Judge dismisses lawsuit against age verification requirement for pornography sites in Utah
Aug 1, 2023, 5:25 PM | Updated: 6:01 pm
FILE - The Utah Capitol is shown on March 3, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (Rick Bowmer /Associated Press)
(Rick Bowmer /Associated Press)
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s new law that makes pornography sites verify the ages of users will stay in place for now.
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Free Speech Coalition against the state, ruling that he did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
Pornhub Case Dismiss by Simone Seikaly on Scribd
The trade group, which included adult sites like Pornhub, argued that S.B. 287 infringes on the free speech rights of users by requiring them to show government identification before being allowed access.
The state sought to throw the lawsuit out because it tried to stop Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and the head of Utah’s Department of Public Safety from enforcing S.B. 287. The judge’s dismissal sites that Reyes and the Department of Public Safety are not the agencies charged with enforcing the age verification mandate.
In a tweet after the decision was announced, the Free Speech Coalition said they will “now fully appeal,” the district court’s decision.
This morning, a district court judge granted a Motion to Dismiss in our challenge to Utah’s age-verification law — a decision FSC will now fully appeal. We always knew the fight would be tough, and we’ve come prepared.
See you in court, Utah (again).https://t.co/8COnzKUlQQ
— Free Speech Coalition (@FSCArmy) August 1, 2023
Pornhub went dark for users in Utah in May of this year due to this law.
This story will be updated.
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