59-38-101. Legislative findings.
The Legislature finds that:
(1) minors in the state face an unprecedented mental health crisis, with rising rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm;
(2) research demonstrates a correlation between minor access to material harmful to minors and negative mental health outcomes;
(3) existing state efforts to address minor access to material harmful to minors and to provide mental health services for minors have been inadequate due to limited resources;
(4) commercial entities that publish or distribute material harmful to minors have not voluntarily implemented effective age verification measures to prevent minor access;
(5) the state has a substantial and compelling interest in protecting minors from material harmful to minors;
(6) age verification requirements are an effective and minimally restrictive means of preventing minor access to material harmful to minors;
(7) additional funding is necessary to support mental health services for minors and to enforce age verification requirements; and
(8) entities required to implement age verification systems create regulatory costs and societal harms that warrant an excise tax to fund prevention and enforcement efforts.