House Study Bill 523 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON BAUDLER) A BILL FOR An Act relating to requirements for specific digital 1 content-blocking capabilities of products manufactured, 2 distributed, or sold in the state that make the internet 3 accessible, providing for the collection and remittance of 4 fees, and providing for criminal and civil liability for 5 certain violations of the Act. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 TLSB 5297YC (3) 87 ko/rj

H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 710B.1 Definitions. 1 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise 2 requires: 3 1. “Consumer” means an individual who purchases a product 4 that makes the internet accessible from a person in this state 5 that manufactures, distributes, or sells such a product. 6 2. “Full or partial nudity” means the same as defined in 7 section 708.7. 8 3. “Human trafficking” means the same as defined in section 9 710A.1. 10 4. “Obscene material” means the same as defined in section 11 728.1. 12 5. “Photograph or film” means the same as defined in section 13 708.7. 14 6. “Prohibited sexual act” means the same as defined in 15 section 728.1. 16 7. “Revenge pornography” means a photograph or film 17 showing another person in a state of full or partial nudity or 18 engaged in a sex act that has been disseminated, published, 19 distributed, or posted without the consent of the person in the 20 photograph or film. 21 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 710B.2 Digital content-blocking 22 capability requirement. 23 A person in this state that manufactures, distributes, 24 or sells a product that makes the internet accessible 25 to a user of the product shall not manufacture, sell, or 26 distribute the product without an active and operating digital 27 content-blocking capability that blocks all internet sites that 28 contain any of the following: 29 1. Obscene material. 30 2. Revenge pornography. 31 3. A minor engaged in a prohibited sexual act or visual 32 depiction of sexual exploitation of a minor as described in 33 section 728.12. 34 4. An unlawful act promoting or facilitating prostitution 35 -1- LSB 5297YC (3) 87 ko/rj 1/ 7

H.F. _____ as described in section 725.1. 1 5. An unlawful act promoting or facilitating human 2 trafficking. 3 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 710B.3 Duty to maintain appropriate 4 functioning of digital content blocking capabilities. 5 A person in this state that manufactures, distributes, or 6 sells a product that makes the internet accessible to a user of 7 the product shall do all of the following: 8 1. Make reasonable and ongoing efforts to ensure proper 9 functioning of the digital content blocking capability in all 10 products manufactured, distributed, or sold. 11 2. Provide routine digital content blocking updates to 12 a consumer of a product containing digital content blocking 13 to ensure the ongoing quality and performance of the digital 14 content blocking. 15 3. Establish a telephone call center or internet site for a 16 consumer to report a violation of the digital content blocking 17 requirements of this chapter or to report digital content 18 blocking of an internet site not subject to the requirements 19 of section 710B.2. 20 4. Investigate a consumer’s report of a violation of this 21 chapter and provide the consumer an appropriate digital content 22 blocking update within thirty days of the initial report if a 23 violation of section 710B.2 has occurred. 24 5. Investigate a consumer’s report of digital content 25 blocking of an internet site not subject to the requirements of 26 section 710B.2 and if appropriate enable the consumer’s access 27 to the internet site within thirty days of the initial report. 28 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 710B.4 Prohibition on digital content 29 blocking of certain internet sites. 30 A person in this state that manufactures, distributes, or 31 sells a product that makes the internet accessible to a user 32 of the product shall not activate or make operational digital 33 content blocking on the product to make any of the following 34 internet sites inaccessible: 35 -2- LSB 5297YC (3) 87 ko/rj 2/ 7

H.F. _____ 1. A social media internet site that has an existing process 1 to manage a complaint by a user of the site. 2 2. An internet site not specified in section 710B.2. 3 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 710B.5 Restrictions on deactivation of 4 digital content blocking capability. 5 A person in this state that manufactures, distributes, 6 or sells a product that makes the internet accessible shall 7 not share, sell, or distribute a method, source code, or any 8 other instruction to deactivate the digital content blocking 9 capability of the product unless all of the following apply: 10 1. A consumer of the product submits a written request for 11 deactivation. 12 2. Proof that the consumer is age eighteen or older is 13 provided. 14 3. The manufacturer, distributor, or seller of the product 15 provides the consumer with a written warning that outlines the 16 consequences of deactivation. 17 4. The consumer signs an acknowledgment that a written 18 warning has been provided. 19 5. The consumer pays a one-time twenty-dollar deactivation 20 fee. 21 Sec. 6. NEW SECTION . 710B.6 Remittance of deactivation fees 22 and deposit into victim compensation fund. 23 1. A manufacturer, distributor, or seller shall annually 24 remit all deactivation fees collected under section 710B.5 25 to the treasurer of state in the manner prescribed by the 26 treasurer of state. 27 2. The treasurer of state shall deposit all deactivation 28 fees received into the victim compensation fund to be used as 29 provided in section 915.94. 30 Sec. 7. NEW SECTION . 710B.7 Criminal liability. 31 1. A person in this state that manufactures, distributes, 32 or sells a product that makes the internet accessible to a 33 consumer of the product is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor 34 if any of the following apply: 35 -3- LSB 5297YC (3) 87 ko/rj 3/ 7

