Louisiana tightens measures against pornography
The Louisiana Legislature recently passed a new anti-porn law that tightens the liability of adult websites. The House voted almost unanimously to pass House Bill 77, which would allow the attorney general to impose civil penalties on companies that do not comply with the law. The law requires pornographic websites to verify the age of their users. Only one Democratic congressman, Mandie Landry, voted against it.
HB 77 was introduced by local politician Laurie Schlegel, an anti-porn activist who is behind Louisiana’s Act 440. Act 440 is the controversial law that went into effect on January 1, requiring “age verification for any website that contains 33.3% or more pornographic material.” Schlegel believes that pornography is destroying our children and they have unlimited access to it on the Internet.
Representative Landry, who voted against Schlegel and the new law, pointed out several obvious problems with Schlegel’s proposal. This includes the ease with which minors could bypass any age verification system through the simple use of VPN technology. Landry also raised questions about how Schlegel’s “33.3% material harmful to minors” would be calculated.
Point of criticism: data protection and circumvention of age checks
“If 80% of the site is ‘Blue’s Clues’ and 20% is pornography, is that OK?” wondered Landry. Rep. Matthew Willard also expressed concern about “unintended consequences of this one-third requirement.” “I want to know how that is determined,” Willard asked. “Is the attorney general making this decision? Are there objective criteria on which it is based?”
HB 77 requires “investigation and prosecution of commercial entities that knowingly and intentionally publish or distribute material harmful to minors and fail to conduct appropriate age verification.” Republicans across the country are currently trying to ban all adult content by overturning the 1973 “Miller Test.” The Miller test distinguishes sexual material protected by the First Amendment from illegal “obscene” material produced to arouse “a prurient interest.”
For Schlegel, “sexual conduct” apparently includes a “prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretions” and “an actual or simulated sexual act or contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or lewd exhibition of the genitals.”
The implementation of the one-third criterion: Open questions and legal disputes
Although Louisiana’s new anti-pornography law is supported by many, there are also critics who are concerned about potential unintended consequences and the effectiveness of the measures. Privacy concerns and the ability of minors to circumvent age verification are just some of the issues raised by opponents of the law.
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Another point of criticism is the implementation of the one-third criterion and how exactly it is calculated. The question of whether the attorney general makes these decisions or uses objective criteria remains open and could lead to legal challenges.
Nevertheless, it is clear that the primary goal of HB 77 is to reduce minors’ access to pornographic material and to hold commercial entities that publish or distribute such material accountable. Proponents of the bill argue that these measures are necessary to protect children and young people from the harmful effects of pornography.
Impact and future prospects: protection of minors and effectiveness of measures
Overall, the passage of Louisiana’s new anti-porn law demonstrates the growing concern about minors’ access to pornographic material on the Internet. It remains to be seen how effective the new regulations will be in practice and whether they can actually help protect children and young people from the negative effects of pornography. It is also important to monitor the unintended consequences of the law, including potential privacy breaches and the possibility that minors will continue to find ways to circumvent age verification.
Meanwhile, the debate over the role of the state in regulating pornographic material and protecting minors from accessing such content remains a contentious and complex issue. With the passage of HB 77, Louisiana has taken a step toward stricter measures against pornography, but it remains to be seen whether these measures will actually produce the desired results.
Source: Louisiana Illuminator
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