Senate Bill 20 has been unanimously passed, and if instated as law will criminalise the possession of any material depicting a minor in obscene ways.
Texas senators have unanimously passed Senate Bill 20 as an amendment to Chapter 43 of Texas’s penal code, which has now sparked concern within the anime, manga, and video game communities. The bill aims to criminalise the possession of any material, be it in print, video, or image, that “obscenely depicts” minor-aged characters.
The bill was passed to fight obscene AI generated content
An official statement by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pointed out the proliferation of child pornographic content through AI creation, and how Senate Bill 20 addresses this issue in the hopes of safeguarding children: “As Texas enters the digital age, our state must be very careful about our approach to artificial intelligence. With the proliferation of AI-generated pornography, steps must be taken to protect Texans, and specifically children, from harmful computer-generated content and the crimes that arise from it.”
Senate Bill 20 creates a new state felony offense for the possession or promotion of obscene visual material that depicts minors, whether fictional or an actual child in mediums such as cartoon, animation, or image created by AI.
Anime, manga, and video games are up to interpretation
However, the terminology used in Senate Bill 20 is expansive and ambiguous enough that it covers the realms of anime, manga, and video games.
The degree of “obscenity” that the bill defines itself is left to interpretation. Although activities described by Section 43.21(a)(1)(A)(B) covers much of what could be considered sexually explicit, (C), to fans of the anime, manga, and video game medium, muddies the waters significantly considering the definition states that material that includes minor-aged characters could be deemed illegal if “taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, and scientific value.”
So what could be deemed as “obscene”, such as romance scenes in typical high-school based shoujo anime, for example, could be considered if the degree of the relationship featured “sexually suggestive” connotations. Even anime shows that include minor characters in what could be considered as “sexually suggestive” depictions, be it in appearance or outfit, may be included if deemed too explicit.
Certain characters who appear underage, but are not underage in a narrative context, could also be relevant under the definitions of the bill, as the appearance denotes a child and does not consider the established age. While mature storylines that include minors could also go into contention, no matter if the intention of the show, manga, or game is to point out the complexities and seriousness of the subject matter. For fans of these mediums, this ambiguity could be used to ban any anime or manga as long as the story involves minor-aged characters.
Persons who are found guilty of owning such material, if the bill passes into law, will be apprehended and will be sent to prison, as the offense is considered a state jail felony.
But this isn't the first time that anime and manga have faced censorship in America. Florida made news back in 2024 when the Brevard School District banned the popular boy's love manga Sasaki and Miyano, citing “inappropriate content” such as romance and dating amongst youth, and that "sexual orientation should not be encouraged, suggested, or implanted".
