FSC and Coalition Partners Call on Arizona Governor to Veto AV Law

Free Speech Coalition has called on Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to veto AZ’s dangerous and unconstitutional age-verification law for adult consumers. In a letter sent hours after the passage of the law on Monday, FSC Executive Director Alison Boden pointed out that despite our support for measures that would actually protect children, HH2586 would not only violate First Amendment and privacy rights, it would harm young peoples’ access to much-needed information, writing:

The law is written so broadly that the “description” or “depiction” of nudity, sexuality or sexual activity can create liability for a website, if it is determined to be inappropriate for a single minor. In the past several years, we’ve seen that the designation “material harmful to minors” has been weaponized to censor art, sex education, LGBTQ+ literature and healthcare resources, chilling speech throughout the public square. With HB2586, the same tactics could now be applied to the internet.

Over the past month, Free Speech Coalition has worked with allies from across the ideological spectrum, including ACLU, FIRE, EFF, Center for Democracy and Technology, TechFreedom, Media Coalition and Chamber of Progress to stop HB2586 and similar bills. Woodhull Freedom Foundation and the sex education advocacy group SIECUS led a separate coalition letter featuring over a dozen LGBTQ+, reproductive rights, and sex educator groups calling on Governor Hobbs to veto the legislation. 

FSC has also called upon consumers and creators in Arizona to write to the governor to oppose the bill. Sex worker groups, including APAG, Decriminalize Sex Work, and ESPLERP have sent letters or helped rally members in Arizona to call for the Governor’s veto.

HB2586 was passed on a party line vote in the legislature, with almost all Democrats opposing the legislation. FSC testified at multiple hearings during the bill’s passage and has worked aggressively to stop the legislation. 

“We’ve left nothing on the field in Arizona,” says FSC Executive Director Alison Boden. “While the Republican legislature was largely unwilling to engage in substantive discussion over the bill’s flaws, we’re hopeful that with a unified Democratic opposition and a Democratic governor, we can secure a veto.”

The Free Speech Coalition letter is available here.