PROSECUTE FOR AGE VERIFICATION FAILURE- A Louisiana legislative committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would let the state attorney general go after companies of pornographic websites that do not comply with a state law that requires age verification of its users. A report by the Louisiana Illuminator reveals the House Committee on Commerce voted 15-1 to advance House Bill 77, sponsored by Rep. Laurie Schlegel, Republican from Metairie.
“What HB77 does it also gives the office of the Attorney General the ability to sue civil penalities against commercial entities who are currently not following the Louisiana age verification law that we passed to protect children from material harmful to minors,” Schlegel said. “Currently what we have is come companies are complying and some are not.”
Schlegel, a sex addiction therapist, said she her bill is to ensure enforcement of the existing law to better protect minors, who she views as susceptible to harm from pornography.
Representative Candance Newell, Democrat-New Orleans, was the sole vote in opposition. She said the bill’s language is overly broad and might give the attorney general room for personal interpretation to include books on sex education and others. Schlegel pushed back on the idea that the language is overly broad, pointing to portions of her bill that incorporate the Miller Test, the primary tool used to gauge how obscene materials are defined.
But Free Speech advocates including Louisiana’s branch of the American Civil Liberties Union are concerned that Schlegel’s bill could impact constitutionally protected speech. Also of concern is how R-rated cable TV programs and streaming services along with material of scientific value could be affected should the bill become law. Schlegel said she was open to amending her bill on the House Floor to address those concerns.
