Oklahoma House Passes Bill To Hold Companies Liable For Publishing Obscene Material

The Oklahoma House has passed a bill geared toward protecting children from obscene material online. 

House Bill 3097, would make commercial entities liable for publishing or distributing obscene material to minors. 

The bill would require any website that has pornography to have an age verification system. It would allow parents or the Attorney General to sue any companies that don’t comply. On Monday, lawmakers agreed children need protection from specific online material.  

“It is the right thing to do,” said Rep. Jim Olsen, R-Roland, on the House floor on Monday. 

However, Fugate and Rep. Toni Hasenbeck, R-Elgin, disagreed on how to accomplish that goal. “I don’t believe there’s any member of this body who believes that porn is good for kids,” said Rep. Andy Fugate, D-OKC, on the House floor on Monday. 

Hasenbeck authored the bill. "We are simply trying to make it more difficult for minors to actually consume pornography in the state of Oklahoma,” Hasenbeck said. 

Fugate said the bill is redundant and pointed out current Oklahoma law. “Title 21 section 1040.8 already prohibits the publication of obscene material,” Fugate said. 

Hasenbeck said people should be allowed to sue companies that fail to verify the ages of people who consume adult content. “If the pornography dealer is not using a really good verified-age verification system, they’re gonna have problems,” she said. 

Fugate said this bill could step on the rights of adults to view material online. “This bill is one-hundred percent government governmental parenting, and it does it at the expense of first amendment rights of adults,” Fugate said. 

Fugate agreed children need online safeguards, but he argued this bill provides what already exists. “Parents can already restrict what their kids can view,” Fugate said. “This bill is unnecessary.” 

Some lawmakers are concerned that online verification systems could compromise people’s personal information. Despite the debate on the House floor, this bill passed 85-13. It now heads to the Senate for consideration. Click here for information on other bills that made their way through the legislature on Monday.