Assemblyman Jay Webber attended the United Nations headquarters this Tuesday to talk about the intention to pass legislation that would introduce an age verification for adult content online.
The UN’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons event aimed to tackle the adult film industry and how it takes advantage of women and young girls, furthering human trafficking and sexual violence.
Webber, a Republican from Morris County, shared his opinions, mentioning how “Too often, we see that terrible social problems elude and evade lawmaking solutions. The good news on this issue, however, if there is any, is that underage exposure to online pornography is one of those rare social scourges that has realistic policy remedies.”
Seeking to eliminate human trafficking, he presented a bill in April (A4146) that demands adult sites to confirm the age of NJ residents accessing the content, thus forbidding minors from receiving access to unrestricted material.
Webber believes that “age verification will radically reduce, if not stop entirely, our youths’ exposure to online pornography.” He also led a bipartisan legislative panel at the Statehouse on Monday, noting the importance of keeping children safe from exploitative content. He also discussed the harmful effects of pornography to men and women, and he introduced the idea of using simple technology to combat these looming threats and dangers.
Webber also mentioned that 38 states have introduced and 19 have passed legislation to require age-verification. “When largely solving a plague is within our grasp, how can we not do it?,” he questioned.
About the Author
Maddy Grieco
Reporter
Maddy Grieco is a Reporter for ONNJ. She researches and writes the news stories that help bring the show together. In addition to writing, she also works to bolster the social media content for ONNJ, creating ideas to increase engagement on Instagram and TikTok.
She is a rising junior at Bucknell University, where she plans to graduate with a BA in English – Literary Studies. Following graduation, she seeks to enter the literary publishing world and further develop her analytical and editing skills.
