FSC: ‘Thousands of Alabamians Call for Repeal’ of State’s Age-Verification Law

The assertion is based on data collected by the FSC’s “Defend Online Privacy” portal, a website which enables users to send a “customized message” to their state representatives. According to the data, “Alabamians have sent over 5,000 messages to their state officials since the law took effect,” FSC said.

As FSC noted in its statement today, HB164 mandates age-verification for all visitors, along with the display of “a pseudoscientific ‘public health warning,’” and a “10% tax on the gross revenue of any company that operates an adult website.”

“Additionally, adult performers who appear in commercially distributed content must have their model releases signed by a notary,” FSC added in the statement.

FSC Executive Director Alison Boden said residents of the state “are right to be outraged.”

“They, like all Americans, should be able to access the internet without sacrificing their privacy,” Boden said. “We share their anger and hope that Alabama’s elected officials will listen to their constituents and repeal HB164.”

FSC describes DefendOnlinePrivacy.com as a “50-state portal that connects voters affected by age-verification laws with their legislators.”

“Platforms that block a state in response to an age-verification law can reroute their traffic to the portal to explain their decision and let those affected by these laws turn outrage into action,” FSC noted in the statement.

The index page of the portal offers an interactive map of the United States, offering the user the ability to select any state. The page observes that “Legislatures across the US have been passing age verification requirements for websites that contain content they deem harmful to minors.”

“Age verification software requires a user to transmit extremely sensitive data – digitized copies of their government-issued identification, biometric scans, or other forms of up data used by commercial providers – over the internet,” FSC notes on the portal, adding that this practice “isn’t just unconstitutional, it’s dangerous.” The site also has a section offering links to additional information on state age-verification laws, including the FSC’s Age Verification Bill Tracker.