Powell Supports 'The Innocence Act'

State Representative Jena Powell (R-Arcanum) recently supported “The Innocence Act” by signing on as a co-sponsor of the newly introduced legislation. The bill requires a more rigorous age verification process to prevent minors from viewing sexually explicit material on the internet in Ohio.

“It’s crucial we protect children in our state,” Powell said. “We have to take a stand and fight against pornographic material being easily accessible to our children.”

The bill allows pornography distributors to be charged with a third-degree felony for failing to verify the age of a person accessing the adult content. If a minor attempts to access sexually explicit material by falsifying their identity, they would be charged with a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

The Innocence Act also prohibits the sale of deepfakes engaged in sexual acts, which is the manipulation of facial appearances through artificial intelligence to create visual and audio content. The dissemination of sexual deepfakes will be charged as a third-degree felony.

The legislation currently has over 20 co-sponsors and awaits its committee assignment.