FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7th, 2025
Contact: Ashley Vaughan
[email protected]
BILL REQUIRING AGE VERIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS IN PORNOGRAPHIC IMAGES FILED IN NC HOUSE
Today, HB 805, a bill aimed at ending exploitations in the pornography industry, was filed in the NC house. The “Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act” requires that pornography websites verify that people on their websites are at least 18 years old and have consented, in writing, to be there. The bill makes a way for those who have been exploited by pornography websites to have content removed and provides significant financial penalties for violations.
It is a critical time to protect children from exploitation by the pornography industry because online child sexual abuse material is on the rise. In the US, reports have grown exponentially in recent years, from 3,000 reports in 1998 to more than 1,000,000 in 2014 and 18,400,000 in 2018. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recorded more than 29,300,000 reports of suspected child sexual abuse material in 2021, the highest number of reports ever received in a single year and a 35 percent increase from 2020.
Tami Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the North Carolina Values Coalition, praised the bill for its protection of vulnerable individuals, saying, “We are proud to support the introduction of this important bill, which is a critical step in safeguarding vulnerable individuals from exploitation by the pornography industry. It’s time to permanently put a stop to sexual exploitation of children in North Carolina.”
The bill is sponsored by Representatives Neal Jackson, Laura Budd, Sarah Stevens, and Jennifer Balkcom.
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