H.F. _____ a. The product does not comply with section 710B.2. 1 b. The person that manufactures, distributes, or sells 2 the product provides a method, source code, or any other 3 instruction to deactivate the digital content blocking 4 capability of the product other than pursuant to a written 5 request by a consumer to deactivate the product. 6 c. The person that manufactures, distributes, or sells the 7 product deactivates the digital content blocking capability in 8 a manner that violates section 710B.5. 9 2. An affirmative defense under section 728.10 applies to 10 this section. 11 Sec. 8. NEW SECTION . 710B.8 Civil cause of action and 12 injunctive relief. 13 1. A consumer of a product containing digital content 14 blocking capabilities that makes the internet accessible may 15 bring a civil action seeking relief from a person in this 16 state that manufactures, distributes, or sells the product 17 and may recover up to five hundred dollars in damages per 18 reported violation plus reasonable attorney fees and court 19 costs if the person’s violation is substantiated pursuant to an 20 investigation conducted under section 710B.3, subsection 4. 21 2. The attorney general or county attorney may seek 22 injunctive relief if a person in this state that manufactures, 23 distributes, or sells a product that makes the internet 24 accessible to a consumer of the product violates section 710B.2 25 or 710B.3. 26 Sec. 9. NEW SECTION . 710B.9 Applicability. 27 This chapter applies to a person in this state that 28 manufactures, distributes, or sells a product on or after 29 January 1, 2019, that makes the internet accessible to a user 30 of the product. 31 EXPLANATION 32 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 33 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 34 This bill relates to requirements for specific digital 35 -4- LSB 5297YC (3) 87 ko/rj 4/ 7

H.F. _____ content-blocking capabilities of products manufactured, 1 distributed, or sold in the state that make the internet 2 accessible. The bill prohibits a person from manufacturing, 3 distributing, or selling a product without an active and 4 operating digital content-blocking capability that blocks 5 any internet site that contains material that is obscene or 6 that constitutes sexual exploitation of a minor, promotion 7 or facilitation of prostitution, promotion or facilitation 8 of human trafficking, or revenge pornography as defined or 9 described in the bill. 10 The bill requires such a person to make reasonable and 11 ongoing efforts to ensure proper functioning of the digital 12 content blocking capability, to provide routine updates for 13 the digital content blocking to a consumer who has a product 14 containing digital content blocking, to establish a call center 15 or internet site that allows consumers to report a violation 16 of the digital content blocking or to report blocking of an 17 internet site that is not required to be blocked. In addition, 18 such a person is required to investigate a consumer’s report of 19 a violation and provide an appropriate update to the digital 20 content blocking capability within 30 days of the initial 21 report, and to investigate any consumer report of blocking of 22 an internet site that is not required to be blocked, and if 23 appropriate, enable consumer access to the incorrectly blocked 24 site within 30 days of the initial report. 25 The bill prohibits digital content blocking of social 26 media internet sites that have existing processes to manage 27 complaints from a user of the site or blocking of any 28 internet site that does not contain obscene material, revenge 29 pornography, or acts or depictions of sexual exploitation of a 30 minor, or does not promote or facilitate prostitution or human 31 trafficking. 32 The bill prohibits a manufacturer, distributer, or seller 33 from sharing, selling, or distributing a method, source code, 34 or any other instruction to deactivate the digital content 35 -5- LSB 5297YC (3) 87 ko/rj 5/ 7

H.F. _____ blocking capability unless a consumer of a product submits a 1 written request for deactivation, provides proof the consumer 2 is age 18 or older, signs an acknowledgment that a written 3 warning outlining the consequences of deactivation has been 4 provided by the manufacturer, distributor, or seller, and pays 5 a one-time $20 deactivation fee. 6 The manufacturer, distributer, or seller must annually remit 7 all deactivation fees that are collected to the treasurer of 8 state. The treasurer of state shall deposit all fees received 9 into the victim compensation fund to be used as provided in 10 Code section 915.94. 11 A person in this state that manufactures, distributes, or 12 sells a product that makes the internet accessible is guilty 13 of an aggravated misdemeanor if the product does not contain 14 the required digital content blocking capabilities, or the 15 person deactivates the digital content blocking capability in a 16 manner other than that authorized by the bill, or the person 17 provides a consumer of a product with a method, source code, 18 or any other instruction to deactivate the digital content 19 blocking capability. An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable 20 by confinement for no more than two years and a fine of at least 21 $625 but not more than $6,250. 22 The bill provides for a civil cause of action if a person 23 that manufactures, distributes, or sells a product that makes 24 the internet accessible does not respond appropriately to 25 a consumer’s report of a violation of the digital content 26 blocking capability requirement. A consumer of a product may 27 bring a civil action seeking relief and recover up to $500 28 in damages per reported violation, plus reasonable attorney 29 fees and court costs. The attorney general or county attorney 30 may seek injunctive relief if products are sold without 31 the required digital content blocking or the manufacturer, 32 distributer, or seller fails to maintain the digital content 33 blocking capabilities, or fails to respond as required to a 34 consumer complaint. 35 -6- LSB 5297YC (3) 87 ko/rj 6/ 7