FRANKFORT, KY – The Family Foundation applauds the Kentucky Senate for passing HB 278 by Rep. Matt Lockett with online pornography protections for children. The bill was passed with a bipartisan vote of 36-0 after the Senate adopted an amendment by Sen. Gex Williams containing the online protections for children. The amended HB 278 can now be concurred by the House before heading to Governor Beshear.
The amended bill requires any website that knowingly publishes or distributes material that is harmful to minors to verify that the viewers are over the age of 18. At least 9 states have passed similar legislation, including a bill in Texas that was recently upheld by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Studies have shown that the average age of first exposure to pornography is between 7 and 13, and that by the age of 17, about 75% of adolescents have been exposed to pornography.
Statement from David Walls, executive director of The Family Foundation:
“Kentucky families are facing the harrowing task of protecting their children from a wide range of online harms – including pornography and its devastating consequences. We must stand up to protect our children from the massive porn industry that should be protecting kids rather than profiting from them.
“We are thankful for the bipartisan vote in the Kentucky Senate to protect children from online pornography. We encourage the Kentucky House to move quickly to concur on HB 278 to send this important legislation protecting kids to the Governor,” Walls concluded.
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The Family Foundation is the leading Christian public policy organization in Kentucky and stands for Kentucky families and the Biblical values that make them strong. Learn more at kentuckyfamily.org.
