Republican's bill proposes porn tax to pay for Trump's wall

Another brick in the wall: A Republican has introduced a bill requiring porn-blocking software be installed on every device, with a US$20 fee to remove. Proceeds would go to Trump's wall. Photo/123rf

A story for those who thought US politics couldn't get any more bizarre: a Republican lawmaker in Arizona has proposed a law to require all electronic devices sold in the state be locked from accessing porn. Users would have to pay a US$20 fee to unlock their computer, phone or tablet - with the proceeds going towards Trump's border wall.

The Arizona Mirror reports that Representative Gail Griffin has introduced House Bill 2444, which would make "distributors" of devices that allow access to the internet to install software to make the offending material not viewable. To remove the blocking software, a person would have to pay the state US$20.

Griffin wants the measure applied to every electronic device that can be used to access adult material, and for the US$20 to be charged annually.

She wants to crack down on X-rated sites. But, ironically, raising the US$5.7 billion required for the wall would require Americans to display a robust appetite for racy sites to generate enough US$20 payments to fill Trump's funding gap.

"It's pretty clearly unconstitutional," Mike Stabile, a spokesman for the Free Speech Coalition, told the Mirror.

It's also impractical. Tech experts have frequently questioned whether any blanket website blocking is possible - putting aside the question of whether it's desirable. It's also been called expensive. Griffin's law easily cost more to implement than the money it brings in.

"Is this the dumbest proposal ever?," local tech commentator Dylan Reeve asked on Twitter this morning.

"Almost certainly not, but it's very very dumb."

The partial US government shutdown is currently in its 32nd day, making it the longest in the country's history. The sticking point in budget talks is US President Donald Trump's demand for US5.7b to fund a wall along the Mexican border.