Finally! Parents can fight back against the billion-dollar industry of pornography! If your child was able to access a pornographic website, you likely have a claim under Kansas Law.
On April 25th, 2024, Senate Bill 394 was passed to enforce Kansas age verification for minors. Under the bill, if a minor accesses a pornographic website that does not provide clear and reasonable age verification, the porn company that owns the website can be sued for statutory damages in an amount no less than $50,000. Companies can now be punished if they fail to adequately screen minors from content that contains the following:
- Nudity
- Sexual excitement
- Sexual conduct
- Sadomasochistic abuse
This applies to websites where at least 25% of the viewed pages in any given month contain material deemed inappropriate for minors.
Purpose of the Bill
Kansas law is treating pornography like other addictive substances such as liquor and tobacco. For example, if you want to buy alcohol from a liquor store, state law makes the store verify your age before selling alcohol to you (i.e. they have to ask for I.D.). Essentially, SB 394 is making pornographic websites do the same thing.
The objective is to hold porn companies accountable for their abuse against minors. This bill is a tool that parents can use to protect their children from further harm. And by default protect other children from accessing these websites.
While it is good to be passionate about this fight, don’t forget to put yourself in your child’s shoes. Basing a lawsuit off of their mistake is a big deal, and could be an embarrassing one. Talk through the situation as much as you can with your child. It’s very honorable for kids to admit they were in the wrong for looking at these porn sites. Show them how their honesty can help other kids from making the same mistakes. Also, let them know there are steps we can take to ensure this lawsuit is carried out discreetly.
If your child has accessed website pornography, we have steps you can follow to take action. We’ve laid out possible questions around the boundaries of this bill and a guide for you to build your case.
The best thing you can do for further clarification is consult with an attorney. Contact Mann Wyatt Tanksley Injury Attorneys for a free consultation with Mike Wyatt. He will take the time to listen to your situation and make sure you have all the facts for a case. If he sees you don’t qualify for the damages in this Kansas age verification law, Mike will shoot you straight.
Gathering Evidence
Here is the evidence you will need to file a lawsuit if your child has accessed a porn site that violates the Kansas age verification bill.
- Search History – Take a screenshot of your child’s browser history. After you have a screenshot you can delete the search history.
- List of Websites – List all the websites your child visited. Ask your child how they were able to access the websites.
- Time & Total – List the time of the visit and the number of visits to the websites.
This evidence can be found in things such as your child’s browser history, IP logs from your internet service provider, or screen records from an anti-pornography VPN such as Covenant Eyes. Contact Mann Wyatt Tanksley Injury Attorneys to take action with your evidence.
The Boundaries of the Kansas Age Verification Law
Who Can File?
Anyone under the age of 18 cannot file a lawsuit. Parents or guardians can file on their child’s behalf.
What Are Statutory Damages?
Statutory damages are a type of civil law award that compensates for an injury or loss with a pre-established amount. This is different than calculating damages based on any harm to the plaintiff. SB 394 allows for statutory damages of no less than $50,000 in addition to the damages based on the actual harm the website had on the child.
Unreasonable Age Verification Techniques
Some porn companies have taken action to avoid this lawsuit. PornHub—one of the most visited websites on the planet has blocked access in Kansas. The site is already blacked out in several other states.
These companies see the danger this bill poses to their business. They don’t have enough safety nets in place to keep children off their websites. Many of these websites have a form of age verification in place. But that doesn’t mean it’s reasonable. There’s a good argument that if a porn site does not ask for a government-issued ID then the age verification is considered unreasonable. Below are examples of what we would argue are unreasonable age verification techniques:
- Simply asking users to check a box confirming they are over 18.
- Requiring users to enter their birthdate without any further verification.
- Asking users to click a button that says “Yes, I am 18 or older.”
- Displaying a pop-up that users can easily close to bypass age verification.
- Allowing users to self-verify their age with no third-party verification process.
- Using a captcha that does not include age verification questions.
- Providing a drop-down menu to select age without verifying the input.
- Relying on users’ honesty without any form of verification.
- Using cookies to remember an age confirmation without re-verifying on the next visit.
- Using a single question about age with no additional authentication.
Justice Through the Kansas Age Verification Law
Once you’ve gathered all the evidence for your child’s case, there are two steps we advise you to take.
- Contact Mann Wyatt Tanksley Injury Attorneys for a free consultation. We’ll help you navigate the legalities of your situation. If you do have a case, we’ll develop a plan of attack to go against the porn companies and get you the justice you and your child deserve.
- Contact your local church. We want to get the word out to as many people as possible regarding this Kansas age verification law. People likely won’t wear this case as a badge of honor. It’s a tough situation. We understand this may not be something you want to tell friends and family about. That being said, the best thing to do is to take this before your church family. Gain their support in this matter. Encourage them to take action and spread the word within the church. If anyone involved is holding back from taking action out of fear, consider this. You and your child are not alone. The church is full of families with children who are being affected by pornography. The church is also the most likely to take action of any sort against porn companies. Your efforts to protect your child can influence other parents to take action. Join us in this fight to protect children from pornography by taking action today.
Site by