A coalition of two dozen conservative and pro-family organizations is backing Republican Indiana Sen. Jim Banks’ SAFE for Kids Act, which would require pornography websites to implement age-verification measures before users can access sexually explicit content.

Protecting Children Online

The groups argue that a federal standard is needed to prevent minors from accessing online pornography and to replace what they describe as an ineffective patchwork of state laws. According to the coalition, nearly 80% of children ages 12 to 17 have been exposed to sexually explicit material, with the average age of first exposure being 12 years old.

Terry Schilling, American Principles Project president, stated that the predatory pornography industry has enjoyed unfettered access to children for far too long, profiting off the destruction of American families while the political establishment looked the other way. The SAFE for Kids Act would put the burden of age verification squarely on the adult websites themselves, not on overwhelmed parents.

The legislation would also require commercial entities that distribute pornography on the internet to have age verification on their sites and extend enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission through consumer protection law. Additionally, it gives the Department of Justice authority to investigate platforms that intentionally violate the law and allows people, including parents and legal guardians, to sue companies or organizations that violate the law.

The coalition, which includes organizations such as Heritage Action and Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, is urging lawmakers from both parties to support the legislation, citing the broad, bipartisan support for a federal age verification law to protect minors from accessing pornographic content.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.