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Louisiana college students could be barred accessing pornography or sexually explicit content on their personal phones or computers while connected to a university’s wifi network or internet service provider.
Senate Bill 131, filed by Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, would require each public university to prohibit access to content that is “sexually explicit, pornographic, or sexually harassing and, therefore, reasonably believed to create a hostile work environment.”
The bill advanced on April 21 without objection from the Senate Education Committee.
Last year, USA Today reported a mammoth sexual misconduct scandal that detailed how LSU repeatedly mishandled and ignored sexual misconduct on campus, university officials have talked about how committed they are to changing the culture surrounding sexual violence – leading Louisiana lawmakers to pass a slew of Title IX and anti-sexual assault bills last year.
Mizell said that Title IX misconduct on college campuses “illustrated the need” to block pornographic and sexually explicit content on campus wifi.
“We all just saw two years of Title IX nightmares from our universities,” Mizell said. “I think this is a very low bar.”
The bill would be a violation of freedom of speech rights – Greg Gonzales, a legislative fellow with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said to the committee – because the Supreme Court has already ruled that the First Amendment protects sexual content.
The bill moves to the full Senate for a vote.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jarvis DeBerry for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and Twitter.
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