Utah’s ‘snitch line’ to report trans people in bathrooms backfires in spectacular fashion – By Clarissa-Jan Lim (MSNBC) / May 4, 2024
The state auditor’s office apparently didn’t anticipate that asking the public to help enforce its anti-trans bathroom ban would result in thousands of memes and nonsense submissions.
In an attempt to crowdsource enforcement of an anti-trans bathroom law that went into effect this week, Utah’s state auditor has rolled out an online complaint form to report trans people in bathrooms.
Released on Wednesday, the so-called hotline complaint form allows people to report alleged violations of House Bill 257, which requires individuals to use restrooms and changing rooms in government buildings that correspond with their sex assigned at birth.
The legislation has caused fear and confusion among teachers, parents and students in public schools. Under HB 257, a person found to have violated the law can be charged with criminal trespassing and could serve jail time, and a government entity can be fined up to $10,000 per day for a violation.
The complaint form has so far proven to be a bust. Several people posted screenshots to the social media platform X showing them trolling the form with memes and other nonsensical submissions. By Friday, the state auditor’s office had received nearly 4,000 complaints, Utah Auditor John Dougall told The Salt Lake Tribune —all of which appear to be fake. “We didn’t see anything that looks credible,” Dougall said. “For example, if they have my name as a complainant, you know, I’m not complaining.”
