The South Dakota House of Representatives is passing a bill that requires anyone accessing pornography online to verify they are over the age of 18.
There’s a competing proposal in the state Senate.
Supporters say both ideas will protect children from online content deemed harmful to minors.
Representative Bethany Soye, R-Sioux Falls, is the primary backer of the bill. She brought a similar bill last year, but it stalled in the state Senate.
“I think we saw there was very strong support, there were just people caught on a few technical issues. It was the end of session—didn’t have the time to work that out," Soye said. "I think we already had a mandate that something needs to be passed—it’s just what is was specifically.”
Lawmakers may still be hashing out those specifics.
Some spent the interim between the brief legislative sessions to study the issue. The committee decided in October to mirror its proposal to a Texas law recently argued in front of the US supreme court.
That law—and the South Dakota Senate proposal—says platforms with a third of their content deemed harmful to minors must require age verification.
Soye’s bill passed Monday does not have that percentage threshold.
That concerns Representative Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls. Wittman wonders if a website would violate the law if it had a single pornographic image—like on some mainstream social media sites.
“I don’t see any parameters put in place within this bill that make it tenable," Wittman said. "I think it’s just another example of government overreach and telling parents how they should raise their kids and what should go on in their homes.”
The House bill passed 61 to 5 and now heads over to the Senate.
The Senate bill, passed by the interim committee, has not been scheduled for a hearing.