LOS ANGELES — The Free Speech Coalition has published a blog post highlighting the organization's recent actions to educate legislators about age verification for viewers of adult content.
The FSC post follows:
Over the past few weeks, bills in Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Carolina and other states have been considered in committee — and FSC has been there to fight back. We’ve been busy contacting legislators, testifying at hearings, mobilizing supporters, and offering legislators alternatives that will actually keep minors from accessing adult content.
While some politicians in deeply conservative states may be unswayed, we’ve been making real progress in others. A bill in New Hampshire — which initially seemed poised to pass — was ultimately voted down 16-2 after FSC and other advocates reached out to legislators.
We sent FSC’s Director of Public Policy, Mike Stabile, to testify in person in two hearings in Arizona last week. While the bills did pass out of committee, they were severely hobbled and neither had the support needed to proceed directly to a floor vote. We’re optimistic that they can be stopped.
And thanks to our outreach to legislators and allies, bills in other states have been delayed or held back from committee consideration all together, stopping them in their tracks.
In many cases, FSC has been the only real voice of opposition to age verification bills targeting adult content. But we are working to rally allies — and members of our industry — to speak out as well. We face a hostile climate, but standing back is not an option.
For more information on upcoming hearings, visit Action.FreeSpeechCoalition.com.