Online porn to be targeted again by Legislature in 2025

Attorney General Marty Jackley reaffirms support for age verification

Photo by Shyam Mishra on Unsplash

A bill that ignited fierce debate in the closing days of South Dakota’s 2024 legislative session is still casting a shadow over the state Capitol, as proponent lawmakers plot the return of a bill to require age verification for websites hosting content deemed “harmful to minors.”

Rep. Bethany Soye, R-Sioux Falls, is leading the charge with a new version of her 2024 bill, which was defeated in the Senate after passing the House with ease. The revised legislation would require websites that “create, host, or make available material harmful to minors” to implement strict age verification methods, such as government-issued IDs or other “reliable means” of confirming a user’s age. Websites would receive one written warning before facing prosecution, and the bill now includes criminal penalties for deceptive trade practices.

“The pornography industry is not welcome here in South Dakota to prey on our children,” Soye said. “Their innocence is not for sale. We must protect our kids, and I urge my colleagues to stand with me.”

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