Arkansas, Montana, Mississippi Pass Age-Verification Laws For Porn Sites
By Movieguide® Contributor
Arkansas, Montana, and Mississippi are the latest states to pass laws that protect children from exposure to pornography.
All three states’ governors signed bills that would require pornography websites to verify users are 18 or older before allowing them to see any content.
Exodus Cry reported that the average age children are exposed to pornographic content is between 7 and 13 years old, and that 15 states have declared porn consumption a public health crisis, as exposure can lead to stunted brain development and suicidal thoughts.
These new laws will help combat that mental health crisis, as well as protect children.
“There are now six states that have passed laws requiring age verification on all sites hosting pornographic content,” they wrote in a statement about the new laws. “In a world of ‘smart’ internet-enabled devices, kids are being pummeled with the most graphic sexual content imaginable. Age verification is the only effective method of protecting children from online porn. We applaud these six states and we strongly urge the rest of the US to follow their lead!”
Movieguide® previously reported on the pornography age-verification bill that Texas passed:
The Texas Senate just passed a bill requiring age verification on pornography sites in an attempt to protect children from exposure to inappropriate content.
The bill, HB 1181, would require any online platform that contains pornographic material to verify with ID that users are 18 or older. The sites would not be able to retain any ID information from the users.
HB 1181 has been passed on to Texas Governor Greg Abbott for approval. If passed, Texas would become the fifth state that has passed legislation that protects children from pornographic content.
Utah, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas have all passed bills that require ID age-verification to access sites with pornographic content.
Per Movieguide® Founder Dr. Ted Baehr, pornography can have a frightening affect on children.
As he wrote in The Culture-Wise Family:
It is very important for families to understand that destructive sexual content is not just found in sleazy sex shops. Research has shown that the exposure of randomly selected male college students to sexually suggestive R-rated theatrical movies increases their aggressive behavior toward women and decreases both male and female sensitivity to rape and the plight of the victim. After viewing this type of material, both males and females judge a female rape victim to be less injured, less worthy and more responsible for her own plight.[viii]
Extensive research has been conducted on the aggressive pornography to be found in R-rated films. These movies are easily accessible to teenagers. Many of these movies are broadcast on cable TV. Many such movies show scantily clothed or nude females in sexually arousing situations being attacked, raped, tortured, etc. The research shows that male viewers can be conditioned by watching these movies into associating sexual arousal with inflicting injury, rape, humiliation, or torture on females. As Dr. Cline has noted, “Where these films are available on videotapes (which most are), these can be repeatedly viewed in the privacy of one’s residence and masturbated to with the associated risks of negative or antisocial conditioning noted above.”[ix]
This study, of course, has been made all the more frightening by the growth of internet pornography. As the internet grew from being merely a service for sending text data by modem into the primary video delivery method for the mass media of entertainment, its use for spreading pornography has become ubiquitous. The quantity, and high definition quality of, pornography has exploded and one of the results has been a growth in human sex slave trafficking. As the number of men driven to the depths of pornography soars, so too does the demand for “something more.”
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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