UPDATE (2:43 p.m. PT): The Free Speech Coalition issued a statement praising the news that the age verification bill was killed.
“We worked hard to educate allies and legislators on this bill,” says Alison Boden, executive director of Free Speech Coalition.
“It was introduced with bipartisan support and almost no formal opposition. We met with legislators and allies to help them understand the technical and legal issues with this bill, as well as how it could be weaponized against non-adult content. Over this coming year, we’ll work with legislators to find effective solutions that don’t jeopardize user privacy or Coloradan’s First Amendment rights.”
The full statement is available here.
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DENVER—Lawmakers in Colorado have postponed a controversial bipartisan age verification bill that targets adult websites until after the legislative session ends, according to The Colorado Sun.
The bill, Senate Bill (SB) 25-201 (or SB 201), was laid over Monday until May 8, meaning that it holds a status of sine die, which is a legislative Latin phrase meaning the bill won't be acted upon for the remainder of this year.
Such a move comes after significant pushback from members of both state legislative chambers, the governor's office, civil liberties groups, and adult industry stakeholders.
For example, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, a staunch civil libertarian, signaled to the bill sponsors of SB 201 that he'd likely veto the proposal if it made it to his desk. Though the bill was advanced out of committee on a vote of 8-1, the likelihood of it passing the entire Senate body was minimal due to effective lobbying by opponents.
Colorado will not be one of the next states to have age verification requirements to access adult websites. Some of the headwinds that stymied the advancement of age verification legislation included Polis' opposition and the pending U.S. Supreme Court case of Free Speech Coalition et al. v. Paxton.
The bill sponsors vowed to reintroduce the bill next year, notes the Sun.
