A trade group representing the adult entertainment industry filed a lawsuit against the state of Utah over its new anti-porn age-verification law.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court on Wednesday, accuses the state of infringing on constitutional privacy and free speech rights by requiring anyone who views an adult site to essentially upload their government issued ID for verification. But the lawsuit also contends the state doesn’t have the capability to verify digital IDs online.
The litigation was filed by the Free Speech Coalition; Utah-based erotica author D.S. Dawson; an unnamed attorney who represents adult-oriented businesses; and companies who run websites with sexual content, including Just For Fans. It asks a federal judge to declare Utah’s new law unconstitutional.
The Free Speech Coalition has insisted it does not want children accessing adult websites, but Utah’s law is too difficult to actually implement and there are already options for parents like filtering technology, which the U.S. Supreme Court recognized as an effective means. The group also contends the law is vague when it comes to defining “materials harmful to minors.”
“The Utah law restricts adults’ access to legal speech and violates decades of Supreme Court precedent,” the coalition’s executive director, Alison Boden, said in a statement. “We are fighting not only for the rights of our members and the larger adult entertainment community, but for the right of all Americans to access constitutionally-protected expression in the privacy of their own home.”
The Utah State Legislature this year unanimously passed the bill and Governor Spencer Cox signed it into law earlier this year. It went into effect on Wednesday.
The lawsuit follows Pornhub, one of the internet’s largest adult content websites, blocking all access from any internet protocol address tied to Utah in protest of the new law. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, has insisted sites can comply with the new law.
On Wednesday, Sen. Weiler told FOX 13 News he had no comment on the lawsuit. The Utah Attorney General’s Office, which represents the state in civil litigation, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
This story was first published by Fox 13 News. The Salt Lake Tribune and Fox 13 News are content-sharing partners.
