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WASHINGTON — Sen. Jim Banks, a Republican representing Indiana, announced Wednesday that he has introduced a federal age verification measure that would require users nationwide to verify both their age and identity before accessing platforms where at least one-third of the content is classified as sexually explicit.
The proposal arrives just weeks after Banks urged President Donald J. Trump’s Justice Department to resume obscenity prosecutions. In the latest development, the senator unveiled the Safety and Age Filtering Enforcement (SAFE) for Kids Act.
“Kids should not be exposed to pornography with just a few clicks,” Banks said in a press statement. “The SAFE for Kids Act helps parents protect their children and bring commonsense safeguards nationwide.” Modeled in many respects on age verification laws already adopted in roughly half of U.S. states, the legislation would require what it describes as “reasonable” age verification and digital identification measures for access to websites containing adult content.
A copy of the bill reviewed by reporters states that, if enacted, the federal government would define a “covered commercial entity” as any “commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes on an internet website material, of which greater than 1/3 is sexual material harmful to minors.”
The bill would also allow prosecution of “any officer, director, or employee … engaged in the performance of the duties of the individual as an officer, director, or employee.”
Under the proposed legislation, the phrase “sexual material harmful to minors” consists of three elements. Those are defined as “(A) the average individual applying contemporary community standards would find, taking the material as a whole and with respect to minors, is designed to appeal or to pander to the prurient interest; (B) in a manner patently offensive with respect to minors, exploits, is devoted to, or principally consists of descriptions of, actual simulated, or animated displays or depictions of sexual act or sexual contact as defined under … United States Code; [and] (C) taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.”
Aside from the broad scope of the definitions, enforcement responsibilities under the bill would fall to both the Federal Trade Commission and the office of the Attorney General within the Justice Department. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s defense attorney during the Stormy Daniels hush money case in New York, would oversee criminal prosecutions under the proposal.
According to the bill’s text, criminal penalties could be pursued against the owners and operators of platforms accused of violating the legislation’s age verification requirements.
“The Attorney General may initiate a criminal investigation of a covered commercial entity that the Attorney General has reason to believe, and may initiate a prosecution of a covered commercial entity that the Attorney General determines is knowingly violating, or has knowingly violated, this act,” the bill’s language notes.
If the measure were signed into law and enforced, individuals found in violation could face up to five years in prison and be convicted of a federal felony. The legislation also authorizes fines of up to $750,000 for individuals and $1.5 million for organizations.
Criminal penalties could additionally apply to commercial entities that earned more than $1 million in profits during any year tied to the alleged violations, as well as to entities or individuals accused of attempting to “deceive” or “obstruct” either the Justice Department or the FTC.
The proposal also grants the FTC broad civil enforcement powers. The agency has previously expressed support for federal age verification requirements.
In addition, the legislation creates a federal private right of action. The bill’s expansive reach reflects proposals championed by several conservative activists and policy organizations that have supported anti-pornography initiatives associated with Project 2025.
Project 2025 was introduced as a policy framework designed to prepare for a potential return of President Trump to the White House. Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, previously advocated for a ban on pornography and the removal of First Amendment protections for the industry within the project’s policy blueprint.
Russ Vought, a key architect of Project 2025 and the current director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, was recorded by undercover British journalists saying that age verification laws could function as the “back door” to implementing the pornography ban Roberts had discussed.
Roberts also endorsed the SAFE for Kids Act in the same press release. He said, “Congress must act now to protect our children from adult content on the internet. No more excuses.
“While Washington drags its feet, kids across the nation are being exposed to vile, pornographic images and ads with no meaningful safeguards to prevent it,” Roberts asserted. “Americans are angry that their kids are being indoctrinated into a left-wing ideology intended to infiltrate their hearts and corrupt their moral center.”
Among the other organizations and individuals supporting the SAFE for Kids Act are Heritage Action, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, the Institute for Family Studies, the National Decency Coalition, Concerned Women for America, and the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
Stakeholders within the adult entertainment industry have voiced concerns about the legislation. Alison Boden, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, said she was not surprised by the proposal.
“Apparently, the usual anti-porn suspects convinced Sen. Banks … to put his name on yet another unserious messaging bill,” Boden said. “There are members of Congress who are engaging on this issue in good faith, but Jim Banks is not one of them.”
Adult industry attorney Corey Silverstein also criticized the measure while acknowledging the broader objective behind it. “Protecting minors from accessing adult content is a goal everyone can agree on.
“The real question is whether government-mandated age verification laws actually achieve that goal without creating serious privacy and free speech concerns for adults,” he added. “Requiring people to upload identification or sensitive personal information to access legal content creates new risks, including data breaches and chilling lawful expression.”
Lawrence Walters, another attorney who represents clients in the adult entertainment industry, said the legislation raises significant constitutional questions.
“Substantial free speech and privacy concerns arise when the government seeks to impose mandatory age verification on websites based on the content of the speech published on those sites,” Walters said. “While the U.S. Supreme Court has approved of one such law in Texas, other similar laws could go too far and remain subject to constitutional challenges.
“This bill imposes significant criminal penalties on alleged violators, and the obligations specifically apply to officers, directors, and employees of covered website operators,” he continued. “The Supreme Court has not considered whether such a broad criminal prohibition is constitutionally sound.”
