HB 518 Utah House · 2025 General Session

Sexual Abuse Material Modifications

HB 518 amends Utah law to prohibit knowingly distributing pornography online within the state and creates a legal claim for Utah residents who view such material there. It defines key terms like "pornography" (based on existing law) and "minor" (under 18), and specifies that internet service providers, search engines, and cloud services are not liable for user-generated content they didn’t create. The bill allows affected individuals to combine claims into a single lawsuit and permits courts to award damages, injunctions, or attorney fees for violations. It directly impacts online distributors, Utah viewers of pornography, and internet service providers, with no funding required and effective May 7, 2025.

Bill status introduced 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 18, 2025 Last action Mar 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Substitute #1 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to narrow its scope from targeting 'obscene material and child sexual abuse material' to focusing primarily on 'pornography' and 'material harmful to minors'. The substitute version removes specific prohibitions on child sex dolls and reduces the definition of 'commercial entity' applicability in certain contexts. The effective date remains May 7, 2025, but the language now emphasizes liability for pornography distribution rather than the broader categories of illegal content.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed from covering obscene material, child sexual abuse material, and child sex dolls to primarily covering pornography and material harmful to minors. The definition of who can be held liable was adjusted to focus more on general pornography distribution rather than specific categories of illegal content.

DEFINITION

The term 'obscene material' and 'child sexual abuse material' were replaced with 'pornography' in the main provisions, narrowing the scope of prohibited content.

The definition of 'material harmful to minors' was retained but renumbered and reorganized to fit the new structure of the bill.

REQUIREMENT

The specific prohibition against distributing or purchasing child sex dolls was removed from the bill's requirements.

SCOPE

The bill now applies to 'publishing or distributing pornography on the Internet within the state' rather than the broader 'Internet' without geographic limitation.

ELIGIBILITY

The cause of action was changed from 'an individual' to 'a person,' broadening who can bring legal claims under the bill.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

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Key actions

Committee

Feb 18, 2025

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors