Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Guthrie for his important leadership.

Mr. Speaker, the statistics are alarming. The average age of a child's first exposure to pornography is just 12 years old, and nearly 80 percent of America's children between 12 and 17 have already been exposed to it.

Not only has the sexual content become intentionally easier to access, but it has also become increasingly violent, abusive, normalizing sexual assault, physical violence, and nonconsensual acts for young, impressionable minds. The consequences are devastating.

Research has linked early exposure to pornography with anxiety, addiction, depression, low self-esteem, body image disorders, and an increased likelihood that minors will engage in risky and harmful sexual behavior.

States across America have recognized this crisis. More than a dozen have declared children's exposure to pornography a public health crisis, and more than two dozen States have enacted age verification requirements for adult websites.

Last year, the Supreme Court upheld Texas' age verification law. The court ruled that the burden placed on adults to verify one's age is incidental when the intent is to protect the innocence of the children.

For that reason, I am grateful that Chairman Guthrie included the SCREEN Act in this legislative package.

Senator Mike Lee and I drafted this legislation to establish age verification requirements for adult websites, creating a minimum requirement that every State must meet while allowing flexibility to enact stronger protections for children.

I am a strong supporter of the First Amendment, but constitutional law has long recognized that its protections do not extend to obscenity.

Our laws already require age verification to purchase alcohol, tobacco, firearms, or to enter a casino.

We recognize that some products and activities are simply inappropriate for children. Pornography should be no different. The SCREEN Act is one of the most consequential bills to protect children in the digital age.

Today, we have an opportunity to make the internet safer for the next generation, and I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation.

I thank Chairman Guthrie for including my bill in this package.

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