Iowa Republican Changes Porn Filter Bill Into Age Verification Bill After Learning More About Phones

Iowa Republican Changes Porn Filter Bill Into Age Verification Bill After Learning More About Phones

DES MOINES — The Republican legislator behind Iowa’s mandatory “porn filter” bill has revealed that, after realizing that multinational electronics corporations were unlikely to alter phones and other devices to comply with one state law, he is turning his bill into yet another version of the age verification legislation being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

State Rep. John Wills told Iowa newspaper The Gazette on Tuesday that in the process of pursuing his proposal, House File 2114, he “learned more about how phones are manufactured and sold.”

Wills added that this new knowledge resulted in a plan “to change the proposal to focus on an age verification requirement for pornography sites, plus an education campaign that teaches parents and children how to create safeguards on phones,” The Gazette reported.

“What I learned is that, basically, the way this bill is written, we would have to make Apple and Google and all these great, big, worldwide corporations change their practices,” Wills said. “Well, they’re not going to do that for Iowa. So it became very evident that we’re going to have to make some changes to the bill.”

Wills apparently failed to realize the impracticality of his initial proposal, despite having worked in Iowa politics for almost a decade.

His background before becoming a career politician in 2015 was as a retired military man who holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and two master’s degrees — in Political Science with an emphasis in National Defense and Environmental Policy and Management — from American Military University.

Having now educated himself about how phones are manufactured and sold, Wills said that his current plan is “to model his proposal after an instruction and education program from Florida, and an age verification system recently enacted in Utah,” The Gazette reported.

Regardless of Wills’ own acknowledgement of the infeasibility of his porn-filter proposal, the two Republicans on a three-member legislative panel advanced HF 2114 on Tuesday, and it is now eligible for consideration by the Iowa House’s full Judiciary Committee.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Adult Industry Educational, Networking Platform 'Imperfectly You' Launches

Imperfectly You, an educational and networking platform for adult industry workers, has officially launched.

Segpay to Launch News Network for High-Risk Merchants

Segpay has announced that it will launch the Segpay News Network (SNN) on April 15.

Age Verification Watch: Patching the Holes

This roundup provides an update on the latest news and developments on the age verification front as it impacts the adult industry.

Pineapple Support to Host Autism Spectrum Support Group

Pineapple Support is hosting a free online support group for performers and creators who are, or suspect they may be, on the autism spectrum.

ImLive Launches Revamped Member Loyalty Program

Cam platform ImLive has revamped its member loyalty program.

GoFundMe Set Up for Danny Ferretti's Medical Expenses

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for Fangear founder Danny Ferretti, who requires extensive lung surgery.

Byborg Acquires Cuties AI

Byborg Enterprises has acquired adult artificial intelligence startup Cuties AI.

Irish Government Releases Report on Sex Work Decriminalization Legislation

The Irish government has released a report reviewing a 2017 law that decriminalized sex work across the country.

Texas Bill Would Require Age Verification for Online Sex Toy Sales

A new bill in the Texas state legislature would require online retailers to implement age verification of purchasers before selling “obscene devices” to anyone in that state.

New York Assemblyman Proposes Banning the Term 'Sex Work'

Republican New York Assembly Member Brian Maher has introduced a bill to prohibit the use of the term "sex work" in government documents.

Show More