A new law requiring you to verify your age if you want access to porn on the Internet in Indiana will take effect on July 1st. However, a lawsuit has been filed against the state in an effort to block the law from taking effect.
The lawsuit filed by several groups with interests in the porn industry sued the state saying the law violates the first amendment as well as the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996.
They claim both statutes make the Indiana law unenforceable under federal law. Fred Cate, a distinguished professor at the Indiana University Mauer School of Law, told WISH-TV the group has a case.
“The Supreme Court decided more than 25 years ago that you couldn’t require age verification online,” Cate said. “And the reason was simple, and that’s because age verification is really hard to do online.”
In order to properly verify your age online, it requires that you enter a lot of personal information like a driver’s license number. Cate raises questions about the law’s requirement that makes it illegal for porn sites to save such information.
“Now we have a huge privacy issue,” he said. “Interestingly the state law prohibits you from saving that information. But, you have to save it to prove that you did it.”
The lawsuit names Attorney General Todd Rokita as a defendant since he would be the one tasked with enforcing the law if it takes effect.
“Children shouldn’t be able to easily access explicit material that can cause them harm,” Rokita said in a written statement. “It’s common sense. We need to protect and shield them from the psychological and emotional consequences associated with viewing porn. We look forward to upholding our constitutional duty to defend this law in court.”
Cate said children are becoming more computer-literate these days and that they can likely find ways to get around age verification laws. He believes the best protection of kids online is through education.
“We don’t require that everybody else protect kids,” Cate said. “What we require is through schools and community organizations and families, the sense of education and training, that we hope will help kids protect themselves.”
The lawsuit is seeking a preliminary injunction, which would temporarily block the law from taking effect on July 1st. The injunction allows for more time for the lawsuit seeking a more permanent solution to be carried out.
2 comments
If you are under 21 and want to go to a website of a liquor, beer, or wine company you have to provide your date of birth. Why would this be such a burden to the porn purveyors? And how exactly does and out of state porn site have standing in a court of law in Indiana? If this is “Interstate Commerce” they weed purchased in MI, OH or IL should be able to transit to or through Indiana, right? You can’t have it both ways people. Make up your mind.
Have you ever considered how the elderly must feel? Quite often, they’re left all alone with hardly any friends, and some haven’t any at all. It’s like their own families have totally forgotten about them, like they’re not even section of the naked family anymore. And on top of that, they’ve lost their wife to old age. It is a really tough circumstance. You’d think they’d possess their family and friends around at that age group, but sadly, they’re remaining to fend for themselves. No matter how kind and loving they’re, they usually find yourself on their own because they grow older. It’d be excellent if themselves showed them more treatment and attention.