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Utah's toilet spy is a major failure

The Utah State Auditor was “unable to substantiate a single violation of the state’s anti-transgender restroom ban” in over 12,000 complaints.

The state Auditor General's Office in May released a form that the public can use to report transgender people using locker rooms and restrooms that match their gender identity to state authorities. The form was intended to be a means of enforcing a recently enacted state law that criminally charges people who use “locker rooms” in state buildings that do not match their biological sex.

HB 257 changed the state's legal definitions of “female” and “male,” defining the terms solely based on reproductive organs. It defines a “women's restroom” and a “men's restroom” as spaces intended exclusively for women and men, respectively. It affects government facilities such as public schools, courthouses, libraries, recreation centers, airports, and some sports arenas.

The form was quickly flooded with memes and hoaxes after its launch. Now, nearly two months later, despite over 12,000 reports submitted, the form still hasn't resulted in a single substantiated complaint. Only five reports were deemed “plausible” enough to investigate, and each investigation turned up nothing, the Utah Public Auditor announced Wednesday in a statement released via the Salt Lake Tribune.

The state auditor's office has struggled with enforcement since the bathroom ban was passed, noting in its statement that there is still no “data privacy compliance plan.” Data breaches have been a key concern since the law was passed, as the form allows people to upload images to provide evidence of “incidents” while requiring the submitter's name and email address to be provided.

Despite the overwhelming failure, Utah's auditor insisted he would keep the form and continue to investigate the few reports he considers serious.

“In June, almost all of the complaints we received were also not serious,” the statement continued. “We have completed our investigations and are not currently investigating any further complaints. If we identify any complaints that are credible or made in good faith, we will investigate them in accordance with legal requirements.”

Anna Harden

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