House File 62 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 62 BY WILLS A BILL FOR An Act relating to obscene material available on devices and 1 imposing civil liability on certain entities who publish or 2 distribute obscene material on the internet. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1466HH (4) 91 dg/jh

H.F. 62 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 554I.1 Publication and distribution 1 of obscene material on the internet —— age verification. 2 1. For purposes of this chapter: 3 a. “Interactive computer service” means the same as that 4 term is defined in 47 U.S.C. §230. 5 b. “Obscene material” means the same as defined in section 6 728.1. 7 2. A commercial entity that knowingly or intentionally 8 publishes or distributes obscene material on the internet shall 9 verify that any person attempting to access obscene material is 10 not a minor through the use of any of the following: 11 a. A commercially available database that is regularly used 12 by businesses or governmental entities for the purpose of age 13 and identity verification. 14 b. Another commercially reasonable method of age and 15 identity verification. 16 3. A commercial entity that violates the provisions of 17 this section shall be subject to civil liability for damages 18 resulting from a minor’s access to obscene material and 19 reasonable attorney fees and costs. 20 4. This section shall not be construed to impose civil 21 liability on a provider or user of an interactive computer 22 service on the internet. 23 EXPLANATION 24 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 25 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 26 This bill creates civil liability for commercial entities 27 who publish or distribute obscene material on the internet 28 that is accessed by minors. The bill requires a commercial 29 entity that knowingly or intentionally publishes or distributes 30 obscene material on the internet to use reasonable age 31 verification methods to verify that the individual attempting 32 to access the material is not a minor. A commercial entity 33 that is found in violation shall be civilly liable to an 34 individual for damages resulting from a minor’s access to the 35 -1- LSB 1466HH (4) 91 dg/jh 1/ 2

H.F. 62 material, including court costs and reasonable attorney fees as 1 ordered by the court. The bill does not impose civil liability 2 on a provider or user of an interactive computer service on the 3 internet. 4 -2- LSB 1466HH (4) 91 dg/jh 2/ 2