House passes bill requiring activated porn filters on cellphones

The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill that would require cellphone and tablet manufacturers to make their devices automatically block access to pornography when activated in Alabama.

The sponsor, Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, said the intent is that manufacturers automatically turn on filters that are now turned off unless users take steps to activate them. The bill is called the Protection of Minors from Unfiltered Devices Act. Users would have a password to unblock a filtered website.

Sells has been proposed the bill for several years but it has not passed. The House approved it today by a vote of 70-8 with 24 abstentions. It moves to the Senate.

During discussion of the bill today, some lawmakers thanked Sells for proposing it several years in a row. Others said they agreed with intent of protecting young people from harmful online content but did not think Sells’ bill was the right approach. Some of their arguments were similar to those made at a public hearing on the bill last month, when a lobbyist for the wireless industry said it was not practical to expect manufacturers to make Alabama-specific devices. Others said effective filtering software is readily available for parents without the activation mandate.

Today, Rep. Ben Robbins, R-Sylacauga, proposed a substitute bill that would have targeted porn websites instead of device manufacturers. It would require the websites to pay a licensing fee to distribute porn in Alabama and to use age-verification measures to limit access to people under 18. But at Sells’ request, the House voted 56-30 to reject Robbins’ substitute bill.

The House added an amendment saying the bill would not create a cause for lawsuits against retailers. The amendment also said the bill would not authorize class-action lawsuits.

A manufacturer could be held liable for a minor’s exposure to harmful material for failure to follow the requirement for an activated filter and a minor is exposed to porn.

The bill moves to the Senate.