Utah is in in midst of an anti-pornography battle that could change the way iPhone users spend their alone time. To protect minors from adult content, the state's House of Representatives' HB72 Bill will force an iPhone porn filter.
The Bill does aim to be a more blanket approach than just an iPhone porn filter. Utah wants all smartphones and tablets to follow this trend, although Apple is the key target. With Apple’s already substantial child safety features, it would be an easy addition to iOS, but what about other hardware?
What is the Utah HB72 Bill?
The Utah HB72 Bill is targeting adult content on iOS devices to make online browsing friendlier for minors. The Bill aims to make the adult filters on smartphones and tablets compulsory for Utah citizens.
This will make it so that phone manufacturers will automatically limit adult content until a customer manually disables it. Users will then have to get a passcode from the manufacturer that will make adult content accessible.
The HB72 Bill will make it so that any device released without an automatic adult filter will be fined. If a minor accesses “harmful" content with “any description or representation” of sexual content, the company can be fined $10 per instance.
When will the iPhone porn filter be introduced?
The iPhone porn filter will only be an issue if other states rally the decision. Utah has already passed the Bill which will come into effect on the first day of January, 2022. However, the iPhone porn filter will likely not matter at all until other states join in on the decision. The HB72 Bill isn't expected to become an issue until at least five other states decide to sign as well.
Some American politicians are already speaking up against the introduction of the Bill. Via The Verge, Senator Kathleen Riebe has expressed belief that the introduction of a mandatory filter in one state will lead to an “undue burden" on interstate commerce. Senator Jake Anderegg expressed a similar concern by placing this burden on software developers instead of sellers.
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