Mike Lee, a Utah senator, introduced a new bill to ban pornography across the United States.

New Bill Could Ban Porn Across The US

The bill was introduced on Thursday, May 15, 2025, and is co-sponsored by Mary Miller, who represents the third attempt by Lee to pass such legislation since 2022.

The new bill would redefine what qualifies as “obscene” under the law. The legislation, called the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA), seeks to modernize the standard for prosecuting explicit content online, replacing a decades-old test established by the Supreme Court.

The Miller Test, named after the 1973 decision, currently includes three criteria: whether the average person would find the work appeals to prurient interest, whether it depicts sexual conduct in an offensive way, and whether it lacks value. In place of that test, the new bill’s definition of obscenity would now include any content that “appeals to the prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion,” and “depicts, describes, or represents actual or simulated sexual acts with the objective intent to arouse.”

If passed, the bill would pave the way for the prosecution of obscene content disseminated across state lines or from foreign countries and open the door to federal restrictions or bans regarding online pornography.

The bill would also dramatically change how sexual content is treated under federal law, especially in online spaces. The bill proposes stripping the “intent” requirement from the current Communications Act of 1934, meaning individuals could face prosecution for sharing or hosting content deemed to be sexually explicit and lacking “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.”

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Utah Senator Mike Lee said:

“Obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment. But hazy, unenforceable definitions have allowed pornography companies to infect our society, peddle smut to children, and do business across state lines unimpeded. “This is a first and necessary step to stopping the people and companies that profit from degrading their fellow human beings and ruining countless lives.”

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