SF 207 (LSB 1708XS (12) 91)

SENATE FILE 207

BY  ALONS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to civil liability for certain commercial 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.  554I.1  Definitions.
   For purposes of this chapter:
   1.  “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.
   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 an internet service provider, cloud service provider, wireless service provider, internet search engine, or an affiliate or subsidiary of an internet service provider, cloud service provider, wireless service provider, or internet search engine.
   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 and the failure allows access by a minor to the obscene material.
   2.  Reasonable age verification required under subsection 1 may be conducted by a third party 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  Limitations on liability.
   1.  a.  This chapter shall not be construed to impose liability on a user of an interactive computer service on the internet.
   b.  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 to the extent the provider is not responsible for the creation of the obscene material. For purposes of this paragraph, “access or connection” includes but is not limited to transmitting, downloading, providing intermediate storage for, and providing access software for data.
   2.  The requirements of this chapter shall be enforced exclusively through private civil actions. No direct or indirect enforcement of this chapter may be taken or threatened by the state or any political subdivision thereof.
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 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 and the failure allows access by a minor to the obscene material. 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 conducted by a third party, and the bill permits the use of cryptographic techniques to preserve anonymity and protect privacy. A covered platform or third party that performs required reasonable age verification 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 and actual damages resulting from a minor’s access to obscene material, from the distribution, sale, or other dissemination of an individual’s identifying information obtained through the performance of reasonable age verification, or from the retention of identifying information, plus reasonable attorney fees and costs.
   Punitive damages for a violation of the bill’s provisions 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 civil 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 to the extent the provider is not responsible for the creation of the obscene material.
   The bill may be enforced exclusively through private civil actions, and the state and political subdivisions are prohibited from enforcing the provisions of the bill.