Idaho Senate Advances Porn Filter Legislation

BOISE, Idaho—A bill proposed in the Idaho state legislature to require mobile device manufacturers to enable porn filters on devices given to children by their parents or guardians has advanced through the Senate with bipartisan support. The proposal, Senate Bill (SB) 1253, is now referred to the House State Affairs Committee for a hearing and has been introduced on first reading. SB 1253 is similar to legislation proposed in other states, like Utah. The difference between the Idaho and Utah bills is that the Utah proposal would implement criminal penalties on those who violate the requirement to enable porn filters on devices at the point of sale. But the bills are very similar, right down to their titles—like the Utah proposal, Idaho's SB 1253 has been dubbed the Children's Device Protection Act. The bill was proposed by Republican state Sen. Kevin Cook of the community of Idaho Falls, who introduced a version of it in the previous legislative session in 2023, which the Senate narrowly rejected. The Idaho legislature is controlled by a GOP super-majority, and the head of the executive branch is Republican Gov. Brad Little. AVN reported on Sen. Cook's proposal earlier this month.