SALT LAKE CITY - Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, a conservative Republican, has approved legislation introducing a 2% levy on adult entertainment platforms. The new law also holds such services accountable if minors manage to bypass age-restriction measures.
The legislation, designated Senate Bill 73, was quietly signed on Thursday alongside 73 other pieces of legislation, attracting minimal public attention.
The measure imposes a tax on all digital adult content distributed within Utah’s online landscape. Introduced by state Senator Calvin R. Musselman and state Representative Steve Eliason, both members of the Republican party, the bill is framed as a tax aimed at preventing minors from accessing harmful material.
Revenue generated from SB 73 is intended to support age-verification enforcement efforts as well as mental health initiatives for young people dealing with what is often referred to as compulsive viewing of adult content. Additionally, the legislation outlaws the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) as a means of evading these age-verification requirements.
The inclusion of VPN restrictions reflects a broader pattern among Republican lawmakers seeking to limit or eliminate the use of proxy technologies.
