Utah seeks to block pornographic content on smartphones

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WASHINGTON, March 25, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The governor of Utah on Wednesday
announced a new law requiring an anti-pornography filter on smartphones and
tablets sold in the conservative Mormon-majority US state.

The law, which Republican Spencer Cox said he had signed the night before,
would penalize manufacturers failing to include the filter between $10 and
$500 per violation.

Backed by conservative lawmakers in the western state — where members of
the Mormon Church make up two-thirds of the population — the measure would
only take effect in the unlikely event that five other states pass similar
laws.

In practice, the reform could look like the reverse of parental controls
on existing devices sold by tech companies such as Apple and Google, in which
the filters are by default turned off.

People who want to be able to access content seen as potentially harmful
would have to ask for a code to unblock the automatic filter.

Opponents such as the Utah branch of the American Civil Liberties Union
say the constraints would encroach on the right to unrestricted internet
access.