LOS ANGELES — The State of Utah has passed legislation that mandates all adult content carry a specific warning label.
With a debate that must have been reminiscent of the Scopes’ “Monkey Trial” deliberations due to the elevation of belief over fact, the state, based upon its support of the “porn is a public health crisis” fallacy, enacted the bill into law without requiring the signature of Governor Gary Herbert.
No reason has been offered as to why the governor declined to sign the law; however, this practice is not uncommon, as the governor has the option of either signing, vetoing or ignoring a bill, at which point it can be enacted by default.
Pushed by Representative Brady Brammer and Senator Todd Weiler, House Bill 243 originally required all adult content to carry the following warning label:
Exposing minors to pornography is known to the state of Utah to cause negative impacts to brain development, emotional development, and the ability to maintain intimate relationships. Such exposure may lead to harmful and addictive sexual behavior, low self-esteem, and the improper objectification of and sexual violence towards others, among numerous other harms.
The streamlined label passed into law now reads as follows:
STATE OF UTAH WARNING
Exposing minors to obscene material may damage or negatively impact minors.
The warning is required on print publications and websites created after May 12, 2020, placed in clear, readable type on the cover of each publication; or for digital publications displayed in searchable text format and for at least five seconds before the display of any video or each image.
Failure to comply can cost $2,500 per violation, plus filing fees and attorney fees and more.
For most industry stakeholders, the move is seen as yet another shot by zealots in the War on Porn, but regardless of that characterization, it is now the law of the land — at least for adult websites and publications that are available in Utah.
The full text of the new law is available here.
