Proposed Bill Requires Porn Filters on All Internet-Enabled Devices
Lawmakers in more than a dozen U.S. states have proposed a new bill that would block all pornographic content on internet-enabled devices by default and would require users pay a fee to remove the filter. Proponents of the legislation are convinced that porn is a public health concern and that taxing it would help cut down human trafficking.
Called Human Trafficking Prevention Act, the measure requires manufacturers and retailers of internet-connected devices to install an active filter that blocks access to specified types of adult material. To unlock the filter, users will have to pay a one-time fee of $20 which will go to the state.
Aside from the fee, the bill also allows manufacturers and retailers to charge their own fees to unlock the content filter which, supporters said, could be a new source of revenue stream for the business sector. Another purpose of the fee is to verify the users' age to protect children from exposure to explicit materials.
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The $20 charge will be used to fund groups that tackle human-trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assault.
"What we know about pornography is that it's addictive. It actually affects the brain," Kathleen Winn of the Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network told WFSB.
"Like any drug, like an addiction, you need more and more and more of it to get the same reaction from it as the first time you saw it," she continued. "So yes, I absolutely believe pornography is contributing to the growing criminal enterprise of sex trafficking."
To recall, the 2016 Republican party platform identified porn as a "public health crisis" that destroys millions of lives.
"We encourage states to continue to fight this public menace and pledge our commitment to children's safety and well-being," the provision stated, adding: "We urge energetic prosecution of child pornography which is closely linked to human trafficking."
