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You May Have To Pay A $20 Fee If You Want To Watch Porn Online Soon

by John Haltiwanger
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If you live in the state of South Carolina, you might have to pay $20 to watch internet porn soon.

South Carolina lawmakers just proposed a bill that would require computers and other internet-enabled devices sold in the state to have filters installed to prevent people from viewing pornography.

If you want to have this porn-blocking software removed, you'd have to pay a one-time $20 fee.

The lawmakers who proposed this porn tax are hoping it will discourage people from watching others have sex on the internet, and are planning to put the money toward combatting human trafficking.

In an interview with GoUpstate, Republican State Representative William “Bill” Chumley referred to the bill as a "beginning point," adding,

The human trafficking thing has exploded. It's gotten to be a real problem. If we could have manufacturers install filters that would be shipped to South Carolina, then anything that children have access on for pornography would be blocked. We felt like that would be another way to fight human trafficking. It's where almost everybody has access to a computer now. It's porn on demand. We have to start somewhere...We're bringing attention to it. We're not being political. It's an issue I'm pretty passionate about.

There is reportedly no timeline set for a debate and a possible vote for the bill.

But it could have major implications -- not only for porn-viewers, but also in terms of interstate commerce for technology firms that sell their devices across the country.

This new porn tax bill corresponds with the Republican party's national platform, which declared porn a "public health crisis,"

Pornography, with its harmful effects, especially on children, has become a public health crisis that is destroying the life of millions. We urge energetic prosecution of child pornography, which is closely linked to human trafficking.

Research shows blocking porn is ineffective. People tend to find ways around such restrictions.

The lawmakers who proposed this legislation, which is called the Human Trafficking Prevention Act, seem to have overlooked this.

Citations: Vocativ, GoUpstate, Forbes