Michigan Lawmakers To Consider Banning Online Pornography Entirely

A group of Michigan lawmakers is pushing for a statewide online pornography ban because it “corrupts the public morals.” The “Anticorruption of Public Morals Act” is sponsored by five Republican state representatives and calls for steep penalties for violations.The bill would prohibit the online distribution of pornographic material including “any content, digital, streamed, or otherwise distributed on the internet, the primary purpose of which is to sexually arouse or gratify, including videos, erotica, magazines, stories, manga, material generated by artificial intelligence, live feeds, or sound clips.”A long list of prohibited material is outlined in House Bill No. 4938, including:Vaginal or anal intercourseFellatio or cunnilingusMasturbationEjaculation or orgasmPenetration with sexual devicesGroup sexBondage, domination, or sadomasochismActs involving bodily fluids for sexual arousalErotic autonomous sensory meridian response content, moaning, or sensual voice contentAnimated, virtual, or sexual activity generated by artificial intelligenceDepictions of characters acting or resembling minors in sexual contextsAny other pornographic materialThe bill also specifically targets transgenders. It would outlaw sexual images by an individual of one biological sex “imitating, depicting, or representing himself or herself to be of the other biological sex by means of a combination of attire, cosmetology, or prosthetics, or as having a reproductive nature contrary to the individual’s biological sex.”It also would ban depictions, descriptions, or simulations, whether real, animated, digitally generated, written, or auditory, of sexual acts.The legislation has carveouts for material to be used for scientific and medical research or instruction and peer-reviewed academic content.Violators could face a minimum of 20 years in prison and/ or a fine of not more than $100,000 and up to 25 years in prison and $125,000 fine.Internet service providers would be required to block pornography and tools to circumvent the ban to access prohibited material would also be outlawed.The Michigan bill comes alongside a push to ban the distribution of pornography nationwide. Senator Mike Lee of Utah introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act in May.Mr. Lee’s billI would define obscenity as material that “appeals to the prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion” or depicts actual or simulated sex acts without “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”The legislation would almost certainly face a court challenge. The Supreme Court has decided that most pornography is protected by the First Amendment unless it involves children or is considered obscene. In 1964, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously described his threshold test for obscenity as “I know it when I see it.”Mr. Lee says that definition makes it difficult to assess and uniformly label obscenity. His legislation would allow the prosecution of anyone who spreads pornography online over state lines or from foreign sources.More than two dozen states have put age verification laws into place to access pornography. The Supreme Court decided in its previous term that age verification laws are OK to block online porn from minors without infringing on the First Amendment rights of adults.

Michigan Lawmakers To Consider Banning Online Pornography Entirely

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