In an extreme legislative move, Utah governor Spencer Cox signed a bill on Tuesday that requires any phone or tablet sold in the state to come with a filter that blocks pornographic content. Utah activists have had a longtime plan to eradicate porn in the state, something that the opposition calls an infringement on freedom of speech. The bill was allegedly written to help parents keep their kids away from porn, especially as younger and younger children have access to technology.
According to the sponsor of the bill, Representative Susan Pulishper, the filter can be removed from the phone, but the idea is that kids would never dare to have that conversation with parents, so it would prevent them from accessing the content until they’re older.
It does not appear that the punishment for not implementing the filter is very severe, however. Each violation comes alongside a $10 fine, and the fines are capped at $500. Cox considers the bill to be more about sending an “important message” than anything else, but this is likely a moot point considering that five other states would need to pass similar bills in order for it to take effect.
What do you think, should phones come with a filter that blocks out explicit content? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
[Via]