By Logan Finney, Idaho Reports
The Senate with a 17-18 vote on Thursday narrowly rejected legislation that sought to protect Idaho children from pornography.
Senate Bill 1163 would have required device manufacturers to include filter software that “prevents a user from accessing or downloading material that is harmful to minors” over the internet, which could be enabled immediately upon the device’s activation in Idaho.
“It is already installed on the phones, and for some reason, they don’t make it easy to access,” said Assistant Majority Leader Abby Lee, R-Fruitland. “This legislation sends a message that we want solutions instead of just opposition.”
A manufacturer would have been subject to civil and criminal liability if they did not include a filter and a minor used their device to access harmful materials. Individuals who knowingly disabled a filter to allow a child to access harmful materials would be liable for a misdemeanor and up to a $1,000 fine on the first offense.
“Don’t show my kids pornography, or my grandkids,” Cook said. “If you do, you should be fined.”
Cook said the bill would not create an undue burden on manufacturers because they already program their smart device features based on geographic location. For example, he said, clock displays on phones across Idaho automatically changed last weekend while those on devices in Arizona did not because that state does not observe daylight savings time.
Cook repeatedly urged his fellow senators to disregard recent industry lobbying against the bill, as well as its negative 5 score from the Idaho Freedom Foundation.
“I am asking you to do this for the kids,” Cook said.
As floor debate continued, it became apparent that lawmakers were supportive of preventing kids from accessing pornography but heavily conflicted on the bill itself.
“They did not create the device to distribute pornography. It can do a trillion things,” said Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle. “Don’t give your kids one of these devices if you think they’re evil.”
Holding device manufacturers responsible for what content appears on their devices would be akin to holding car manufacturers responsible for what content plays over the car radio, Herndon said.
“There’s something I hate more than children accessing pornography, and that’s a government [mandated] filter on my phone,” said Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa.
Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, said he felt the bill was unnecessary because there are already filters and other tools available to parents who want to limit the content their children can access.
With 17 votes in favor and 18 against, the legislation died in the Senate.
“This bill would do some good,” said Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, but he did not believe it was proper for the government to place requirements on private manufacturers. “We’re entering into an arena that, I believe, belongs to the individual, or the individual’s parents if they are a minor.”
Logan Finney | Associate Producer
Logan Finney is a North Idaho native with a passion for media production and boring government meetings. He grew up skiing, hunting and hiking in the mountains of Bonner County and has maintained a lifelong interest in the state’s geography, history and politics. Logan joined the Idaho Reports team in 2020 as a legislative session intern and stayed to cover the COVID-19 pandemic. He was hired as an associate producer in 2021 and they haven’t been able to get rid of him since.
