JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri state representative has introduced a bill that would require adult sites to post notices warning users of alleged physical, mental and social harms associated with pornography, despite a previous federal court ruling against such requirements.
Introduced by Rep. Sherri Gallick, a Republican member of the Missouri House of Representatives, HB 1839 is one of two new bills that would make age verification by adult websites state law — an apparent effort to put a legislative stamp of approval on AV regulations that were unilaterally imposed by the state attorney general in a controversial move that may yet be subject to legal challenges. The other new AV bill is HB 1878, proposed by Rep. Renee Reuter.
Whereas HB 1878 is similar to numerous other AV laws in effect in U.S. states, however, Gallick’s HB 1839 includes a provision that would require adult sites to display a notice reading, “Pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses, and weakens brain function. Exposure to this content is associated with low self-esteem and body image, eating disorders, impaired brain development, and other emotional and mental illnesses. Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and child pornography.”
The bill would also require that adult sites display, at the bottom of every site page, a notice referring users to a helpline “for individuals and family members facing mental health or substance use disorders.”
The language in the notices is identical to that originally proposed in Texas’ HB 1181, the state age verification bill that sparked the pivotal Supreme Court case Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. The court’s ruling upholding the Texas law ultimately paved the way for enforcement of state AV laws around the country.
The version of the Texas law upheld by the Supreme Court, however, did not include the “health warnings,” as those provisions had already been struck down by the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, when it upheld an injunction by a district court deeming the requirement to post such notices to be unconstitutionally forced speech.
Given the 5th Circuit’s ruling, it is unclear how HB 1831 could be expected to proceed.
XBIZ has reached out to Gallick’s office for comment.
