Obscene content is robbing kids of their innocence.
Here are a few startling figures:
The average age of first exposure to pornography is 11 years old.
More than 20% of traffic to pornographic sites is by users under the age of 10.
Teens and young adults 13-24 believe not recycling is worse than viewing pornography.
This is appalling. Kids should be kids for as long as possible, and pornography is robbing them of this innocence.
Thankfully, Texas State Representative Nate Schatzline filed HB3570 to protect minors from sexually explicit content online. The legislation enables parents to sue pornographic websites if their child is exposed to this filth.
HB3570 also requires online sites to have age verification. Schatzline said his bill “forces internet companies to start taking concrete actions to prevent minors from accessing explicit content on their sites."
This bill mirrors Act No. 440 recently passed into law in Louisiana which requires residents to use their government ID to access sexually explicit websites or any websites that contain 33% or more pornographic content.
"Given the effects we have already seen from Louisiana's bill, I am very excited to file this in Texas so we too can protect our children from harmful material online," Rep. Schatzline said.
In the Bayou State, this act passed overwhelmingly with even 50 Democrats choosing to sponsor the bill.
Clearly, protecting our children is not a red or blue issue. So much so that even 16 states have declared pornography a public health crisis.
Texas Family Project will work with Rep. Schatzline to ensure this legislation passes through the House and looks forward to seeing Governor Abbott sign HB3570 into law. Together, we will ensure Texas has the same success as Louisiana and we will put the Lone Star State on a path to leading the pro-family movement.