SALT LAKE CITY—Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a conservative Republican, signed into law a bill to tax adult entertainment websites at a rate of 2 percent and further make platforms liable if minors circumvent a content block. Senate Bill (SB) 73, the measure in question, was signed into law on Thursday with 73 other bills, with little to no fanfare.
As AVN reported extensively, SB 73 features a tax on all digital adult entertainment content distributed through Utah's digital space. Proposed by state Sen. Calvin R. Musselman and state Rep. Steve Eliason, both Republicans, the measure was designed as a "material harmful to minors" tax.
SB 73 would be used to fund age verification enforcement and other mental health programs targeting minors who struggle with so-called "porn addiction." The bill also prohibits the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent age-verification laws.
The addition of VPNs to the proposal is characteristic of a Republican legislative trend to restrict or ban the use of proxy tech.
