Eight US states are considering forcing phone makers to install filters that prevent users from viewing sexually explicit content, which could only be removed by using a passcode.
States are seeking to follow in the footsteps of Utah, which in 2021 passed a similar bill.
However, the Utah ruling cannot take effect until at least five other states pass such laws, to prevent phone companies from retaliating against a state.
The legislation was first drafted in 2019 by teams from the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and Protect Young Eyes.
In 2021, Apple introduced an optional filter that can be turned on to scan messages for nudity.
It will then blur any suspicious nudity images for the people who had the filters turned on.
In the intervening years, politicians and advocates have sought advice on how to pass the legislation, said Benjamin Bull, general counsel for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“I mean, almost daily, from the voters, from the legislators,” Bull said. NBC News.
”What can we do? We are desperate. Do you have an invoice model? Can you help us?’
‘And we said, ‘actually, we do.’
The bills are being considered in Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho, Texas and Montana.
Chris McKenna, founder and CEO of Protect Young Eyes, said: “The intention is to target browsers and (search) engines that already have the filters in place.”
But he said he would not object if the filters were applied in a broader context.
“You wouldn’t find me upset if they decided to turn that on for iMessage,” he said.
Apple introduced some filters in 2021: now eight states are looking to enact laws making filters automatic
Erin Walker, director of public policy for Montana’s Project STAND child safety organization, told NBC News that McKenna discussed the bill and then pitched the idea to politicians in her state.
“In 2017, we passed HB 247, which states that showing sexually explicit material to a child constitutes sexual abuse,” he said.
“And then in 2019, we passed a resolution declaring pornography a public health hazard in the state of Montana.”
Walker said he saw the bill as part of a broader effort to rein in tech companies.
“I think it’s just that Big Tech doesn’t want to be regulated,” Walker said.
“We have to convince lawmakers that there is an appropriate amount of regulation in each industry.”
Critics have questioned how the access codes would be monitored, to ensure that young people do not access them.
In Montana, their bill, currently in draft form, states that a manufacturer is liable if “the manufacturer knowingly or through reckless carelessness provides the access code to a minor.”
Eight states want to automatically filter sexually explicit content on phones
Samir Jain, vice president for policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said nbc news than asking tech buyers their age and having them prove it opens up a whole different can of worms.
‘There are no restrictions as such on how providers can use this data for other purposes. So I think even the age verification kind of aspect of this creates burdens and raises privacy concerns,” Jain said.
He added that there were issues regarding freedom of expression and art.
“I think we have to recognize that filters like these certainly with current technology are far from perfect,” he said.
“They can’t distinguish, you know, for example, nudity that is lewd or sexual in nature versus nudity that is for artistic or other purposes, which the bills are at least intended to exempt from regulation.”
Jain said she felt filters shouldn’t be automatic, but should instead be available for parents to tweak as they see fit.
“What is appropriate or useful for a teenager versus a 6-year-old is quite different,” he said.
“That’s why I think providing different kinds of tools and capabilities that can then be adapted, depending on the circumstances, makes a lot more sense than sort of crude mandatory filtering.”
