New obscenity bill could trigger boldest anti-porn prosecution wave in US history
U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA) this week, a bill designed to create a national legal standard for obscenity and ease federal prosecution of pornographic content distributed across state lines. Representative Mary Miller (R-Illinois) is backing the measure in the House.
'Obscenity isn't protected by the First Amendment, but hazy and unenforceable legal definitions have allowed extreme pornography to saturate American society and reach countless children,' Lee said in a press release.
'Our bill updates the legal definition of obscenity for the internet age so this content can be taken down and its peddlers prosecuted.'
The legislation has triggered a wave of concern among civil liberties groups and First Amendment advocates, who argue that its broad language could criminalize a vast range of consensual adult content.
IODA proposes changes to the Communications Act of 1934, removing the existing 'intent' clause that limits federal obscenity enforcement to cases involving harassment or abuse.
Instead, it introduces a three-part definition of obscene content that, according to lawmakers, reflects the digital age and eliminates confusion caused by varying state-level definitions.
Under the bill, content would be considered obscene if it appeals to prurient interests in nudity, sex, or excretion; depicts or describes sexual acts intended to arouse or gratify; and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value when viewed as a whole.
'The Interstate Obscenity Definition Act equips law enforcement with the tools they need to target and remove obscene material from the internet,' said Miller.
'I'm proud to lead this effort in the House with Senator Lee to safeguard American families and ensure this dangerous material is kept out of our homes and off our screens.'
Free speech watchdogs and legal scholars say the bill stretches the limits of constitutionality.
Robert Corn-Revere, chief counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told Reason magazine, 'It really struck me that there's nothing about that definition that I think would survive constitutional review.'
Ricci Joy Levy, president of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, added that the definition is 'so broad' that even mainstream entertainment like Game of Thrones could be deemed obscene.
'The point is to loosen the definition of obscenity so it's more broad and the government is removed of the obligation to prove patent offensiveness,' she told Reason.
Lee's proposal closely aligns with the aims of Project 2025, a policy initiative by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
The group's Mandate for Leadership seeks to criminalize all pornography and hold technology firms accountable for facilitating its distribution.
It characterizes porn as a tool for spreading 'transgender ideology and sexualization of children,' advocating for prison time for content creators and the closure of complicit platforms.
Current U.S. obscenity law relies on the Supreme Court's 1973 Miller v. California ruling, which uses a three-prong test that includes 'contemporary community standards' and a 'reasonable person' perspective.
Critics of IODA argue that the bill scraps these constitutional guardrails by excluding community input and instead creating a rigid national definition that grants broad enforcement powers to the government.
While possession of obscene material is not federally criminalized unless minors are involved, distribution or production can trigger prosecution.
Lee and Miller's bill aims to expand the reach of those laws, potentially reshaping online content regulation in the U.S.
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