LOS ANGELES—The Free Speech Coalition, a trade group representing the adult industry, announced Thursday that it has withdrawn support for an age verification bill in North Dakota.
Withdrawal of support comes days after the North Dakota state legislature declared pornography consumption a public health hazard.
The Free Speech Coalition’s statement was posted to its blog. It can be read here:
The Free Speech Coalition is disappointed by North Dakota legislators’ decision to abandon the common-sense approach to age verification originally proposed in SB 2380. The bill would have verified the user’s age on a phone, tablet, or other device and made children unable to access sites with material harmful to minors.
This is the same approach currently being advanced in multiple states for social media.
The adult industry recognizes that device-based age verification is the only solution that can effectively prevent children from encountering adult content while protecting the privacy and constitutional rights of adults.
We’re disappointed that legislators in South Dakota chose to prioritize the concerns of BigTech over the needs of their constituents.
