The majority of states will have laws strengthening protections for kids online if West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey signs HB 4412 into law. The bill, better known as the Child Online Protection and Liability Act, holds commercial pornography websites accountable for distributing harmful materials to minors.
In the United States, 80% of children have been exposed to pornography, most as early as 11 years old. This exposure is devastating to young minds. Pornography thwarts their view of healthy sexual relations in the confines of marriage by replacing it with the commercial, degrading, and often violent pictures of sex purely for individual pleasure. This industry, which profits from lust, often features victims of sex trafficking and minors, furthering sexual exploitation.
Sex is a powerful gift from God, specifically given for the confines of marital intimacy towards God’s ultimate glory. We should not be surprised when the protections of God’s commands are forgotten, the consequences are devastating.
Additionally, pornography usage is linked to increased anxiety, addiction, low self-esteem, and body-image disorders. Though parents do their best to protect their children from these dangers, online filters simply aren’t enough, especially when exposure is unintentional.
The internet is too vast and too accessible for parents to control every branch, and that’s why legislation like HB 4412 is so important. It cuts distribution off at the source.
By requiring legal protections for children, any distributor with more than 33.3% of its content harmful to minors is liable for verifying a consumer’s age before distributing the material. The law explicitly forbids any entity from storing data used in the verification process. A similar law from Texas was challenged in the Supreme Court, where the justices affirmed that these protections are constitutional.
The popular legislation stormed through the West Virginia legislature, garnering unanimous votes in both the House and Senate. HB 4412 passed the Lower Chamber in February and then moved swiftly through the Senate with one additional amendment. The revised legislation went back to the House, where the Representatives once again approved the bill and sent it to the governor’s desk.
If signed, West Virginia will be the 26th state to protect minors from pornography exposure through age verification methods. In states that have passed these bills, pornography usage and website traffic dropped tremendously following enactment, sometimes even causing the distributors to leave the state. For example, Pornhub.com traffic in Louisiana reportedly dropped 80% following the passage of their verification protection, Act 440.
These bills work. They add substantial guardrails for children, protecting them from the predatory schemes of the sex industry. It pushes the arm of big porn back, away from vulnerable eyes. Every state should follow West Virginia’s example. Other legislatures, including Iowa, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and more, have similar work to do to protect children from the addictive venoms of pornography. Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee strongly supports these efforts, and our leaders are on the ground, defending children and attacking evil schemes with bills just like HB 4421.
