An Upstate legislator is hoping to prevent anyone who buys a computer in South Carolina from accessing pornography.

State Rep. Bill Chumley, R-Spartanburg, said the Human Trafficking Prevention Act would require manufacturers or sellers to install digital blocking capabilities on computers and other devices that access the internet to prevent the viewing of obscene content.

The bill would fine manufacturers or sellers that sell a device without a digital blocking system installed. But any manufacturer or seller that didn't want to install the system could pay a $20 opt-out fee for each device sold.

Any buyers who want the filter lifted after purchasing a computer or device would have to pay a $20 fee, after verifying they are 18 or older.

“If an end user buys an apparatus, a computer, and they want access to that, they would have to pay to have that filter removed,” Chumley said.

The money collected from the fines and fees would go to the S.C. Attorney General’s Office's human trafficking task force, which works with law enforcement leaders, nonprofits and state advocates to find solutions to trafficking.

The bill also would prohibit access to any online hub that facilities prostitution and would require manufacturers or sellers to block any websites that facilitate trafficking, Chumley said.

“The human trafficking thing has exploded. It’s gotten to be a real problem,” Chumley said.

State officials have categorized the Upstate as a hotbed for human trafficking due to its location on Interstate 85 between Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C., two cities that consistently rank among the top 20 for human sex trafficking in the U.S.

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, South Carolina has had 1,330 calls to the hotline and reported 308 actual human trafficking cases since 2007.

Upstate law enforcement officials say the actual numbers are likely much higher, since many cases go unreported and victims are often reluctant to come forward.

Chumley said the effort, co-sponsored by state Rep. Mike Burns, R-Greenville, would combat crimes against children and protect children from exposure to sexually explicit materials.

“If we could have manufacturers install filters that would be shipped to South Carolina, then anything that children have access on for pornography would be blocked,” Chumley said. “We felt like that would be another way to fight human trafficking.”

In the pre-filed bill, the filter must have a system in place to allow consumers to report any obscene content that hasn't been caught by the filter.

Chumley referred to the bill as a “beginning point” and said once the legislation is debated in session, changes could be made.

“It’s where almost everybody has access to a computer now. It’s porn on demand,” Chumley said. “We have to start somewhere. … We’re bringing attention to it. We’re not being political. It’s an issue I’m pretty passionate about.”