South Dakota Lawmakers Push for Study on Age Verification Laws

PIERRE, S.D.—The South Dakota state legislature is pushing for a bill to compel the executive committee of the Legislative Research Council to study the potential impacts of a mandatory age verification requirement for pornography websites. Ironically, the proposal for a study has the same designation as an age verification bill that was killed in the legislative calendar. AVN reported that House Bill 1257, introduced by Republican state Rep. Bethany Soye, will not be revisited until next year. The bill made it through the House of Representatives but was deferred by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Documentation shows that the committee deferred the bill to the 41st day of the legislative session. But there are only 40 legislative days in 2024. Now, House Bill 1257, which still bears Soye's name as a prime sponsor, is a shell of its former self. The bill now states: "The Executive Board of the Legislative Research Council shall establish an interim study committee to assess the ability and opportunity to regulate by law minors' access to internet content that contains pornographic material." Substack-based outlet The Dakota Scout reports that the bill's top supporters aren't pleased with the changes in the language. If Soye had her way and the bill was adopted in its original form, South Dakota would be the next U.S. state to adopt mandatory "reasonable" age verification requiring legal adults logging onto porn sites from local IP addresses to submit an ID. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Dakota came out in opposition to Soye's original bill. Samantha Chapman, the advocacy manager for the local ACLU, voiced this opposition in an op-ed published by The Dakota Scout. "The internet can feel like the wild west, a place where people of all ages, including children, are just a few clicks away from encountering explicit content," writes Chapman. "But House Bill 1257, a bill aimed at limiting minors’ access to online content, would ultimately violate the constitutional rights of adult South Dakotans."