At a time when national policies are increasingly eroding the rights and freedoms of Americans, I’m grateful that, for the most part, Colorado has tacked to a path that flows toward greater liberty. A recently introduced bill in the General Assembly, however, is an alarming example of national currents rushing into our state.
Senate Bill 201, also known as the Require Age Checks for Online Sexual Materials bill, is being touted as a measure to protect children from online pornography. In reality, it poses a serious threat to privacy, free speech and marginalized communities. While the bill’s sponsors may have good intentions, the roots of the legislation can be traced back to the conservative agenda outlined in Project 2025.
Senate Bill 201 would mandate government-issued ID or biometric data — such as face scans or fingerprints — for age verification. This requirement is a direct threat to privacy and creates significant security risks. Sensitive data related to personal sexuality and legal adult content consumption could be exposed.
Criminals increasingly exploit personal information for extortion, including threats to disclose browsing histories — one of the most common scams monitored by the Federal Trade Commission. Neither the government nor private entities should be in the business of tracking what consenting adults view online, especially when the risks of leaks and misuse are so high.
The First Amendment protects access to legal content, including adult material. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled against government-imposed barriers to protected speech, whether in the form of news, literature, art or pornography. Senate Bill 201 creates an unconstitutional burden on lawful expression, ignoring the fact that less restrictive, more effective solutions — like parental controls — already exist.
This bill has dangerous implications beyond its stated intent. Similar “harmful to minors” laws have been used in other states to ban LGBTQ+ literature from libraries, restrict LGBTQ+ resources, and limit access to reproductive health information online.
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Opinion: Bill that would make Coloradans verify their age for online porn has major pitfalls
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1:30 AM MDT on Apr 1, 20252:05 PM MDT on Mar 31, 2025By creating mechanisms to restrict online content, Senate Bill 201 would open the door for censorship that disproportionately affects marginalized communities. The introduced draft of this legislation included definitions to existing statute that would have explicitly allowed for LGBTQ+ materials to be considered “harmful” to children.
Either that was an original intent of the bill as outlined in Project 2025, or or this legislation has been so rushed that this was truly a mistake, in which case we should slow down this process to ensure no further unintended outcomes arise.
Indeed, while amendments brought in the first committee hearing alleviate some of the concerns around targeting LGBTQ+ Coloradans, the new definition of covered content is alarmingly vague. Shortly after the committee hearing, a constituent who owns a boudoir photography business reached out, asking if the bill would force her to shut down her website.
The cost of implementing facial recognition or ID scan technology are prohibitively expensive for her, given the low volume of niche traffic she receives. The answer to her question? It depends on one’s interpretation. She’s absolutely right to be concerned!
Senate Bill 201 is not just about protecting children — it’s about creating a dangerous precedent for government overreach, privacy violations and censorship. Lawmakers should focus on real solutions, like digital literacy programs and parental controls, rather than pushing ineffective, unconstitutional policies that threaten the rights of all Coloradans.
State Sen. Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo represents District 3, which covers Pueblo County, in the Colorado Senate and is the Majority Whip.
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