SAINT PAUL, Minn.—Lawmakers in the Minnesota House of Representatives are backing an age verification bill targeting adult entertainment platforms. Republican state Rep. Ben Bakeberg introduced the bill, HF 1434, to make the state the next jurisdiction in the union to require age-gating in order to access adult content.
According to the legislation, the bill would require a "commercially reasonable method to verify age and identity" to be implemented for all of the adult entertainment websites and platforms covered by HF 1434 operating within Minnesota's digital space. Many of the legislation's co-sponsors are Republicans. A companion bill in the state Senate has the backing of two members of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) Party, Minnesota's affiliate to the Democratic Party. The companion bill is SF 2105.
During a hearing last week, the House Commerce Committee heard the bill, with the likelihood of advancing through the GOP-controlled House. DFL is currently in charge of the Senate. There is no indication as to whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will sign such legislation into law if it reaches his desk. Some of the organizations that lobbied in favor of HB 1434 included Iain Corby, the executive director of the Age Verification Providers Association, and several religious conservative groups.
True North Legal, a right-wing activist law firm based in Saint Paul, registered support for HF 1434. Renee Carlson, general counsel for True North, called the bill a move that is "common sense," referring to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Free Speech Coalition et al. v. Paxton, which held a similar Texas law as constitutional.
Other supporting organizations include the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the Minnesota Family Council, and various religious conservative or far-right stakeholders in the state. There was little testimony against the bill, but many DFL lawmakers on the committee expressed concerns about censorship due to the bill's broad language.
Note, if the bill is passed, it would create a new private right of action for parents to sue, grant authority to the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (DFL) to enforce the law, and ask the commissioner of commerce (head of the state's Department of Commerce) to authorize acceptable age verification software providers.
