PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed legislation that would have required pornographic websites to verify the age of their users in Arizona before permitting access.
House Bill 2586 would have subjected companies operating adult-themed websites to civil liability if they published explicit material online without performing a reasonable age-verification method.
Supporters of the bill insisted it was needed to protect children from age-inappropriate content, while opponents argued the legislation amounted to a form of government surveillance and censorship.
According to the language of the bill, the commercial entity performing the age-verification process would not be able to retain any of the individual's identifying information after access is granted to the content.
The legislation appears to be an attempt to replicate a similar bill recently passed in Texas requiring an age-verification process for adult websites in that state. The attorney general of Texas has already begun to sue major companies operating pornographic websites accused of not following the new verification law.
Arkansas, Utah, Montana, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia have enacted similar age-verification laws over the last couple of years, according to the Associated Press.
Arizona's version of the bill passed through the Arizona Legislature with little support from Democrats.
Gov. Hobbs argued the bill "goes against settled case law."
"Children's online safety is a pressing issue for parents and the state," Hobbs wrote in her veto letter. "While we look for a solution, it should be bipartisan and work within the bounds of the First Amendment, which this bill does not."
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression urged Hobbs to veto the bill, claiming it would have violated "the right to anonymous speech" for adults wishing to access these websites.
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