Sen. Lee Introduces SCREEN Act to Require Age Verification for Online Pornography
The SCREEN Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently introduced in the Senate and sent to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for review. No further actions are scheduled at this time, and the bill is waiting for the committee to decide on its next steps.
Similar state laws are currently tied up in court over free speech issues, and this federal version faces a long path through a divided Congress.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Smaller adult content platforms and websites that host some user-generated adult content would need to build or purchase age verification systems within one year of the law taking effect. This creates new compliance costs for technology, auditing, and data security that could be especially burdensome for smaller operations compared to large platforms that already have the technical infrastructure.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade advanced the SCREEN Act (H.R. 1623), which requires websites with sexually explicit content to implement age verification systems, similar to ID checks in physical stores, to prevent minors from accessing adult content.
The House Energy and Commerce committee is advancing a slate of 18 proposals, including the SCREEN Act (H.R. 1623), aimed at shielding children from egregious online exposure. The package includes federal preemption language that limits states' ability to regulate tech companies independently.
The SCREEN Act mandates that commercial pornographic websites implement robust age verification technologies. It prohibits simple age attestation, requires IP address verification, and gives the FTC enforcement authority to treat violations as deceptive business practices.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
SCREEN Act
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