. Of course, the Internet has also made access to pornography easier.

Naturally, this doesn’t sit well with everyone. This is particularly true with parents who are tech-challenged and who don’t know how to add their own filters to their kids’ phones and their home Internet. Typically, this would be the type of thing parents would have to figure out and then block, so their kids aren’t looking at questionable content.

However, in Utah, the government has taken steps to make it more difficult to access pornography. Many of the lawmakers in the state are part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and they have often tried to put a damper on porn. In 2016, state lawmakers said pornography was a public health nuisance. It appears in this case, that they will be able to do just that.

The New Law

A new law was introduced, called the Device Filter Amendments Bill. This bill will require that all new tablets and smartphones that are sold in the state have filters that are automatically activated. These filters are there to block content deemed harmful to minors.

This includes nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse that appeals to minors, is offensive to what adults consider suitable for children, and that has no “literary, artistic, political, or scientific value” for minors.

The law will allow the public and the state to sue device manufacturers, such as Apple, up to $10 each time a minor accesses material that is considered harmful. If the device is for an adult, there will be a passcode that allows them to disable the filters.

At first blush, this might not seem like a bad idea. After all, children should never be looking at pornography. Since kids often have a substantial amount of unsupervised screen time, it could make a difference. After all, it’s just a filter, and adults will have a code that disables the filters on their tablets and phones.

What’s the Consensus?

Many activists were happy about the passage of the bill and feel that it will help to make a difference for the youth in Utah. However, not everyone is happy about the new requirement for filters. They feel that protecting children is important, but that it’s the job of the parents to police their kids. They worry that the passage of the law is an overreach by the government. The ACLU of Utah has said that the law infringes on First Amendment rights to freely access information.

The law is not in effect quite yet, and you can expect that there will be quite a few more arguments on both sides. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out and what other efforts Utah might choose to pursue in the future if it does pass. Would they try to enact further restrictions in the coming years?

There’s not an easy answer as to what the “right” thing to do is in this case. Protecting children is essential, but many feel that the parents need to do this by learning how to install their own filters rather than having them mandated. Of course, many parents don’t understand how to use the filters or don’t bother using them because they trust their children.