Legislature(2023 - 2024)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
05/01/2024 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB237 | |
| HB97 | |
| HB29 | |
| HB309 | |
| HB254 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 237 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 97 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 29 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 226 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 309 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 285 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 254 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
HB 254-BLOCK PORNOGRAPHY TO MINORS; SOCIAL MEDIA
4:33:38 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced the consideration of CS FOR HOUSE BILL
NO. 254(JUD) am "An Act relating to minors and the Internet; and
relating to use of social media by minors."
4:34:04 PM
ROBERT BALLINGER, Staff, Representative Sarah Vance, Alaska
State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, introduced HB 254 on behalf
of the sponsor.
4:34:20 PM
At ease.
4:37:45 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN reconvened the meeting.
4:38:02 PM
MR. BALLINGER delivered a slideshow presentation titled
"Prohibit Pornography to Minors". He said HB 254 began with a
vision to limit access of minors to the worst material on the
internet. He noted that several states have passed similar
legislation that held up to challenges in federal court.
4:38:31 PM
MR. BALLINGER moved to slide 2, which listed letters of
endorsement for HB 254:
• Ricky Darr on behalf of National Decency Coalition"
• Donna Rice Hughes on behalf of "Enough is Enough - Making
the Internet Safer for Children and Families"
• Dr. Gail Dines on behalf of "Culture Reframed"
4:38:42 PM
MR. BALLINGER moved to slide 3, listing organizations that have
conducted studies on Pornography:
• American Bar Association (ABA)
• American College of Pediatricians
• National Human Trafficking Hotline
4:39:06 PM
MR. BALLINGER moved to slide 4, highlighting the conclusions of
two studies:
• American College of Pediatricians
• Conclusions: Children suffer many negative effects due
to modern society's exposure to and acceptance of
pornography. These negative effects include mental
disturbance and unrest for the young school age child,
including acting out and violent behavior.
• American Bar Association:
• Conclusion: Exposure to pornography harms children and
youth by normalizing sexual violence, creating
unrealistic expectations for intimate partners and
relationships, and increasing the risk of addiction.
4:39:46 PM
MR. BALLINGER moved to slide 5, titled "Intersections between
Pornography and Human Trafficking: Training Ideas and
Implications" which highlighted the following findings:
• Pornography is the driving force behind the
international sex trafficking industry. (MacKinnon,
2005)
• Traffickers are smart about their recruitment
strategies and play on a person's "psychological
variables" or vulnerabilities (Lutya, 2012, Ch. 5).
Specifically, children and young teens have specific
desires for acceptance, love, recognition and money,
which makes them an easy target (Sager, 2012).
Recruitment strategies often incorporate use of the
Internet. For example, cybergrooming is a form of
grooming done online, with the intent to sexually
exploit an individual (Wachs, et al., 2016). A
predator no longer must physically lure and kidnap a
teen, they are able to sit behind the comfort of a
keyboard and exploit anyone available online
(Humphreys, 2017).
4:41:01 PM
MR. BALLINGER moved to slide 6, titled "National Human
Trafficking Hotline Data Report, Report 2021 - 12/31/2021",
highlighting that pornography was the top-listed venue or
industry of potential trafficking reported that year, with 7,499
situations reported, which was 72 percent of the total reports.
4:41:15 PM
MR. BALLINGER moved to slide 7, a map of the United States
highlighting the 17 states that had pornography age limit laws
similar to HB 254 already in place.
MR. BALLINGER noted that law suits had been filed challenging
the age verification legislation in Louisiana, Utah and Texas.
He said the suits in Louisiana and Utah were dismissed because
of "lack of standing," but the Texas law was litigated and had
reached the Supreme Court, which returned the case to the
district court in Texas and the law was upheld there. He
explained that HB 254 targets pornography that is "obscene
material" which is not subject to First Amendment protections.
4:42:49 PM
MR. BALLINGER moved to slide 8, a map of the United States
displaying the 16 additional states where legislation similar to
HB 254 is under consideration.
4:42:53 PM
MR. BALLINGER moved to slide 9 displaying a Pornhub gateway for
age verification required by the state of Louisiana and said the
Louisiana legislation requires "a commercial, reasonable age
verification system". He explained there were a number of ways
to do this; most systems use an internet-based system accessing
information available online. It may be necessary to upload an
ID to provide age verification.
4:43:47 PM
MR. BALLINGER concluded the presentation and provided a brief
overview of HB 254. He said there were three parts to HB 254:
• Age verification requirements to access pornography. A
website whose content is one third or more pornography will
be required to use a commercially available age
verification system. HB 254 would establish civil penalties
for non-compliance.
• A grant to provide $100 for parents to purchase and
implement parental control software to limit minors' access
to pornography. He noted the $100 fee seemed high, but that
was the maximum out there, and the fee would create a
fiscal note that could stop HB 254 from passing. He said if
the committee liked the grant feature, the sponsor would be
willing to try to advance the bill with the grant attached.
• Protection for young teens (14 and under) by removing
access to set up and maintain social media accounts or to
access social media with parent permission (15 and older).
He noted support for this feature of HB 254 and said it was
from a Florida bill. He acknowledged that more material may
be necessary for consistency of the application of age
verification requirements.
4:46:33 PM
SENATOR GRAY-JACKSON sought clarification about how the age
verification portal would work.
4:46:39 PM
MR. BALLINGER explained that age verification systems [proposed
by HB 254] are similar to those used for online gambling or wine
of the Month Clubs, where users must prove they are of legal
age. He said the systems involve software providers that collect
data from various sources to verify age, without the need for
users to upload IDs and when ID is required, it can be uploaded
securely and there are many software companies who offer these
age verification services. He acknowledged the importance of
protecting children's data.
4:49:21 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN announced invited testimony on HB 254.
4:49:34 PM
RICHARD DARR, Executive Director, National Decency Coalition,
Nashville, Tennessee, said HB 254 had great history, having
passed in Louisiana in 2022 and survived court challenges. He
noted 17 states had passed the bill. He said the problem right
now is that children typically have access all the time to
online pornography and according to the Kaiser Family
Foundation, one in 10 sites remain accessible even when parental
controls are in place. And according to [software company]
Covenant Eyes, only 39 percent of parents actually utilize
filtering software, which leaves 61 percent of children [with
internet access] exposed. He said all the data on first exposure
[suggests it occurs] between the ages of eight and 12 years old.
MR. DARR spoke about continuing development and improvement of
age verification software in states that passed similar
legislation.
MR. DARR concluded that legislation like HB 254 was doing well
against legal challenges and it was successfully allowing
lawsuits against non-compliant pornographers in Texas. He
affirmed the importance of the provision for investigative
action by the state's attorney general to strengthen the bill's
effectiveness. He encouraged the committee's support for HB 254.
4:52:23 PM
CHAIR BJORKMAN said the original intent of HB 254 was a good
idea and a good way to ensure that the only people accessing
porn on the Internet are adults. He said time was limited, and
he wanted to focus on 'the possible' as the committee considers
the bill.
CHAIR BJORKMAN held HB 254 in committee.