Martin County commissioners are considering banning porn on county devices

MARTIN COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – A law was introduced in North Carolina last month banning access to pornography on government devices, and a county here to the east will consider its policy on the bill Wednesday evening.

New business item number five on the Martin County Board of Commissioners agenda can attract attention.

But the resolution to ban viewing of pornography on county computers and networks is all part of a new policy North Carolina Law which went into effect on October 1, non-officials say, in response to a problem.

“We have an agenda with a proposed resolution to make sure that we just check that box to have that in compliance by the end of the year, to be in compliance with this new statute,” said Martin County Manager Ben Eisner.

The law requires public agencies, including local governments and schools, to prohibit employees, students and other officials from viewing porn on any agency device or network.

The law also asks public agencies to implement their own local policies to comply with the law, which must be done by January 1.

Eisner says there have been no incidents in Martin County that residents should be concerned about.

“No cause for concern. This came up again because it was passed during the last legislative session,” Eisner said. “It has some unfortunate names and connotations, but it’s really trying to ensure that the province is complying with the coming law.”

The law does stipulate that in the case of agency-owned networks, only employees will face disciplinary action if they view pornography on their personal devices that may be connected, and not on others.

The law also seeks to keep pace with the latest technologies and innovations by expanding the definition of pornography to include AI-generated content.

Eisner says if the board cannot agree on the proposed policy, they will have to reassess it at their next meeting on December 2.

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