SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Senate’s Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee unanimously voted to move forward a bill that would allow residents of the state to sue adult website owners for causing physical or psychological harm to minors.
Sponsored by Republican State Sen. Todd Weiler, SB185 — also known as “Cause of Action for Minors Injured by Pornographic Material” — imparts civil liability to “a person who produces pornographic material, distributes pornographic material or otherwise provides pornographic material to … a minor” if the material “is the proximate cause for the [minor] being harmed physically or psychologically, or by emotional or medical illness as a result of that pornographic material.”
Pornography, for the sake of the bill, is “material with the quality of a description or representation, in whatsoever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse.”
The bill exempts broadcasters, internet service providers and search engines from its dragnet and provides for awards of actual damages, punitive damages and attorney fees and costs.
“This bill is not telling any purveyor of pornography that they cannot distribute their product in Utah,” Weiler said during a public appearance on Tuesday. “We are not telling any consumer that you cannot consume a pornographic product in Utah. What we are saying is that if someone is damaged by your product, that they could take their best shot in court and have to meet every other evidentiary standard that already exists and have to show damages.”
Weiler, an attorney, dismissed suggestions the bill might run afoul of the First Amendment by comparing pornography to tobacco and alcohol — seemingly unaware there are substantive differences between controlled substances and protected speech.
The bill is one in a long line of anti-porn actions undertaken by the lawmaker, who has sponsored anti-porn legislation every year since 2013. In March 2016, he made national headlines as the architect of Utah’s “porn is a public health crisis” resolution, which sailed through the legislature and was signed by Gov. Gary Herbert in April. Since then, similar resolutions havepassed or are on the table in more than 20 other states.
Porn purveyors may escape the threat of legal pursuit if their websites “make good-faith efforts to prevent minors from accessing the pornographic material” and provide a “conspicuous” warning before allowing access. The warning must approximate one of the following:
“Using pornography may impair sexual function with partners.”
“Using pornography can cause escalating sexual preferences to more extreme content.”
“Using pornography has been shown to reduce sexual and relationship satisfaction.”
“Some jurisdictions recognize pornography as a public health hazard.”
Weiler said satisfying the language and age-verification mandates would provide adult websites owners with an affirmative defense. An affirmative defense, however, will not protect them from nuisance lawsuits. The bill makes no mention of the kind of age-verification mechanics that will be acceptable.
