ARKANSAS, USA — An Arkansas Senate bill is making its way through the legislature that would require ID before viewing pornographic content in the state.
Senate Bill 66, or the Protection of Minors from Distribution of Harmful Material Act, would require Arkansas residents to use a "digitized identification card" proving they are over the age of 18 before viewing porn.
Senator Tyler Dees (R-Siloam Springs) proposed the bill last month, which has now passed through the Senate. Sen. Dees says he believes sites with pornographic material are targeting and preying on youth.
"Statistics coming back from the National Institute of Health are showing an increase in increase in depression and anxiety, and less fulfilling relationships, more likely two times more likely to end in divorce. And so we're seeing the ramification of some of this harmful material truly affecting our youth," Dees said.
The bill includes protections for the data people enter. The websites can't hold or leak that information and must dump it after verifying their age, the bill states.
Proposers of the bill believe that if passed it will help improve self-esteem, improve body image disorders, and decrease sexual activity at younger ages.
The bill would enforce "damages" onto pornographic distributors and hold them accountable if they distribute the material to underage audiences.
Senate Bill 66 defines "pornographic" material as any media that exploits, is devoted towards, or primarily consists of "offensive depictions."
Some examples of "offensive depictions" include:
- Female breast/genitals
- Touching or caressing of breasts or genitals
- Actions such as sex or masturbation
Lawmakers consider media where nudity or sex is occurring to be pornographic if it "lacks literacy, artistic, political or scientific value" for minors.
Under this bill, any website that doesn't protect personal information could face libel charges, and any website that does not require age verification can be liable for damages. Dees says this proposed legislation is all about protecting children.
"If you were going to go and want to purchase cigarettes in a store, you have to show reasonable age verification. If you want to purchase alcohol, you have to show reasonable age verification. And that's all we're doing. We are aligning what we deem as, you know, harmful, we're saying that the same things have to be done in an online capacity," Dees said.