BISMARCK, N.D. — The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has withdrawn its support for an age verification bill in North Dakota, following changes made by the state legislature.
The FSC statement follows:
The Free Speech Coalition is disappointed by North Dakota legislators’ decision to abandon the common-sense approach to age verification originally proposed in SB 2380. The bill would have verified the user’s age on a phone, tablet or other device, and made children unable to access sites with material harmful to minors. This is the same approach currently being advanced in multiple states for social media.
The adult industry recognizes that device-based age verification is the only solution that can effectively prevent children from encountering adult content while protecting the privacy and constitutional rights of adults.
We’re disappointed that legislators in North Dakota chose to prioritize the concerns of Big Tech over the needs of their constituents.
As XBIZ reported last week, SB 2380 would have required manufacturers of internet-enabled devices and operating systems to determine the age of a device’s primary user and signal websites whether that user is a minor. However, an amendment changing the bill to require site-based age verification instead has made it yet another copycat version of the age verification bills being promoted around the country by religious conservative activists.
For more information, visit FreeSpeechCoalition.com.