Porn star Cherie DeVille is worried and has urged lawmakers in Utah reconsider a controversial bill that would ban porn from cell phones and tablets. The adult film actress recently wrote an open letter open letter addressed to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, urging him to veto the measure.
The proposed bill, known as HB72, if gets passed, will allow parents to stop children from accessing porn on their phone and tablet devices, which DeVille feels will be a big blow to the porn industry. Meanwhile, Cox has said that he will assess the bill but has not indicated if he plans to sign it or scrap it.
Strange Plea
In the open letter addressed to Cox, DeVille pointed out how the bill could make life difficult for so many porn stars. DeVille said the bill won't help Utah kids at all and claimed that it's an attempt to stop adults from watching porn in the conservative state.
"Stop using 'protect the children' when your real goal is to stop adults from watching porn," she wrote in her open letter. She also mentions in her open letter to Cox that many people in Utah would be upset and feel disappointed if porn gets banned, as Pornhub reported in 2015 getting 16 visits per capita from residents.
The letter also mentions that a ban on watching porn could start a "deadly slope that would send Utah residents' civil liberties off a hill." "If you want Republicans to focus more on creating legislation around real issues, defend the free speech of the pornographers whose profession conservatives oppose. Remind conservatives that free speech means free speech for everyone, especially those you oppose," she wrote.
Counter Reasons
The porn bill DeVille is opposing was proposed by Republican Rep. Susan Pulsipher, who had claimed that the bill would help parents filter out objectionable content. Content filters already exist on many phones and tablets but Pulsipher claims they are difficult to find and utilize.
DeVille feels the bill will do no good to children as they may access it via other medium. Cox has until Thursday to sign the bill and hasn't yet responded to DeVille's letter.
Utah, a majority Mormon state, will be the first state to introduce such measures if the bill is adopted. It is focused on allowing parents to restrict their children from being able to access porn on their devices and adults will be able to turn off the filter if they choose.
Critics have hit out at the proposal introduced to the state's senate as they believe it to be unconstitutional but parents are pushing for the right to protect children from explicit content. Moreover, if the bill gets passed it will pose a new challenge for phone manufacturers as it would require that all "new devices sold in the state must have pornography filters activated at the time of purchase."
