AVPA ditches support for California age assurance bill after amendment

The Age Verification Provider’s Association (AVPA) has withdrawn its support for California’s online age verification bill in response to amendments that remove the requirement for pornography websites to check the age of their users.

AB 3080 passed the state legislature in a 65-0 vote prior to the introduction of the amendments by the State Senate Judiciary Committee.

AVPA Executive Director Iain Corby said the change “legitimizes the ineffective status quo.” The AVPA laid out its argument for why the amendment would render the legislation ineffective in a recent LinkedIn post.

The amendment introduces two clauses, one of which requires pornographic sites to be labeled as such; a practice already in place. The second shifts responsibility for age checks to web browsers, which are neither capable of fulfilling that responsibility, nor likely to be held to it by the courts, according to a letter from AVPA to the Committee.

“The result of this amendment is that the porn sites need do nothing different from today, and when the Bill comes into force absolutely nothing will change,” writes the AVPA. “Not one child in California will be better protected from exposure to pornography as a result of this Bill with this amendment included.”

The group explains the available age assurance methods, from online banking integration to biometric facial age estimation, the standards and certifications that support them, and common misconceptions.

California Family Council (CFC) also expressed its “profound disappointment” with the decision.

“By making age verification optional, the Committee has bowed to the demands of the pornographic industry rather than protecting our children,” says Greg Burt, VP of the CFC.

The pornography industry, in contrast, is now on board, The Sacramento Bee reports. The Free Speech Coalition has dropped its opposition to the bill after the bill dropped the imposition of responsibility for age checks on porn sites.

Ultimately, the AVPA calls for the Committee to “remove the wrecking amendment.”

Article Topics

age verification  |  AVPA  |  biometrics  |  California  |  children  |  legislation