Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has introduced a new age-verification measure set to begin at the end of November. According to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office release, commercial websites where at least one-third of content is pornographic must prevent minors from accessing sexually explicit material.
The rule, developed under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, will take effect on November 30. Non-compliant entities could face civil penalties and injunctive relief for engaging in “unfair practice” within the state, as per the same release.
Research showing that children are encountering pornographic content at younger ages, with the average age of first exposure at about 11 or 12 years old. More than 90 percent of boys and around 60 percent of girls have been exposed by their teenage years. Such material may foster neurological effects, contribute to sexual exploitation, and abet human trafficking.
The new rule is intended to increase parental control and place more responsibility on distributors to limit minors’ access to sexually explicit content online.
