Hobbs signed age verification for porn law. Even the bill's sponsor was surprised

A new Arizona law will require people to provide identification to verify their age in order to watch pornography. It faces free-speech concerns.

The bill Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed last week requires porn sites to verify viewers are over 18.

Opponents of the bill say they were surprised by Hobbs since the bill had almost no Democratic support in the Legislature and she vetoed a similar bill last year.

Some Democrats pitched parental controls as a better, more effective option.

“This legislation goes against settled case law. Children’s online safety is a pressing issue for parents and the state. While we look for a solution, it should be bipartisan and work within the bounds of the First Amendment, which this bill does not,” Hobbs wrote in her veto of House Bill 2586 last year.

Free Speech Coalition lobbyist Mike Stabile is scratching his head about what’s changed and said Hobbs didn’t respond to opponents’ concerns this year, and he speculated that her decision was political.

“You had Democrats vote almost - almost entirely on party lines to oppose this bill. We had LGBTQ groups, we had reproductive rights groups. We had, you know, librarians screaming about the potential issues and the potential for abuse with these bills,” he said.

Hobbs said on Thursday that she signed the bill this time because of parent feedback.

“I heard from parents across the state about their concerns about the harm caused by materials that children are exposed to online,” she said on Thursday.

Stabile said it’s strange to sign this bill considering how similar legislation is playing out all over the country.

The language of the bill refers to websites with “sexual material that is harmful to minors.” Stabile said he and other opponents are concerned about how that may be interpreted.

He referred to Project 2025, a plan developed by a conservative thinktank to reshape the federal government.

Project 2025 calls for making pornography illegal.

“Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children … has no claim to First Amendment protection. Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women. Their product is as addictive as any drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime,” the plan states.

Stabile said he’s worried that Arizona’s new law could be used to censor access to LGBTQ+ materials.

Free speech advocates challenged a Texas age-verification bill recently before the U.S. Supreme Court. A ruling is expected some time in the next few months.

Stabile questioned why Hobbs didn’t just wait to see how the law might be allowed to apply.

Even the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Nick Kupper (R-Surprise), said in a post on social media that he was surprised Hobbs signed his bill.

Kupper said in a committee hearing that his bill follows the Texas legislation.

He also said his bill will not allow anyone’s data to go public and that the bill is purely meant to protect children.

“Hardcore pornography has been just one click away from kids for too long, and the companies behind it have looked the other way while cashing in. This law forces them to take responsibility and keeps minors off their platforms. I’m proud Arizona is stepping up to hold these companies accountable. Protecting children online shouldn’t be a partisan fight,” Kupper said in a statement following the bill’s signing.