Overview

• House Bill 4938, the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, was introduced Sept. 11 and sent to the House Judiciary Committee with no hearings scheduled.
• The proposal outlaws distributing a broad range of material online, including videos, written erotica, AI-generated content, live streams, and audio such as erotic ASMR, moaning, and “sensual voice” content.
• Bill language categorizes depictions or descriptions of a disconnection between biology and gender as prohibited, a scope critics say targets transgender people and potentially drag.
• Violations would be felonies carrying up to 20 years in prison and $100,000 in fines, rising to 25 years and $125,000 for more than 100 items, with additional civil penalties up to $500,000 for platforms and ISPs.
• The measure mandates ISP filtering, requires blocking circumvention tools such as VPNs, contemplates adding violators to the sex-offender registry, and would make Michigan the first state with a total porn ban if enacted.