Although the Internet is made up of networks that span the globe and reach far beyond state jurisdiction, there are limited steps Utah can take to reduce access to online pornography, lawmakers were told Wednesday.

No action was taken, but legislators want to keep studying ways to crack down on people viewing porn on the Internet. The fact that adult material is out there makes the medium unsafe for children, said Ralph Yarrow of the anti-porn CP80 Foundation.

"We have an Internet out of control," Yarrow told lawmakers. "For some reason, people think anarchy means democracy.

"As long as the content is mixed, it's adult."

Utah's regulatory reach doesn't extend past the state line, so there's not much the state can do on its own -- but Cheryl Preston, a Brigham Young University law professor, said legislators could implement new rules for Internet service providers located in Utah.

The state could start a voluntary program in which ISPs could get state certification if they took certain actions to restrict pornography, she said. Customers would also agree, for example, not to post material that is obscene or harmful to minors.

"Just like recycled paper, or 'We're a green company,' " Preston said.

ISPs could also be required to keep records so that those disseminating objectionable material could be tracked. Furthermore, anyone offering public wireless service could be required to take anti-porn measures, and she suggested an educational campaign that would teach people about the kinds of material on the Internet, the methods used by porn marketers and how to secure personal computers and networks.

Representatives of ISPs did not speak at Wednesday's meeting of the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee, but lawmakers said they would seek industry input.

Although committee members were unanimous in denouncing pornography, they also had stories of how porn had found its way into their lives.

Rep. Melvin Brown, R-Coalville, said that two years ago -- after hearing a presentation on minors accessing pornography -- he decided to test how easy it would be for children to stumble onto the stuff.

He entered a search term that he couldn't recall Wednesday, although he said it "wasn't a real expressive sexual kind of word." And then, he said, he got caught up in a pornado -- sexually explicit pop-up windows took over his computer.

"I had this instant flash of pornographic trash on my computer that just started popping up," Brown said. "I could not turn it off. As fast as I would turn something off, something would pop on."

He had to turn off his computer to stop it, he said.

It could happen to anyone, said Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City.

"I've never opened a site in my life, but what pops up is unbelievable," he said.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C3.