Updated: Arkansas House Passes Bill Protecting Children From Internet Pornography
On Tuesday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed legislation to help protect children from pornography online.
S.B. 66 by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Mindy McAlindon (R – Centerton) requires pornographic websites to implement an age verification process to protect children from pornography.
This good bill passed with nearly unanimous support in the Arkansas Senate last month, and it received unanimous approval in the House Rules Committee as well.
S.B. 66 requires pornographic websites to verify users are 18 or older using a government-issued ID or another commercially available age-verification method.
In practice, this means porn sites would rely on IDs like a driver’s license to prevent minors from accessing pornographic material online.
Websites that violate S.B. 66 could be held liable under the law.
Similar legislation has been offered in other states.
Technology has given children unprecedented access to pornography. Among other things, pornography is believed to contribute to mental health problems.
S.B. 66 would help address this problem in Arkansas.
The bill now goes to the Arkansas Senate for concurrence in amendments made to the bill, and then to Governor Sanders to be signed into law.
The Following Representatives Voted For S.B. 66
- Achor
- Andrews
- Barker
- Beaty Jr.
- Beck
- Bentley
- M. Berry
- S. Berry
- Breaux
- Brooks
- K. Brown
- M. Brown
- Burkes
- Joey Carr
- John Carr
- Cavenaugh
- C. Cooper
- Cozart
- Crawford
- Dalby
- Duffield
- Duke
- Eaves
- Eubanks
- Evans
- C. Fite
- L. Fite
- Fortner
- Furman
- Gazaway
- Gonzales
- Haak
- Hawk
- D. Hodges
- G. Hodges
- Holcomb
- Hollowell
- Jean
- L. Johnson
- Ladyman
- Long
- Lundstrum
- Lynch
- Maddox
- J. Mayberry
- McAlindon
- McCollum
- M. McElroy
- McGrew
- B. McKenzie
- McNair
- S. Meeks
- Milligan
- J. Moore
- K. Moore
- Painter
- Pearce
- Pilkington
- Puryear
- Ray
- Richmond
- Rose
- Rye
- Schulz
- R. Scott Richardson
- Steimel
- Tosh
- Underwood
- Unger
- Vaught
- Walker
- Wardlaw
- Warren
- Wing
- Womack
- Wooldridge
- Wooten
The Following Representatives Voted Against S.B. 66
- Ennett
- Hudson
- Perry
- Springer
The Following Representatives Voted “Present” on S.B. 66
- F. Allen
- Clowney
- A. Collins
- D. Ferguson
- V. Flowers
- D. Garner
- Magie
- McCullough
- Nicks
- J. Richardson
- Scott
- T. Shephard
- Watson
- D. Whitaker
The Following Representatives Did Not Vote
- K. Ferguson
- Gramlich*
- McClure
- Miller
- Speaker Matthew Shepherd
*Rep. Gramlich was absent on Tuesday, and granted leave by Speaker Shepherd.
A previous version of this article said the bill was sent to Gov. Sanders to be signed into law. The bill must first go back to the Arkansas Senate for the senators to concur in amendments made to the bill in the Arkansas House of Representatives.
