Utah Code § 59-38-101: Legislative findings.

The Legislature finds that:

(1) minors in the state face an unprecedented mental health crisis, with rising rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm;

(2) research demonstrates a correlation between minor access to material harmful to minors and negative mental health outcomes;

(3) existing state efforts to address minor access to material harmful to minors and to provide mental health services for minors have been inadequate due to limited resources;

(4) commercial entities that publish or distribute material harmful to minors have not voluntarily implemented effective age verification measures to prevent minor access;

(5) the state has a substantial and compelling interest in protecting minors from material harmful to minors;

(6) age verification requirements are an effective and minimally restrictive means of preventing minor access to material harmful to minors;

(7) additional funding is necessary to support mental health services for minors and to enforce age verification requirements; and

(8) entities required to implement age verification systems create regulatory costs and societal harms that warrant an excise tax to fund prevention and enforcement efforts.