Your iPhone could soon censor any adult legal material. The state of Utah has passed laws forcing all smartphones and tablets to filter pornography. The idea behind the bill, signed by Utah Governor Spencer Cox on March 24th, is that all devices sold within the state in the Mountain West region of the US will block all x-rated content – the box. A code to disable the automatic filters is sold by the manufacturer of the phone or tablet.
However, there will be an age verification process in place to ensure that only those old enough to access adult content can turn off the automatic filter. According to the bill, the company that did not automatically activate the filter when it was first activated could be legally held liable for harmful content accessed by minors.
The maximum fine is currently $ 10 for each individual violation. The bill is somewhat vague about what exactly constitutes “harmful” content, which may include “any description or representation” of nudity or sexual behavior that has no “artistic, political or scientific merit” to minors.
Apple, which is behind the iPhone, iPad and Mac, and Google, which develops Android – the world’s most mobile operating system – both have built-in parental controls in their software. However, none of these options are the default. Instead, users need to find and enable these options in Settings.
The anti-pornography group National Center for Sexual Exploitation, which was a strong voice for the bill, argues that these optional filters are too complicated to activate and “leave most parents helpless to protect their children online” . The Utah law aims to turn the dynamic around – and make the constraints a standard rather than an optional tool.
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An interesting limitation of the law in Utah, a state where more than half the population is Mormon, is that it will not come into effect until five other states pass equivalent laws. If none of its neighbors pass similar laws by 2031, the law will automatically be repealed. As a result, Utah is relying on other US states to step up plans to add filters before Apple, Google, Samsung, and dozens of other companies have to ship their devices with restrictions.
There is no such law for manufacturers in the UK. However, legislators have already introduced similar restrictions on Internet service providers. So when you buy a SIM card from O2, EE, and others, you won’t be able to visit any well-known adult websites until the user confirms that they are over 18 years old.
Initially, the block was activated in the UK when there was no indication that the owner of the phone (if it was contracted) or the SIM card (if it was just a SIM card) was over 18 years of age The user of the phone is under 18 years of age – regardless of the age of the bill payer.
