Virginia, Utah, and Louisiana have moved to limit minor's access to pornography in recent weeks, and a growing number of states are proposing legislation that would restrict children from viewing adult material online.

Key Details: There has been a national push to protect young people from potentially harmful content by requiring some online services to limit or bar minors on their platforms. On May 12, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed age-verification into law, just as Utah and Louisiana have implemented similar laws.

Key Quotes: “[Pornography] has negative impacts on their brain, on their emotional development, on their own kind of self, the way they see themselves,” said Dawn Hawkins, CEO of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCSE). Mike Stabile, public affairs director for the Free Speech Coalition, said “I don’t think they always understand what age verification could mean in terms of government surveillance, identity theft, and the burdens that come for an adult trying to access legal content.”

For Context: NCSE pointed to the success of a Google policy in September 2021 that required new safety defaults on Chromebooks used in K-12 classrooms. In addition, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed legislation in 2021 requiring all tablets and cellphones sold there to automatically block pornography.

How the Media Covered it: Some left-rated sources focused more on how the laws may change the internet or potentially restrict adults' access to porn.