Republican State Rep. John Block
By CORMAC DODD
The Santa Fe New Mexican
A bill that purports to protect children from accessing online pornography drew some criticism Friday from lawmakers and others who contend it could block adults from such material and might put personal data at risk by requiring website users to provide identification or credit card information.
Republican state Rep. John Block of Alamogordo introduced House Bill 44, dubbed the “Protection of Minors from Distribution of Harmful Materials Act,” before the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee.
“It’s mainly about protecting children and how they grow up. We want to make sure they have healthy environments,” he told the committee. “According to the data we have, the average age of the first exposure to pornography for children is as young as 11 years old.”
HB 44 would require any website with content that is more than “one-third objectionable material” to have a method of “reasonable age verification” so minors could not access the content. Website users would have to be at least 18.
Block said age-verification technology includes programs that scan your government ID card, or conduct verification through facial recognition or a credit card. Under the bill, the business performing age verification for such a website could not retain information about those identified.
The legislation is not unique. Laws that require pornographic websites to verify the ages of users have passed in other states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah and Virginia.
Pornhub, among the largest pornography websites in the world, has blocked access in more than a dozen states over such laws, according to media reports.
Block acknowledged bills similar to his have almost all resulted in prominent pornographic websites blocking access in those states — and not just for those under 18.
He said “sites like Pornhub have just closed their doors because they don’t want to have to comply.”
Some committee members thanked Block for the legislation, calling the proposal well-intended, but postponed a vote to give him an opportunity to make some changes.
“I understand the intent of this. I do have serious concerns about implementing this and about the effect on law-abiding adults,” said Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe.
Rep. Janelle Anyanonu, D-Albuquerque, agreed the state needs to protect “New Mexico’s children from abusive and inappropriate material.” However, she noted the definition of “explicit” is “extremely subjective.”
“And given the language of the bill in its present, it’s far too broad, and it’s very easy to get around,” Anyanonu said.
Several people lined up to speak against the bill, including Tatiana Prieto, a community engagement specialist for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.
“We have major concerns with the age verification provision within this bill. Everyone would be required to upload personal data, such as photo ID, with companies that claim to verify their age. … In this case, parents already have the tools they need to keep explicit and harmful content away from kids,” Prieto said.
“Allowing loosely regulated surveillance of our online activity is dangerous,” she added.
Some spoke in support of the legislation at the hearing, including two women who said they were members of Concerned Women for America, a conservative nonprofit that promotes “biblical values” and “constitutional principles,” according to its website.
“Our members are women who are tired of big tech and big porn putting profits ahead of safety and decency, treating our children as expendable,” said Nickie McCarty, the state director of the nonprofit.
“This bill at the very least would make it more difficult for obscene and exploitative materials to reach the eyes and minds of our children,” she added.