Bill to Protect Minors from Harmful Online Content Ready for House

HB 3 (Tramont) aims to protect children under 18 from online access to harmful content, such as pornography. The bill requires websites and applications that publish a substantial amount of materials harmful to minors to contract with a third party to verify that the age of a person attempting to access the material is 18 years or older. FCCB supports the bill as a way to safeguard children from exposure to content that is age-inappropriate. Internet usage and mobile technology have become mainstream, especially among teens and young adults, which has increased the accessibility of pornography. Research shows that over half of American high school students have viewed pornography in the last year and teens are experiencing an increase in unwanted exposure to pornographic content online. HB 3 unanimously passed its two committees of reference and has been placed on the House Special Order Calendar for Tuesday, January 23. The Senate companion, SB 1792 (Grall), has yet to be heard in committee.