WASHINGTON—Sen. Mike Lee, an ultraconservative Republican from Utah, announced on Thursday that he introduced brand new legislation in the U.S. Senate that would significantly overhaul rules and regulations on record-keeping requirements for platforms that allow the publication and distribution of pornographic content online.
The measure, presented as the Preventing Rampant Online Technological and Criminal Trafficking (PROTECT) Act, would require platforms with explicit material to take "reasonable steps" to verify the age and consent of individuals who upload and appear in content on user-generated platforms, including social media networks.
“Pornography sites need to do more to prevent the rampant child exploitation that is occurring on their platforms," Lee said. “This bill will verify the ages and consent of the people appearing in explicit content—stopping abusive material from ever getting uploaded in the first place.” In its current form, the PROTECT Act would additionally require the record-keeping provisions of 18 U.S. Code § 2257 to be overhauled beyond longstanding minimum requirements for studio and producer compliance with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Under Section 2257, federal law requires producers and studios to verify the age of their performers as at least 18 years old, and to retain those records.
Section 2257 compliance is typically carried out by senior corporate executives, in-house or general counsel, or dedicated compliance officers.
"Covered platforms" to which The law applies include any "website, online service, online application, or mobile application ... that serves the public ... [and] ... primarily provides a forum for user-generated content." Such a classification is so broad that it can easily be applied to social media networks like TikTok, Instagram, Reddit or X. Enforcement at such a scale would be nearly impossible and costly. Regulatory design in Lee's bill is similar to what has been seen at the state level, including in North Carolina. The GOP-controlled state legislature in North Carolina adopted a statewide record-keeping requirement, HB 805, dubbed the “Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act," during the 2025 session.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a moderate Democrat, initially vetoed HB 805, calling it a "mean-spirited" measure that could be used to restrict freedom of expression.
However, the state legislature voted to override Stein's veto, forcing it to become law. Adult industry stakeholders reacted to the North Carolina law by highlighting the fact that such a measure is a bid to undermine the legality of the adult entertainment industry and contract law at large.
Critics, including Mike Stabile of the Free Speech Coalition, told AVN at the time of North Carolina's law entering force that this sort of proposal is "a calculated and purposeful attack on the adult industry, using a strategy that right-wing religious groups have floated for years."
Under the Lee proposal, producers and adult content creators would be required to document full consent and compliance or face costly civil and criminal penalties. As such, the platforms must ensure that users are identified and verified to upload and that individuals depicted in imagery are of legal age and consent is documented by an "explicit written evidence of consent for each sex act in which the individual engaged during the creation of the pornographic image," per language from the current form of Sen. Lee's bill.
