Video Marsha Blackburn: It is time to put in place protections for kids in the virtual space Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., shares details on the Kids Online Safety Act expected to pass the Senate with major support on 'Fox & Friends Weekend.'
FIRST ON FOX — Nearly 80% of children ages 12 to 17 have been exposed to sexually explicit material, according to a coalition of two dozen conservative and pro-family organizations urging Congress to pass legislation requiring age verification on pornography websites.
The groups are backing Republican Indiana Sen. Jim Banks' SAFE for Kids Act, arguing that a federal standard is needed to prevent minors from accessing online pornography and to replace what they describe as an ineffective patchwork of state laws.
"More than 90% of parents worry about their children’s online safety and more than half agree that politicians aren’t taking this issue seriously enough," the groups wrote in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital. "On the whole, 81 percent of voters support a federal age verification law to protect minors from accessing pornographic content. The SAFE for Kids Act will address a major element of parents’ worries, filling in holes in current deterring measures and establishing new protections."
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A graphic of a Pornhub user. (Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto)
Terry Schilling, American Principles Project president, who led the letter in support of the SAFE for Kids Act, told Fox News Digital in a statement, "The predatory pornography industry has enjoyed unfettered access to our children for far too long, profiting off the destruction of American families while the political establishment looked the other way,"
"Senator Banks’s SAFE for Kids Act finally puts the burden of age verification squarely where it belongs: on the adult websites themselves, not on overwhelmed parents," he added. "It is time for Congress to stand up to the pornographers, empower federal enforcement, and secure a safe digital environment for the next generation."
Banks’ legislation, introduced Tuesday, would require pornography websites to implement age-verification measures before users can access sexually explicit content.
It would also require commercial entities that distribute pornography on the internet to have age verification on their sites, and extend enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission through consumer protection law.
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Additionally, it gives the Department of Justice authority to investigate platforms that intentionally violate the law and allows people, including parents and legal guardians, to sue companies or organizations that violate the law.
The 24 signers of the letter, sent to all 100 members of the U.S. Senate, include Kevin Roberts, president of Heritage Action, Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation of Virginia, Penny Nance, president and CEO of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, Craig DeRoche, president and CEO of the Family Policy Alliance, Melissa McKay, president of the Digital Childhood Institute, and Katy Faust, founder and president of ThemBeforeUs, write that pornography has become a serious danger for children online.
"Today, the average age of first porn exposure is 12 years old, with 54 percent of children ages 13 and younger and 80 percent of children ages 12-17 having been exposed to sexually explicit content," they wrote.
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The groups also addressed the revenue generated by the pornography industry, writing, "Technology makes it easier than ever for young children to access pornography. Nearly 25 percent of children own a smartphone by age 8, and nearly 40 percent of children ages 8-12 use social media."
They continued, "Hence, the porn industry is not only harming the most vulnerable Americans but also profiting off of them. In 2025, the Adult Entertainment Market was valued at $191.69 billion and is expected to reach nearly $275.18 billion by 2032. It’s time to do better."
The signers also shared concerns over what they said were adverse effects of pornography, including brain development risk, low self-esteem, anxiety, body-image disorders, sexual violence normalization, hindrance of normal development of healthy relationships between boys and girls, and sexual activity at younger ages.
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American Principles Project President Terry Schilling spoke with Fox News Digital about age verification laws for porn sites. (unknown)
They concluded the letter by urging lawmakers from both parties to support the legislation.
"As Congress considers a myriad of ways to protect kids online, we implore senators to consider what is perhaps the most grave threat to kids online: being exposed at an early age to the most violent, hardcore pornography imaginable," they wrote. "Legislators have the opportunity, right now, to stand with parents, families, and voters across America in advancing a solution that has broad, bipartisan support. We, the undersigned conservative leaders and organizations, urge you to co-sponsor the SAFE for Kids Act and support its passage."
Rachel del Guidice is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to rachel.delguidice@fox.com.
