COLUMBUS, Ohio – A House Republican made his case Wednesday for legislation that would require websites sharing content that’s “obscene or harmful to juveniles” to verify that their viewers are legal adults.
The idea, which would likely capture online pornography, has become increasingly popular in Republican states, while prompting criticism on free speech and privacy grounds. It also targets creators of “deepfakes” – manipulated media that depict real people performing sexual acts.
If passed, House Bill 295 would:
· Create a third-degree felony penalty for websites that fail to verify viewers of “obscene or harmful” content are at least 18
· Create a fourth-degree misdemeanor penalty for minors who recklessly provide false identifying information to access such content
· Create a third-degree felony penalty for those who create artificial media depicting a real person engaging in a sexual act without their consent.
Bainbridge Twp. Republican Rep. Steve Demetriou referred to the bill as a means of protecting children against pornography. However, neither the word “pornography” nor its derivatives appear in the bill, and the phrase “obscene or harmful to juveniles” isn’t defined. He cited studies linking underage exposure to pornography to sexually aggressive behavior or social isolation.
“We don’t want our kids to watch this stuff, point blank,” he said.
The bill has more than 20 sponsors. All but one (Democratic state Rep. Sean Brennan of Parma) are Republicans.
At least eight states – Texas, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Utah and Virginia – have enacted age verification laws since 2022, according to the Associated Press. In some, like Virginia and Texas, the parent company of popular pornography site Pornhub has ceased operations in response to the law.
In an interview after the hearing, Demetriou referred to the shutdowns as “business decisions” not required by law. He said the state doesn’t allow children to walk into a brick and mortar adult film store and buy porn, so it shouldn’t allow them to access it via their phones.
If the law leads porn sites to cease operations in Ohio, he said, so be it.
“We’re not here to talk about adults. We’re here to talk about protecting kids,” he said. “We don’t want to prevent adults from making adult decisions.”
In some states, critics of the bills have cited privacy concerns over X-rated sites storing a database of the identities of their visitors. The Ohio legislation would prohibit them from storing such data for more than 30 days. Demetriou said he doubts interested adults will have qualms proving their age given their willingness to do so to buy beer or use their phone to bet on sports.
Most questions from lawmakers indicated general support for the bill. While House Majority Leader Bill Seitz indicated he worked with Demetriou crafting the bill, he questioned the somewhat ambiguous nature of the bill text.
“How is internet provider supposed to know whether the material they’re selling is in fact obscene or harmful to juveniles?” he said.
Demetriou said the bill will incorporate definitions of the phrase that exist elsewhere in Ohio law, but didn’t spell out exactly what that entails. The matter did not come up for a vote Wednesday.
Jake Zuckerman covers state politics for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.