News

Anti-Porn Senator Introduces Federal Age Verification Bill

June 11, 2026

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Jim Banks of Indiana, who last month urged the Department of Justice to ramp up obscenity prosecutions, on Wednesday introduced a bill that would make age verification by adult websites federal law.

S 4741, titled the “Safety and Age Filtering Enforcement for Kids Act of 2026” or the “SAFE for Kids Act of 2026,” would require websites to age-verify users if more than one-third of hosted material is deemed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to be “sexual material harmful to minors.”

The bill largely resembles various state-level AV laws, but includes a “triple threat” enforcement regime. If the bill were to become law, it would not only enable the FTC to pursue civil penalties against alleged violators but would also allow the Department of Justice to pursue criminal charges, with “knowing” violations punishable by million-dollar fines and five-year prison sentences for company officers, directors or employees. In addition, the bill grants a broad private right of action, so any citizen could sue site operators for damages.

Pornography has become a signature issue for Banks, who in May urged Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to reestablish the Department of Justice’s defunct Obscenity Prosecution Task Force in a letter that repeatedly conflated obscenity with constitutionally protected speech.

The SAFE for Kids Act has been referred to the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Whether it gains traction may depend in part on how current efforts to enact broader online safety legislation play out. The proposed Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act, which would likewise make age verification by adult websites federal law, appears stalled for the moment and has been vocally opposed by some 44 state attorneys general, who argue that its protections are too weak.

If that legislation fails, the federal AV rule could still be addressed separately via Banks’ bill or the SCREEN Act, which similarly proposes a federal AV mandate. However, the SCREEN Act has so far also failed to advance.

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Polish Government Proposes AV Mandate for Adult Sites

June 5, 2026

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Council of Ministers on Tuesday endorsed a proposed national law that would require sites and platforms to age-verify users to prevent minors from accessing adult content online.

Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Michał Gramatyka called the proposed Act on the Protection of Minors Against Access to Pornographic Content “crucial.”

“Websites containing such content are currently not effectively protected against access, often accidental, by minors,” Gramatyka said.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the bill “does not impose specific technical solutions on providers, but rather specifies which age verification mechanisms are recommended.”

The ministry is advocating for the use of the European Digital Identity Wallet in implementing new AV requirements, explained Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Dariusz Standerski.

“We plan to launch secure and anonymous age verification by the end of 2026,” Standerski said.

Under the proposed new law, telecommunications companies would be required to block access to sites that fail to comply with age verification requirements. Noncompliant sites could also face financial penalties.

The bill must still make its way through Poland’s parliament, as well as gain the approval of President Karol Nawrocki, who earlier this year vetoed a bill that would have implemented the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) in Poland, including the DSA’s age verification provisions.

Poland has lagged behind other EU states in conforming to DSA requirements and may face punitive action from the European Commission over its failure to enforce DSA rules.

Brazil Launches Complaints Page for AV Violations

June 2, 2026

BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) on Monday debuted a portal where citizens can report possible violations of the country’s Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents (Digital ECA), which requires adult websites to age-verify users located in Brazil.

A statement announcing the new reporting page notes that the agency will analyze all complaints to identify companies and platforms that are not in compliance with the Digital ECA.

Among the issues that fall under the purview of the ANPD in enforcing the Digital ECA, the new reporting page lists “absence or deficiency of age verification/checking mechanisms on platforms” and “lack of adequate security mechanisms to prevent/mitigate access to inappropriate, unsuitable, or prohibited content.”

ANPD Superintendent of Inspection Fabrício Guimarães explained that while the agency will not respond individually to each report, complaints will help ANPD identify whether there is a need to open an investigation into a particular company.

The Digital ECA law mandates that providers of adult content require age verification beyond self-declaration and applies regardless of where site operators are based. The ANPD has laid out planned stages for compliance monitoring as the agency ramps up enforcement of the new rules. Stage 1, now underway, includes ongoing public consultations to expand and refine guidelines for compliance.