A new bill requiring South Carolinians to verify their age before accessing pornographic websites is set to reach Governor Henry McMaster’s desk. The Senate gave its final approval on Thursday, endorsing a version of the bill initially approved by the House with a 113-1 vote earlier this year.

The legislation, known as the “Child Online Safety Act,” aims to protect children from exposure to harmful and graphic content online. Advocates for the bill emphasize its importance for safeguarding children’s mental health despite anticipated legal challenges.

Civil liberty advocates have voiced strong opposition, citing constitutional concerns. Senate staff also raised issues regarding the bill’s legality. Nonetheless, supporters argue that the protection of children outweighs potential legal battles.

South Carolina is not alone in this endeavor. According to the Free Speech Coalition, which represents the adult entertainment industry, at least ten states have enacted similar laws this year, including Georgia. In late April, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block a comparable law in Texas, bolstering hopes that South Carolina’s legislation will withstand judicial scrutiny.

Senator Sean Bennett, chair of the subcommittee that approved the bill, commented on the legislative similarities to the Texas law. “A lot of our concerns about constitutionality are not necessarily alleviated, but we think we’re in a good spot,” said Bennett.

The bill’s final language remained uncertain until the closing hours of the legislative session, which ended at 5 p.m. on Thursday. The Senate had amended the bill to include separate legislation sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Brad Hutto. Hutto’s amendment aimed to criminalize “morphed” images, where real pictures of minors are manipulated to create fake pornography depicting child abuse. This proposal was a priority for state Attorney General Alan Wilson and the bipartisan Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children.

While Hutto’s amendment passed the Senate unanimously, the House did not consider it. Consequently, Hutto attached the language criminalizing artificial child abuse images to the age verification bill. However, when the Senate’s version of the bill reached the House on Thursday, the House rejected Hutto’s amendment. Ultimately, the Senate agreed to proceed with the original bill.

“It’s something the attorney general’s office really wants, but we all have different priorities,” Hutto remarked after the House rejected his amendment. “We don’t want to lose the underlying bill.”

The age verification bill progressed alongside a proposal requiring parental consent for children to create social media accounts. Both bills passed the House back-to-back in January, with only one legislator voting against each. However, in April, Bennett’s subcommittee paused consideration of the social media bill, citing the need for more time. The social media bill has not advanced since.

Suppose Governor McMaster signs the Child Online Safety Act. In that case, South Carolina will join a growing number of states implementing measures to verify age on pornographic websites, a trend reflecting increasing legislative attention to online child safety.