Proposed Ohio law would require age verification before viewing porn
Apr. 23—The Ohio Senate will soon consider a House-passed initiative that would add Ohio to a growing list of states that require porn sites to either verify the age of their users or face legal consequences.
If it becomes law, Ohioans would be subject to uploading photos of themselves or personal transaction data before accessing content on pornographic websites.
Other states that have passed similar legislation have seen popular sites like PornHub suspend service within state borders.
The House-passed provision was folded into the chamber's draft of the state's operating budget, which sets about $60 billion in state spending over the next two years and includes hundreds of separate legislative provisions.
A House document explains that the provision would require any organization "that sells, delivers, furnishes, disseminates, provides, exhibits, or presents any material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles" to use "reasonable" age verification methods before users can access content.
"(It's) a policy that I think has wide support in the caucus," Ohio House Finance Chair Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, told reporters earlier this month. "I think, frankly, a lot of people believe that if you're going to have obscene material on the internet, we should at least make sure that those who are not legally allowed to view it are not viewing it."
In practice, "reasonable" methods of age verification could include photo identification or private or public "transactional data," which could include mortgage, educational and employment records, according to the bill text.
Stewart said the House's provision differs slightly from other proposals that have stalled in the Statehouse, mainly in that the law wouldn't create private rights of action. Instead, it would empower the Ohio Attorney General to step in.
"If we have websites in the state of Ohio that are egregiously violating the law, we're going to give the attorney general the ability to file for injunctive relief," Stewart said.
Similar proposals, including the House Bill 84 currently in committee, have garnered levels of bipartisan support from Ohio lawmakers.
The Ohio Senate will consider the provision and the rest of the House's draft budget when it begins budget deliberations later this month. Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, has not yet commented on the age-verification plan.
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