Sen. Banks introduces SAFE for Kids Act

Submitted by Office of U.S. Senator Jim Banks

Banks

On Wednesday, June 10, U.S. Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced the Safety and Age Filtering Enforcement (SAFE) for Kids Act. This legislation requires commercial pornography websites to implement age verification measures to prevent minors from accessing sexually explicit content online.

“Kids should not be exposed to pornography with just a few clicks,” Sen. Bank said. “The SAFE for Kids Act helps parents protect their children and bring commonsense safeguards nationwide.”

The SAFE for Kids Act is supported by a broad coalition of organizations and advocates, including American Principles Project, Heritage Action, Clare Morell and Chloe Lawrence of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Institute for Family Studies, National Decency Coalition, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and Concerned Women for America.

Key Provisions of the SAFE for Kids Act

• Requires commercial entities that distribute material on the internet, where more than one-third of the content is sexual content harmful to minors, to implement age verification measures.
• Grants enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission through consumer protection law.
• Authorizes the Department of Justice to investigate platforms that knowingly violate the law.
• Creates a private right of action allowing individuals, including parents and legal guardians, to bring civil actions against covered entities that violate the act.

Background

Research has shown that children are encountering pornography at increasingly young age, with the average first exposure occurring around age 12 and 60 percent of exposures occurring unintentionally. More than 25 states have enacted age verification requirements for pornography websites, and the Supreme Court upheld these laws in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, recognizing the government’s interest in protecting children from sexual material online.

Click here to read the full bill.