[{"_1":2,"_83":-5,"_84":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,73],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":-5,"_67":68,"_69":-5,"_70":71,"_72":71},"mediaId",6410244,"mediaKeyId","2708972-513a7701e2ac3ba1d6db308d4f1ae09b","parentId",2708972,"title","Wisconsin committee hears hours of testimony on bill requiring age verification for online adult content","audioSeconds",8166,"startMs",234000,"endMs",8400000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2708972-513a7701e2ac3ba1d6db308d4f1ae09b&start=234&end=8400","thumbnailUrl","https://d352y6ypj4mjo3.cloudfront.net/AudioPlaceholder.png","articleUrl","/articles/6410244/Wisconsin-committee-hears-hours-of-testimony-on-bill-requiring-age-verification-for-online-adult-content","mediaUrl","author","Wisconsin Legislature","date","2025-03-12T00:00:00Z","article","The Assembly Committee on State Affairs convened a public hearing on Assembly Bill 105, which would require sites that host a substantial amount of explicit material to use a reasonable age‑verification method to ensure users are 18 or older and prohibit retaining identifying information after verification.

Supporters told the committee that the measure is intended to reduce minors’ exposure to sexually explicit material and described evidence they said links early exposure to mental‑health and behavioral harms. Representative Gobeid, the bill’s author, told the committee AB105 is modeled on similar laws in other states and said the measure includes privacy protections preventing sites or third‑party verifiers from retaining identifying data after an age check. “This bill provides [a] responsible, thoughtful approach to safeguarding minors from harmful online contact by requiring reasonable age verification,” Gobeid said.

The bill’s backers included witnesses from conservative and faith‑based organizations who described personal and pastoral experience with early exposure and addiction and cited academic studies they said show correlations between early exposure and later harms. Samuel Krebs, legislative and policy director for Wisconsin Family Action, summarized studies and anecdotal accounts and urged the committee to advance the bill, saying other states have enacted similar measures. Pastor John Tilstra and several other faith‑based witnesses described moral and community harms they attribute to widespread access.

The bill drew sustained opposition from the ACLU of Wisconsin and other privacy advocates. Amanda Merkway, advocacy director for the ACLU of Wisconsin, said AB105 raises significant privacy and First Amendment concerns because any workable age‑verification scheme requires collection of sensitive information from all users, including adults. She warned that even with a statutory nondisclosure requirement, verifying age commonly involves uploading a government ID, facial‑biometric checks, credit‑card transaction checks or other data that could be retained, transferred, or breached. “The act of uploading an ID to a website carries far greater privacy risks,” Merkway said, and she cited pending litigation over similar laws in other states.

Committee members repeatedly pressed both the author and witnesses on practical and legal issues: how “substantial amount” would be measured, how out‑of‑state or international sites would be enforced, whether the bill’s prohibitions on retaining identifying data are practically enforceable across jurisdictions and data brokers, and whether device- or browser‑level parental controls could be less intrusive alternatives. Legal counsel told the committee the bill places a prohibition on knowingly retaining identifying information and that chapter 100 (as referenced in the hearing) provides criminal penalties for violations, including fines and possible jail time for a person who violates chapter 100. Committee members also asked about the definition of “substantial amount”; counsel said the bill’s draft treats “substantial portion” as one‑third or more of site content for the purposes discussed in the hearing.

Witnesses on both sides acknowledged technical limits: minors can use VPNs, tour browsers, or other workarounds; sites can be hosted internationally; and enforcement against all offending servers would be difficult. Supporters said those technical limits are not a reason to avoid setting a legal standard and that other states have implemented similar laws. Opponents said the law could produce chilling effects on lawful adult speech, create data‑security risks, and lead to opportunistic lawsuits by private plaintiffs seeking to restrict content.

No committee vote on AB105 occurred at the hearing. The chair indicated the committee would meet in executive session the following day for further action. The hearing record includes extended questioning by Representatives Sunicki, Kirsch, Roe, Wiecki, Snickie and others, and multiple witnesses representing advocacy groups, faith communities, schools and parents.

For now, AB105 remains at the public‑hearing stage; the committee heard extensive testimony on enforceability, privacy safeguards, alternative approaches such as device or platform filtering, and constitutional risk given pending litigation over similar statutes in other states.","mediaType","Audio","parentTitle","Assembly Committee on State Affairs March 12, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Assembly Committee on State Affairs convened a public hearing on Assembly Bill 105, which would require sites that host a substantial amount of explicit material to use a reasonable age‑verification method to ensure users are 18 or older and prohibit retaining identifying information after verification.","taxTitle","taxId",0,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":74,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":75,"_41":76,"_43":77,"_45":78,"_47":79,"_49":50,"_51":80,"_53":-5,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":81,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":82,"_66":-5,"_67":68,"_69":-5,"_70":71,"_72":71},6410221,"Committee recommends passage of AB98 and AB99 in executive session; roll calls recorded",79,77000,156000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2708972-513a7701e2ac3ba1d6db308d4f1ae09b&start=77&end=156","/articles/6410221/Committee-recommends-passage-of-AB98-and-AB99-in-executive-session-roll-calls-recorded","The Assembly Committee on State Affairs met in executive session and recommended passage of two separate legislative council study committee bills before convening the public hearing on AB105.

Assembly Bill 98 — Counsel summarized AB98 as a bill that would require public schools to allow students who are tribal members, descendants of tribal members, or eligible to be enrolled as tribal members to wear tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies and school‑sponsored events. The committee received a motion to recommend passage and the clerk conducted a roll call. The roll call recorded a majority of members voting aye; Representative Roe was recorded as voting no. The committee carried the roll into the public hearing at the chair’s direction.

Assembly Bill 99 — Counsel summarized AB99 as a bill allowing a federally recognized tribe or band in the state to make a copy of a vital record for use by the tribe or band. The committee moved to recommend passage of AB99; the clerk called the roll and the motion carried with recorded ayes.

The executive session concluded and the committee opened the public hearing on AB105. The hearing record shows the motions were made and seconded on the record and the clerk conducted roll calls before adjourning the executive session.","In the committee's executive session preceding the AB105 hearing, members moved to recommend passage of Assembly Bill 98 and Assembly Bill 99. Clerks called the roll and the committee recorded predominantly affirmative votes; one member was recorded voting no on AB98.","actionData","errors"]

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Wisconsin committee hears hours of testimony on bill requiring age verification for online adult content

Committee recommends passage of AB98 and AB99 in executive session; roll calls recorded