TALLAHASSEE, FL—Florida is on the precipice of joining 8 other states in prohibiting minors from visiting porn websites. This bill requires pornographic websites to impose an age verification tool, ban access to minors, and have a readily available link on their site to report violations.
"When you live in a world where there is a trending downward age for children who are seeing hardcore pornography, when young girls are believing they have to look a certain way just to be desirable, and young boys believe they have to behave aggressively just to be desirable...it's time to take a stand: let kids be kids," Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf, one of HB 3's sponsors, said on the House Floor Wednesday afternoon.
Similar to a social media ban for children passed during the same meeting, a third-party age verification tool is required under the bill. Age verification is already required for sites related to gambling, firearms, alcohol, and tobacco. However, in eerily futuristic news, the tech conglomerate Meta is currently testing new ways to age verify through the use of biometrics and online interviews.
According to the bill's analysis, adolescents who regularly watch porn become more promiscuous, develop hateful attitudes toward women, and have low-self esteem. As a result of this, the bill mandates that websites breaching the bill's terms are subject to a $50,000 fine per violation.
The analysis cites the largely unregulated and massive nature of the internet, stating that an estimated 50% of all Internet traffic is related to sex, and that of the top 20 most visited websites, four are classified as pornographic. An alleged "27 % of young adults first view pornography before the onset of puberty and 70% of teens accidentally stumble upon pornography online."
"For far too long we have turned a blind eye while the innocence of our children has been stolen and their minds forever warped and corrupted," co-sponsor Republican Rep. Chase Tramont said in closing, "We should accept nothing less than absolute perfect protection of our children. We have been failing our families, and today we can declare that failure is no longer an option."
HB 3 passed the House floor unanimously.
