HF 864 (LSB 1466HV (4) 91)

HOUSE FILE 864

BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

(SUCCESSOR TO HF 62)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to certain commercial entities who publish or distribute obscene material on the internet, and providing civil penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  554I.1  Definitions.
   For purposes of this chapter:
   1.  a.  “Covered platform” means a commercial entity for which it is in the regular course of the trade or business of the entity to create, host, or make available, on the internet, obscene material provided by the entity, a user, or other information content provider.
   b.  For purposes of this subsection, the presence alone of obscene material on a commercial entity’s internet site shall not be construed to mean that the commercial entity’s regular course of trade or business is creating, hosting, or making available obscene material on the internet. When determining whether a commercial entity’s regular course of trade or business is creating, hosting, or making available obscene material on the internet, a court shall consider all of the following:
   (1)  The amount of data that constitutes obscene material on the commercial entity’s internet site.
   (2)  The amount of data that constitutes obscene material on the commercial entity’s internet site in proportion to the total amount of data on the commercial entity’s internet site.
   (3)  The amount of user traffic to obscene material on the commercial entity’s internet site.
   (4)  The amount of user traffic to obscene material on the commercial entity’s internet site in proportion to all user traffic on the commercial entity’s internet site.
   (5)  The amount of revenue the commercial entity obtains from obscene material on the commercial entity’s internet site.
   (6)  The amount of revenue the commercial entity generates from obscene material on the commercial entity’s internet site in proportion to all revenues the commercial entity generates.
   (7)  Any other factor the court deems relevant.
   2.  “Identifying information” means any representation of information that permits the identity of an individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means.
   3.  “Information content provider” means the same as defined in 47 U.S.C. §230.
   4.  “Interactive computer service” means the same as defined in 47 U.S.C. §230.
   5.  “Obscene material” means the same as defined in section 728.1.
   6.  “Provider” means all of the following:
   a.  An internet service provider.
   b.  A cloud service provider.
   c.  A wireless service provider.
   d.  An internet search engine.
   e.  An information service as defined in 47 U.S.C. §153.
   f.  A telecommunications service as defined in 47 U.S.C. §153.
   g.  A cable service as defined in 47 U.S.C. §522.
   h.  An affiliate or a subsidiary of an entity listed in paragraph “a” through “g”.
   7.  “Reasonable age verification” means verifying the age of an individual by using any of the following methods:
   a.  Government-issued identification.
   b.  Financial documents or other documents that are reliable proxies for age.
   c.  Any other commercially reasonable and reliable method.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  554I.2  Publication and distribution of obscene material on the internet —— age verification —— civil liability.
   1.  A covered platform shall be held liable if the covered platform fails to perform reasonable age verification of individuals attempting to access obscene material published or distributed by the covered platform.
   2.  Reasonable age verification required under subsection 1 may be performed by a third party subject to state jurisdiction, and may employ cryptographic techniques such as zero knowledge proofs to preserve anonymity and protect privacy.
   3.  a.  A covered platform or third party that performs the reasonable age verification required under subsection 1 shall not retain an individual’s identifying information after the covered platform or third party completes the individual’s reasonable age verification.
   b.  A covered platform or third party that performs the reasonable age verification required under subsection 1 shall not distribute, sell, or otherwise disseminate an individual’s identifying information obtained through the covered platform’s or third party’s performance of reasonable age verification.
   4.  A covered platform that violates subsection 1 shall be subject to punitive damages resulting from the violation, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs. Punitive damages shall not exceed triple the aggregate amount of a plaintiff’s reasonable attorney fees and costs.
   5.  A covered platform or third party that violates subsection 3 shall be subject to punitive damages and actual damages resulting from the violation, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs. Punitive damages shall not exceed triple the aggregate amount of a plaintiff’s reasonable attorney fees and costs.
    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  554I.3  Enforcement —— penalties.
   1.  If the attorney general has reasonable belief that a covered platform, or third party performing reasonable age verification, is in violation of this chapter, the attorney general has the sole authority to bring civil action to provide for all of the following:
   a.  Enjoinment of further violations by the covered platform or third party performing reasonable age verification.
   b.  Enforcement of compliance with this chapter.
   c.  Assessment of civil penalties in an amount not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation of this chapter.
   d.  Other remedies permitted under law.
   2.  If the attorney general has reasonable belief that a covered platform, or third party performing reasonable age verification, is in violation of an injunction issued under this section, the attorney general has the sole authority to bring civil action to provide for civil penalties in an amount not more than one hundred thousand dollars.
   3.  An individual that has knowledge of a violation of this chapter may report the violation to the attorney general.
   4.  The attorney general shall establish an electronic reporting system for the submission of reports pursuant to this section.
    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  554I.4  Limitations on liability.
   1.  This chapter shall not be construed to impose liability on a user of an interactive computer service on the internet.
   2.  This chapter shall not be construed to impose liability on a provider solely for providing access or connection to a covered platform, or to obscene material on an internet site or in a facility, system, or network not under the provider’s control. For purposes of this subsection, “access or connection” includes but is not limited to transmitting, downloading, providing intermediate storage for, and providing access software for data.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to certain commercial entities who publish or distribute certain material on the internet.
   The bill defines “covered platform”, “identifying information”, “information content provider”, “interactive computer service”, “obscene material”, “provider”, and “reasonable age verification”.
   The bill makes a covered platform liable if the covered platform fails to perform reasonable age verification of individuals attempting to access obscene material published or distributed by the covered platform. Reasonable age verification includes the use of government-issued identification, financial documents or other documents that are reliable proxies for age, or any other commercially reasonable and reliable method. Reasonable age verification may be performed by a third party subject to state jurisdiction (third party), and the bill permits the use of cryptographic techniques to preserve anonymity and protect privacy. A covered platform or third party is prohibited from retaining an individual’s identifying information after completing the individual’s reasonable age verification, and from distributing, selling, or disseminating an individual’s identifying information obtained through the performance of reasonable age verification. A covered platform or third party is subject to punitive damages for violations of the bill. Punitive damages cannot exceed triple the aggregate amount of a plaintiff’s reasonable attorney fees and costs.
   The bill’s provisions are not to be construed as to impose liability on a user of an interactive computer service on the internet.
   The bill’s provisions are not to be construed as to impose liability on a provider solely for providing access or connection to a covered platform, or to obscene material on an internet site or in a facility, system, or network not under the provider’s control.
   If the attorney general has reasonable belief that a covered platform, or third party, is in violation of the bill, the attorney general may bring a civil action to enjoin further violations, enforce compliance with the bill, assess a civil penalty in an amount not more than $10,000 for each violation, and provide other remedies permitted by law. If the attorney general has reasonable belief that a covered platform, or third party, is in violation of an injunction issued under the bill, the attorney general may bring a civil action to provide for civil penalties in an amount not more than $100,000.
   The bill allows individuals with knowledge of a violation to report the violation to the attorney general, and requires the attorney general to establish an electronic reporting system for the submission of reports of violations of the bill.