NC lawmakers vote to require age verification on pornographic websites

The North Carolina General Assembly voted by a wide, bipartisan margin Thursday to require age verification on pornographic websites in North Carolina.

The proposal bubbled up — at least publicly — Thursday afternoon, and by 11 p.m. lawmakers had voted to send it to Gov. Roy Cooper to sign into law. Republican state senators added the requirement to House Bill 8, a previously unrelated measure that would add a computer science class to the state's high school graduation requirements.

Sen. Amy Galey, who offered the amendment, said seven other states have similar laws. She said traffic to pornographic websites in Louisiana dropped 80% after the law passed there.

The measure passed the North Carolina Senate unanimously, then passed the House 102-8.

The bill says website owners must use a "commercially available database" or "another commercially reasonable method of age and identity verification," and it forbids website operators and vendors they rely on for age verification from retaining information on site users.

The bill also sets up a process for parents whose minor children are able to access pornography online to sue providers. Internet service providers and search engines would not be liable.

Democratic senators attempted to graft this idea into an anti-drag-show bill the Republican majority moved through the state Senate in May. Republican senators tabled that proposal, which also would have assessed a 6.9% tax on pornographic website revenues.

Pornhub.com, one of the country's largest pornographic websites, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I think this is an incredibly important bill … to protect our children," said Galey, R-Alamance.