Small government for me, tyranny for thee: states intervening in online freedom of speech matters

Small government for me, tyranny for thee: states intervening in online freedom of speech matters

For those unaware of the political climate in the USA as of late, several states have either introduced or passed legislation mandating age verification for internet users accessing adult content-- which at face value is inherently good, by keeping adult content restricted to, well, adults, we can surely keep pornography and other adult content out of the minds of minors, however, these laws seem to force the sacrifice of all privacy online, due to them requiring age verification via providing a state-issued ID. Not to imply that these laws are partisan, however, the majority of these laws are being passed in Republican-controlled states... quite ironic coming from the party of "small governmennt." The only major exclusion to that pattern is California.

Breaking down the laws, state-by-state

California

California passed the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (CAADCA) in September 2022, with the law taking effect on July 1, 2024. The CAADCA seems to strongly encourage the usage of third-party verification services, such as AllPassTrust, which claims a near-infinite retention period on sensitive information (such as identity documents).

Utah

Utah passed Senate Bill 287, "ONLINE PORNOGRAPHY VIEWING AGE REQUIREMENTS" in May 2023, with the law taking effect immediately. SB 287 does not actively pursue websites serving such material that do not conduct verification, but rather allows Utah residents to sue sites for not conducting such verifications, as asserted by a U.S. District Court judge in tossing a lawsuit pertinent to the law. The law also doesn't contain any privacy protections or specific means for verifying the age of users.

SB 287 was introduced by Utah state senator Todd Weiler, a Republican from Woods Cross, a town in the southwestern area of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, and was signed into law by Utah governor Spencer Cox, a Republican from Fairview, a town south of Provo.