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Victory! California Bill To Impose Mandatory Internet ID Checks Is Dead—It Should Stay That Way

A misguided bill that would have required many people to show ID to get online has died without getting a floor vote in the California legislature, where key deadlines for bill passage passed this weekend. Thank you to our supporters for helping us to kill this wrongheaded bill, especially those of...

Bills that allow politicians to define what is “sexually explicit” content and then enact punishments for those who engage with it are inherently censorship bills—and they never stop with minors. Bills like this are similar to having state prosecutors insist on ID uploads in order to turn on Netflix, regardless of whether the movie you’re seeking is G-rated or R-rated. Tennessee’s age-verification bill even includes criminal penalties, allowing prosecutors to bring felony charges against anyone who “publishes or distributes”—i.e., links to—sexual material.

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