Utah age verification law at center of lawsuit filed by Free Speech Coalition
May 4, 2023, 9:42 AM
FILE: Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, discusses a bill he is sponsoring, during a Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee hearing in the Senate Building in Salt Lake City, on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. (Kristin Murphy Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy Deseret News)
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SALT LAKE CITY — A group representing adult entertainment companies is suing Utah over a new law that requires age verification before accessing adult websites.
The Free Speech Coalition, the trade association of the adult entertainment industry in the United States, claims that, while they don’t want children accessing adult content, Utah’s new law violates the First and 14th Amendments. Free Speech Coalition Executive Director, Alison Boden said in a statement the law “put an unreasonable burden on free expression.”
Just before the lawsuit came to light, S.B. 287 sponsor Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, told KSL at Night he believes PornHub has the necessary tools to verify age. And Weiler said Utah will not back down from tactics that put pressure on the new law.
Weiler said that the idea that adult websites have to verify the age of their customers isn’t new.
“Pornhub knows how to do it. We said that they can use a third-party vendor. We’ve given them all kinds of options and they’re taking their cards and going home,” said Weiler.
Related:
- PornHub blocks users in Utah, cites state’s age verification law
- How will social media sites respond to PornHub’s decision to block Utah users?
