When someone in Kansas visits an adult site, they’ll see a pop-up window. To continue, the user must upload information proving they’re 18 or older. Some websites that don’t enforce this could face penalties worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Kansas has joined a national trend of states passing laws that supporters hope will protect children online. A rare bipartisan rallying cry, the issue of age verification for adult content raises hairy questions about how to balance safety, privacy and free expression online.
“It sounds good on the surface,” said Mulberry state Rep. Ken Collins, one of the only Kansas Republicans to vote against the law. “But I have concerns about exactly what the definition of ‘inappropriate material’ is … my idea of that and yours might be different.”