Lawsuit Seeks Injunction On New Age Verification State Law For Porn Sites

Source: Photo: (gorodenkoff/getty images)

STATEHOUSE — A new law requiring you to verify your age if you want access to porn on the Internet in Indiana will take effect on July 1st. However, a lawsuit has been filed against the state in an effort to block the law from taking effect.

The lawsuit filed by several groups with interests in the porn industry sued the state saying the law violates the first amendment as well as the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996.

They claim both statutes make the Indiana law unenforceable under federal law. Fred Cate, a distinguished professor at the Indiana University Mauer School of Law, told WISH-TV the group has a case.

“The Supreme Court decided more than 25 years ago that you couldn’t require age verification online,” Cate said. “And the reason was simple, and that’s because age verification is really hard to do online.”

In order to properly verify your age online, it requires that you enter a lot of personal information like a driver’s license number. Cate raises questions about the law’s requirement that makes it illegal for porn sites to save such information.

“Now we have a huge privacy issue,” he said. “Interestingly the state law prohibits you from saving that information. But, you have to save it to prove that you did it.”

The lawsuit names Attorney General Todd Rokita as a defendant since he would be the one tasked with enforcing the law if it takes effect.

“Children shouldn’t be able to easily access explicit material that can cause them harm,” Rokita said in a written statement. “It’s common sense. We need to protect and shield them from the psychological and emotional consequences associated with viewing porn. We look forward to upholding our constitutional duty to defend this law in court.”

Cate said children are becoming more computer-literate these days and that they can likely find ways to get around age verification laws. He believes the best protection of kids online is through education.

“We don’t require that everybody else protect kids,” Cate said. “What we require is through schools and community organizations and families, the sense of education and training, that we hope will help kids protect themselves.”

The lawsuit is seeking a preliminary injunction, which would temporarily block the law from taking effect on July 1st. The injunction allows for more time for the lawsuit seeking a more permanent solution to be carried out.

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