Alaska HB 254: An Act relating to minors and the Internet; and relating to use of social media by minors.

Bill Text

HB0254D -1- SCS CSHB 254(L&C)
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SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 254(L&C)

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE - SECOND SESSION

BY THE SENATE LABOR AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE

Offered: 5/6/24
Referred: Judiciary

Sponsor(s): REPRESENTATIVES VANCE, Carpenter, Rauscher, Gray
A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to liability for publishing or distributing pornography to minors on the 1
Internet." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 09.68 is amended by adding a new section to read: 4
Sec. 09.68.140. Civil liability for publishing or distributing pornography to 5
minors on the Internet. (a) A commercial entity that intentionally publishes or 6
distributes pornography on the Internet from an Internet website that contains a 7
substantial portion of pornography shall use a commercially reasonable age 8
verification method to verify that a person attempting to access the pornography is 18 9
years of age or older. A commercial entity that violates this subsection is liable to an 10
individual for damages resulting from a minor accessing the pornography. In this 11
subsection, "commercially reasonable age verification method" includes requiring the 12
person attempting to access the pornography to provide a digitized identification card, 13
requiring the person to comply with a commercial age verification system that verifies 14

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SCS CSHB 254(L&C) -2- HB0254D
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age using government-issued identification, or another method that relies on public or 1
private transactional data. 2
(b) A commercial entity or third party may not retain identifying information 3
of an individual used to verify age under (a) of this section after access has been 4
granted to the pornography. A commercial entity that knowingly retains identifying 5
information of an individual after access has been granted to the individual is liable to 6
the individual for damages resulting from retaining the identifying information. 7
(c) The attorney general may investigate an alleged violation of (a) or (b) of 8
this section and may bring a civil action in superior court. 9
(d) In addition to damages under (a) or (b) of this section, a commercial entity 10
that knowingly violates (a) or (b) of this section is liable to the state in a civil action 11
for 12
(1) a civil penalty of $10,000 for each day that the commercial entity is 13
in violation of (a) or (b) of this section; 14
(2) an additional civil penalty of not more than $250,000 if, as a result 15
of the commercial entity's violation of (a) of this section, a minor accesses 16
pornography that the entity published or distributed; and 17
(3) full reasonable attorney fees and costs. 18
(e) When determining the amount of a civil penalty under (d)(2) of this 19
section, the superior court shall consider 20
(1) the seriousness of the violation, including the nature, 21
circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation; 22
(2) the commercial entity's history of prior violations; 23
(3) the deterrent effect of the civil penalty; 24
(4) the economic effect of the civil penalty on the commercial entity; 25
(5) the commercial entity's knowledge of the requirements of this 26
section; and 27
(6) any other information that justice requires. 28
(f) This section does not apply to a news or public interest broadcast, Internet 29
website video, report, or event. This section may not be construed to affect the rights 30
of a 31

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HB0254D -3- SCS CSHB 254(L&C)
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(1) printed, online, or mobile platform newspaper, news publication, or 1
news source of current news; 2
(2) radio broadcast station, television broadcast station, cable 3
television operator, or wire service; or 4
(3) an employee of an entity identified in (1) or (2) of this subsection. 5
(g) A commercial entity that is an Internet service provider, search engine, 6
cloud service provider, or affiliate or subsidiary of an Internet service provider is not 7
liable under this section if the entity 8
(1) is not responsible for the creation of the pornography; and 9
(2) solely provides access or connections to 10
(A) an Internet website; 11
(B) information or material on the Internet; or 12
(C) a system or network, not under the control of the entity, for 13
data transmission, intermediate storage, Internet access software, or another 14
service related to Internet access or connectivity. 15
(h) In this section, 16
(1) "commercial entity" includes a corporation, limited liability 17
company, partnership, limited partnership, sole proprietorship, or other entity 18
recognized by law; 19
(2) "distribute" means to issue, sell, give, provide, deliver, transfer, 20
transmit, circulate, or disseminate by any means; 21
(3) "Internet" means the international computer network of both 22
federal and nonfederal interoperable