South Dakotan’s may soon have to upload a photo of their government identification to access pornography on the internet.
On Wednesday, an interim legislative committee endorsed a proposal aligned with a Texas law that’s before the US Supreme Court. The Artificial Intelligence and Regulation of Internet Access by Minors committee’s aim is to protect South Dakota kids from accessing harmful content and pornography on the internet.
The conversation started during the 2024 session, but a bill was rejected by the state Senate. Lawmakers set up an interim study group to look closer at the topic. The issue has also entered the general election.
State Sen. Helene Duhamel, R-Rapid City, sits on the interim committee. Her challenger blames Duhamel for helping tank the bill that led to the task force study. Duhamel said the state needed to find a solution that would withstand legal scrutiny and protect children.
“We worked hard. We looked at lots of options. We heard from many parties and now have important amendments to make this a better bill. My goal all along was to find something that is constitutional and enforceable," Duhamel said. "I’m in.”
The proposed bill requires certain online platforms and websites to implement “reasonable age verification” methods to verify a person’s age. The law defines those methods as verifying a person is at least 18 years old by way of driver’s license, military ID, or bank account information.
The law also prohibits companies from retaining the identifying information.
Rep. Tony Venhuizen, R-Sioux Falls, said the proposal’s similarity to Texas is strategic—that it is the best route to understand the state’s ability to regulate access to certain websites.
“If that legislation in Texas is upheld, and we tie ourselves close to it, we’re going to know that we’re in great shape by some time later this year. If it’s struck down, at least we’ll know that we’ve got off on the right track and we’ll have to figure it out," Venhuizen said. "If we go off on a completely new directly, even in the best-case scenario we’re in litigation for a couple years. Even in the best base scenario it’s a couple years before we can protect kids.”
The proposed bill will likely get introduced during the 2025 legislative session.
