Last week, the state of Indiana joined eight other states in passing legislation that implements age-verification procedures for pornographic websites to help ensure minors do not gain access to explicit content. The bill states that websites that do not comply could be fined up to $250,000.

Ironically, the very same day that the Indiana Senate passed this important piece of legislation, South Dakota’s state Senators killed our state’s version of the bill, HB 1257.

Despite the fact that HB 1257 addressed concerns about data privacy by requiring that no personally identifiable information of adult users be saved or stored in any way, opponents of the bill complained that this type of legislation would “never work” or be effective.

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

If these laws were so ineffective, why would “adult entertainment groups” and online porn companies be filing lawsuits to stop the laws? Texas’ Attorney General Ken Paxton’s recent victory over this type of lawsuit demonstrates that these age-verification laws are well-written and stand up in court. Further, the fact that PornHub has been virtually shut down in several states speaks to the effectiveness of age-verification laws.

Here is a breakdown of which South Dakota senators supported these common sense measures to protect our children, and who opposed:

So, what’s next for South Dakota? Family Voice will keep pressing forward with this issue because our children’s safety depends on it. Always remember that you have a strong voice and influence with your elected officials, too; consider reaching out to yours to thank them for their courage on this issue, or, if your senator opposed HB 1257, let them know you are disappointed.