Utah launches 'snitch form' so public can rat on transgender people using wrong bathrooms - but link is trolled with 4,000 hoax reports in 72 hours
- Utah passed a law in January restricting bathroom use to birth sex
- To police the law, they created a Hotline Complaint Form
Utah has been trolled with 4,000 hoax entries in 72 hours after launching a 'snitch form' for the public to report transgender people for using the 'wrong' bathrooms.
The state passed a law in January requiring people to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex assigned at birth in government-owned buildings.
To police the law, they created a Hotline Complaint Form - dubbed the 'snitch form' - for members of the public to report breaches to the state auditor's office.
But less than 72 hours after the form's launch, Utah Auditor John Dougall said they had received nearly 4,000 'bogus' complaints from trolls and not a single 'verifiable' report.
The vague form has a space for people to submit 'evidence' of violations, but no checks on what they upload which critics say encourages people to photograph strangers in restrooms.
Utah signed a law in January requiring people to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex assigned at birth in government-owned buildings.
To police the law, they created a Hotline Complaint Form - dubbed the 'snitch form' - for members of the public to report breaches to the state auditor's office
The vague form has space for people to submit 'evidence' of violations, but there are no checks on what they upload which critics say encourages people to photograph strangers in restrooms
The Utah Auditor's office created the five-question form to comply with law HB257 'Sex-based Designations for Privacy, Anti-bullying and Women’s Opportunities'.
The law was rushed through and signed by Governor Spencer Cox on January 26 and restricts which bathrooms and locker rooms trans people can use in government-owned buildings.
Under the law, the state's auditor was required to 'establish a process to receive and investigate alleged violations of this chapter by a government entity' with potential fines up to $10,000 per violation per day.
But auditor Dougall told The Salt Lake Tribune that they had received nearly 4,000 reports since launching the form but 'didn't see anything that looks credible'.
Instead the complaints have been 'bogus', he said: 'For example, if they have my name as a complainant, you know, I’m not complaining.'
He added: 'I would assume the Legislature probably didn’t think through what kind of public backlash might happen.'
The form only requires members of the public to submit a name and email, with no other checks.
It also has a space to add 'documents supporting your complaint', like images or PDFs, which critics have slammed for encouraging strangers to photograph each other in restrooms.
Utah Senator Jennifer Plumb said: 'Apparently Utah's solution to people feeling unsafe in restrooms is to encourage folks to take photos of & focus extreme attention on the private parts of others who are taking care of a biological need to eliminate waste?'
A Twitter user said: 'I'm pretty certain this snitch line is encouraging people to break the law by taking photos of others in the bathroom.'
In response, trolls have flooded the form with fake entries. Sharing the link on a Reddit forum, one user said: 'They're essentially inviting people to attach d**k pics for official government inspection.'
The law was rushed through and signed by Governor Spencer Cox on January 26
Under the legislation, transgender people can defend themselves against complaints by proving they had gender-affirming surgery and changed the sex on their birth certificate
'We need to step up our game, guys. Memes and trolling do not lead to this reporting system getting clogged. We need legitimate sounding reports to clog the system.'
Last week 404 media reported that the database of entries had been left open to the public until Thursday, meaning anyone could view reports and photos inputted.
Under the legislation, transgender people can defend themselves against complaints by proving they had gender-affirming surgery and changed the sex on their birth certificate. Opponents noted not all states allow people to change their birth certificates and that many trans people don't want to have surgery.
The legislation also requires schools to create 'privacy plans' for trans students and others who may not be comfortable using group bathrooms, for instance by allowing them to use a faculty bathroom — something opponents say may 'out' transgender children.
'We want public facilities that are safe and accommodating for everyone and this bill increases privacy protections for all,' Cox said in a statement Tuesday night.
At least 10 other states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee — have passed laws that seek to regulate which bathrooms trans people can use, and nine states regulate the bathrooms that trans students can use at school.
