Alabama House Passes Republican Rep's Utah Copycat 'Porn Filter' Bill

Alabama House Passes Republican Rep's Utah Copycat 'Porn Filter' Bill

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama House of Representatives last week approved a bill copying legislation passed in Utah in 2021, aiming to force phone and computer manufacturers to install default “porn filters” on devices sold in the state.

The Alabama House voted in favor of the bill last Tuesday by a margin of 70-8, with 24 abstentions. The bill next moves to the state Senate.

As XBIZ reported, HB 298 was introduced two years ago by Rep. Chris Sells (R - Greenville) and is part of an ongoing, state-by-state campaign to pass laws requiring default filtering — a crusade being coordinated by religiously motivated organizations including anti-porn lobby NCOSE, formerly known as Morality in Media.

Sells told the Alabama House Judiciary Committee in 2021 that while state laws prohibit children from buying alcohol and cigarettes, when it comes to mobile devices, “all they’ve got to do is punch a couple of buttons and it’s wide open to every kind of adult thing you can imagine.”

Sells demanded state intervention on behalf of “children whose parents haven’t gone to the trouble to make sure the filter is activated.”

“What I’m finding out is that most parents are not taking the time to download an app or to go into the settings of these phones, and just buy a child a phone and hand it to them,” Sells told the committee.

A Republican advisor at the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office testified during hearings about his belief in a statewide crisis of “porn addiction,” a premise contested by most psychology research.

Anderson described one child, with whose case he claimed to be involved, as “a full-blown addict” by the age of 10.

“He was often unsupervised with over four devices that gave him unlimited access to pornography,” Anderson continued, adding that “the child is 12 and remains addicted.”

The Utah bill included the unusual provision that it would not go into effect until five other states have passed matching legislation. Anti-porn lobbies continue recruiting religious politicians to target red-state legislatures in a bid to achieve that number.

Inset: Alabama State Rep. Chris Sells (Alabama State House)

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More