Is Anime at risk in the US? SCREEN Act Proposal sparks fan outrage

There is a lot of ongoing chatter on social media about the US Congress banning anime, which has now sent fans into a frenzy. But despite the buzz, there is no actual federal proposal to outlaw anime. This confusion has raised from the proposed SCREEN act and concerns over some state laws.

SCREEN Act sparks misunderstandings about Anime ban in the U.S.

The SCREEN Act was introduced by Congresswoman Mary Miller and Senator Mike Lee and was officially named Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net Act. The goal behind this was to protect minors' access to pornography and implement an age-verification protocol. While the language focuses on adult material, it does not necessarily target ANIME.

Although, the internet started meme-fueling on this topic in X and Reddit, which escalated the panic among fans. Once user said, "Who’s here after hearing that Congress is going to ban anime?” while another joked, “Us Congress wants to ban anime????? Good luck with that.” Some of the tension also comes from Texas Senate Bill 20, that has criminalized the promotion of visuals that might affect minors which includes animated and cartoon depictions. The vague wording in the bill has raised concerns among the manga fans that certain work could be terminated under this law.

Anime fans reactions:

The founder of Anime Matsuri Denise Leigh shared concerned on this and said, "The bill is vague and open to interpretation of what is considered offensive and obscene in art/animation." Likewise, University of Texas professor Kirsten Cather said, “There’s a real slippery slope here that’s being breached.”

On reality grounds, there is no nationwide legislation ban on anime exists and the SCREEN Act regulates to curb pornography and not anime or manga.

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.