SALT LAKE CITY — A controversial legislative proposal that would require new mobile phones and tablets sold in Utah to come with preinstalled pornography filtering software to ostensibly protect children from potentially lewd content.

YNOT previously reported that State Rep. Susan Pulsipher, R-South Jordan, managed to successfully issue a revised version of House Bill (HB) 72. The bill was originally killed by a committee because some House Republicans saw issues with it. However, Rep. Pulsipher — with the help of anti-porn Republican Sen. Wayne A. Harper — managed to furnish a substitute proposal that apparently took into consideration the concerns of other lawmakers. The revised bill advanced out of committee with a slim vote of 6 to 5 in favor of its passage.

Considering this, HB 72 advanced through the House of Representatives with overwhelming support from the state legislature’s socially conservative Republican super-majority. Now, the Senate has advanced the bill and now awaits the signature of Republican Gov. Spencer Cox. We expect action soon, either a veto or a signature endorsing the bill as law, in the coming weeks, if not days.

Analysts and commentators, including myself, have compared HB 72 to a series of other bills that have made it through the Utah state legislature over the last few years.  For instance, the legislature and then-Republican Gov. Gary Herbert declared pornography a “public health crisis.” The legislature also approved a bill, last year, that requires pornography in Utah to come with a warning label like liquor or cigarettes. There is no proof of a “public health crisis” of this sort.

If House Bill 72 does become law, mandatory filters will be installed and add further restrictions to more than just the adult entertainment industry. Members of several Utah and national trade associations, tech companies, and First Amendment organizations have all announced their opposition to House Bill 72.

This near-unanimous opposition to House Bill 72 doesn’t seem to mean anything, though. With the law, the filtering software would have to be activated as a default option on future mobile devices sold in Utah. Naturally, this bill presents a variety of constitutional and moral dilemmas that run counter to the First Amendment.

For starters, manufacturers of mobile devices will face civil liabilities if they don’t comply with the new law. Device manufacturers like Apple, Google, Samsung, and Lenovo Group will have to install porn filtering software that is often developed by for-profit, faith-based companies with ties to anti-porn advocacy groups.

From a manufacturing standpoint, mass-producing these devices will experience supply chain issues. The majority of mobile devices used by Americans, including proud Utahns like Rep. Pulsipher, are manufactured in China, Taiwan, or South Korea. This also includes the installation of operating systems and pre-factory software.

All shipments of mobile devices, thusly, would require these filtering software platforms. Because of this mandate, the cost of producing and sending a device to market will be increased and could result in a massive product exit from the Utah market. On an interstate commerce issue, this legislation would impact international and state-state trade. That, itself, invites a crisis regarding the role and supremacy of the federal government and Congress. 

Frowny-face phone photo by freestocks.org from Pexels