WASHINGTON—The Woodhull Freedom Foundation reports that a recent survey found age verification laws originally intended to target adult entertainment content is now having an impact on users' access to sexual health and educational materials on the internet.
"Age-verification laws are already impacting sex education in the U.S.,” said Ricci Joy Levy, the foundation's president and chief executive officer. "Again and again, we were told this was only about keeping minors from accessing porn."
Levy added, "Woodhull warned these vague and overly broad policies would also result in censorship of vital, non-explicit information about sex and gender, and the data bear this out. The current age-verification protocols are ripe for abuse, and educators are right to be scared.”
According to data compiled by the foundation, most sexual health educators are concerned age verification laws are censoring them and making it harder for them to do their jobs. Out of a class of sex educators and sex health professionals surveyed by Woodhull, the organization found that 73 percent of sex educators "are concerned age-verification laws will impact their work, practice or resources."
Also mong the survey's findings were that:
• 76 percent believe that these laws could further restrict access to sex education and related materials, including for adults.
• 18 percent say these laws have negatively affected their work, with that number rising to 33 percent among educators who work in states with age verification laws on the books.
• 58 percent of sexual health professionals said that they fear age verification laws would be used to restrict all access to sex education materials online.
• 53 percent say they are concerned AV laws will impact their work or sexual health practice as applicable.
Woodhull notes that this data is preliminary and further analysis is needed.
