South Birmingham Times

Two bills introduced by State Senator Clyde Chambliss have passed the Senate Children and Youth Health Committee. These bills aim to protect minors from explicit content on smartphones and apps.

Senate Bill 186 mandates that manufacturers of internet-enabled devices, such as smartphones and tablets, include a filter to block explicit content for users identified as minors. This filter must be active upon device activation and can only be deactivated with a password. Manufacturers violating this requirement could face civil liability and penalties.

Senate Bill 187 requires app store providers to verify user ages, link minor accounts with parent accounts, and obtain parental consent.

Chambliss explained the focus of each bill: “One is more geared towards the app, the app store. One is more geared towards a filter and websites and that sort of thing.” He emphasized the intent behind these measures: “We’re here to try to protect our children from the digital version of what we already protect them from on the physical side.”

Stephanie Smith, president and CEO of the Alabama Policy Institute, expressed her support for both bills. She stated, “My hope is that instead of opposing this bill manufacturers will be proud of their technical genius and help parents instead of creating hoops and barriers for them to protect their own kids."

Opposition came from Justin Hill, a lobbyist with NetChoice trade association. He referred to previous legislation regarding age verification for pornographic sites in Alabama: “They really want a law like this one today because they don’t want the responsibility. They’re the content providers,” Hill said.