Some pornography websites soon to be impacted by new Georgia law. What is SB 351?
In 2023 alone, PornHub saw more than 10 billion visits every month, according to Statista, and that's not including all of the other pornography websites. But new legislation around the country is impacting the industry, and the "Protecting Georgia's Children on Social Media Act of 2024" is next.
Here's a closer look at the bill and what it will do:
Signed by Gov. Brian Kemp in April, Georgia Senate Bill 351 is also known as the "Protecting Georgia's Children on Social Media Act." Its overall goal is to promote "safe and appropriate" use of technology, especially to young people.
Here are a few things it requires:
The Department of Education will develop model programs for educating students regarding online safety while using the Internet.
Local school boards must implement programs in all grade levels discouraging bullying and promoting responsible digital citizenship.
No social media platform will permit minor users without a parent or guardian's express consent.
One of the items of this bill requires public websites with "a substantial portion of material that is harmful to minors" to use an age verification system. The most common form of this would be the submission of a government ID (like a driver's license).
The bill has some specific language defining "material that is harmful to minors." It also has more broad language: "Any material that the average person, applying contemporary communitystandards, would find, taking the material as a whole and with respect to minors, isdesigned to appeal to, or is designed to pander to, prurient interest."
"Prurient" is defined as "Having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters."
Child safety advocates and state legislators argue that more needs to be done to keep children safe online and away from adult material.
Free speech advocates and adult entertainment lobbyists say the laws are hurting adults who have the right to access such content and warn that the definition of "adult material" can be weaponized against sex education sites, medical advice sites, and sites with LGBTQ+ content whether it is erotic or not, and say the requirement to share personal information is both excessive and ineffective.
The Free Speech Coalition, a trade association of the adult entertainment industry, has already filed lawsuits on laws like these in other states.
According to cybernews.com, some pornographic sites have complied with the new law and added age verification systems. However, others have decided to block any users in the affected states from using their websites. The most high-profile one is likely PornHub, which recently pulled its services from all of France over such a law.
Residents of more than a dozen states with age verification laws who go to the site do not have access to any of its videos will only see a message read aloud by an adult entertainment actress. In short, PornHub said providing your ID every time is not the most effective solution for protecting users and will put children and users' privacy at risk. They go on to encourage users to contact their representatives to demand device-based verification solutions.
When Georgia's law takes effect next month, it's likely this same message will be visible to those who try going to PornHub and similar sites.
Searches for VPN options have begun to trend in the affected states, and Georgia may see more users after July as well. A VPN allows the user to hide their computer's address and route their connection through other locations, including other states or countries. This would allow someone in a blocked state to access PornHub.
While it is not expressly a pornographic website, OnlyFans has become an incredibly popular platform for those in the adult entertainment industry. Those who use it engage with fans and post photos and videos on their pages in exchange for tips and subscriptions.
Currently, the age verification laws block seemingly any access to the affected websites. But in the case of OnlyFans, users can still access free or paid accounts they follow. However, any new subscriptions (free or paid) will require age verification if you haven't provided it already.
Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for Gannett/USA Today. Find him on X and Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Pornography partially blocked by new Georgia law starting July 1
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