Eight states are considering forcing phone makers to install filters that prevent users from viewing sexually explicit content — filters that can only be removed by using a passcode.
The eight want to follow in the footsteps of Utah, which passed a similar bill in 2021.
However, Utah’s ruling cannot take effect until at least five other states pass such laws, to prevent the phone companies from retaliating against one state.
The legislation was first drafted in 2019 by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and Protect Young Eyes teams.
In 2021, Apple introduced an optional filter that can be enabled to scan messages for nudity.
It then blurs out any suspected nude photos for people who had the filters turned on.
In the intervening years, politicians and lawyers have sought advice on how to pass the legislation, said Benjamin Bull, the general counsel for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“I mean, almost daily, from voters, from legislators,” Bull said NBC news.
”What can we do? We are desperate. Do you have a model account? Can you help us?’
“And we said, ‘actually we do.’
The bills are weighted in Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa, Idaho, Texas and Montana.
Chris McKenna, founder and CEO of Protect Young Eyes, said, “The intent is to point out the browsers and the [search] engines that already have the filters.’
But he wouldn’t mind if the filters were applied in a broader context.
“You wouldn’t think I was mad if they chose to turn that on for iMessage,” he said.
Apple introduced some filters in 2021: Now eight states are trying to pass laws that make the filters automatic
Erin Walker, public policy director for the Montana child safety organization Project STAND, told NBC News that McKenna spoke about the draft legislation, and she then raised the idea with politicians in her state.
“In 2017, we passed HB 247, which determined that showing a child sexually explicit material is sexual abuse,” she said.
“And then in 2019 we passed a resolution declaring that pornography is a public health hazard in the state of Montana.”
Walker said she saw the bill as part of a broader effort to rein in tech companies.
“I think Big Tech just doesn’t want to be regulated,” Walker said.
“We need to convince legislators that there is sufficient regulation in every industry.”
Critics have questioned how the access codes would be monitored to ensure they are not used by young people.
In Montana, their bill – currently in draft form – states that a manufacturer is liable if “the manufacturer knowingly or through reckless negligence provides the access code to a minor.”
Eight states want to automatically filter sexually explicit content on phones
Samir Jain, VP of policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said NBC news for technology buyers to ask their age, and have them prove it, opens a whole other can of worms.
“There are no restrictions per se on how providers can then use this data for other purposes. So even the sort of age-verification aspect of this, I think, creates burdens as well as privacy concerns,” Jain said.
He added that there were issues related to freedom of expression and artistry.
“I think we have to recognize that filters like this, especially with current technology, are far from perfect,” he said.
“For example, they cannot distinguish between nudity that is lascivious or of a sexual nature versus nudity that is for artistic or other purposes, which the bills at least claim to exempt from regulation.”
Jain said he felt the filters shouldn’t be automatic, but should be available for parents to customize as they see fit.
“What’s appropriate or helpful for a teenager versus a six-year-old is very different,” he said.
“That’s why I think providing different types of tools and capabilities that can then be tailored depending on the circumstances makes much more sense than some kind of coarse mandatory filtering.”