HF 2051 (LSB 5235HH (2) 90)

HOUSE FILE 2051

BY  SHIPLEY

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to obscene material available on devices and imposing civil liability on entities who publish or distribute obscene material on the internet.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  554H.1  Publication and distribution of obscene material to minors on the internet.
   1.  For purposes of this chapter:
   a.  “Interactive computer service” means the same as that term is defined in 47 U.S.C. §230.
   b.  “Obscene material” means the same as defined in section 728.1, subsection 5.
   2.  “Social media platform” means an internet search engine, internet website, internet system, access software provider, or application that is open to the public, allows a user of the platform to create an account, and enables users to communicate with one another for the primary purpose of posting information, comments, messages, or images. “Social media platform” does not include any of the following:
   a.  An internet service provider.
   b.  Electronic mail.
   c.  An online service, application, or website that consists primarily of news, sports, entertainment, or other information or content that is not user generated but is preselected by the provider and for which any chat, comments, or interactive functionality is incidental to, directly related to, or dependent on the content.
   3.  Any commercial entity or social media platform that knowingly or intentionally publishes or distributes obscene material to minors on the internet from a website that contains such material shall verify that any person attempting to access obscene material is not a minor through the use of any of the following:
   a.  A commercially available database that is regularly used by businesses or governmental entities for the purpose of age and identity verification
   b.  Another commercially reasonable method of age and identity verification.
   4.  Any commercial entity or social media platform that violates the provisions of this section shall be subject to civil liability for damages resulting from a minor’s access to obscene material and reasonable attorney fees and costs.
   5.  This section shall not be construed to impose civil liability on a provider or user of an interactive computer service on the internet.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill creates civil liability for commercial entities and social media platforms who publish or distribute material harmful to minors on the internet. The bill provides any commercial entity or social media platform that knowingly or intentionally publishes or distributes obscene material to minors on the internet from a website that contains such material shall be held civilly liable if the entity fails to perform reasonable age verification methods to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the material. Any commercial entity or social media platform that is found in violation shall be civilly liable to an individual for damages resulting from a minor’s accessing the material, including court costs and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court. The bill does not impose civil liability on a provider or user of an interactive computer service on the internet.