South Carolina H 3399: Children's Default to Safety Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3399 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3399

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE 
"CHILDREN'S DEFAULT TO SAFETY ACT" BY ADDING ARTICLE 9 TO CHAPTER 5, TITLE 39 
SO AS TO PROVIDE PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN AGAINST UNFILTERED DEVICES; TO 
PROVIDE NECESSARY DEFINITIONS; TO REQUIRE MANUFACTURERS OF SMART PHONES AND 
TABLETS TO AUTOMATICALLY ENABLE AND PASSCODE-PROTECT THE FILTERS BLOCKING 
MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS ON DEVICES ACTIVATED IN THIS STATE; TO SUBJECT 
MANUFACTURERS TO CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ARTICLE; 
AND TO SUBJECT INDIVIDUALS TO CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LIABILITY FOR VIOLATIONS OF 
THIS ARTICLE; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 16-17-490, RELATING TO CONTRIBUTING TO 
DELINQUENCY OF A MINOR, SO AS TO PROHIBIT PROVIDING A PASSCODE TO REMOVE THE 
PORNOGRAPHY FILTER FOR AN INTERNET-ACCESSIBLE DEVICE BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN A 
MINOR'S PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Children's Default to Safety Act".

SECTION 2. Chapter 5, Title 39 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

Article 9

Children's Default to Safety Act

 Section 
39-5-910. (1) "Activate" means the 
process of powering on a device and associating it with a new user account.

 (2) 
"Device" means a tablet or a smart phone manufactured on or after January 1, 
2026.

 (3) 
"Filter" means software installed on a device that is capable of preventing the 
device from accessing or displaying material that is harmful to minors through 
the internet or any applications owned and controlled by the manufacturer and 
installed on the device.

 (4) 
"Harmful to minors" means the same as the term is defined in Section 
16-15-375(1).

 (5) "Internet" 
means the global information system that is logically linked together by a 
globally unique address space based on the internet protocol (IP), or its 
subsequent extensions, and that is able to support communications using the 
transmission control protocol/internet protocol(TCP/IP) suite, or its 
subsequent extensions, or other IP-compatible protocols, and that provides, 
uses, or makes accessible, either publicly or privately, high-level services 
layered on communications and related infrastructure.

 (6) "Manufacturer" 
means a person that:

 (a) 
is engaged in the business of manufacturing a device; or

 (b) 
holds the patents for the device it manufactures; and

 (c) 
has a designated registered agent as required by Section 33-5-101.

 (7) 
"Minor" means an individual under the age of eighteen who is not emancipated, 
married, or a member of the Armed Forces of the United States.

 (8) 
"Smart phone" means an electronic device that combines a cellular phone with a 
hand-held computer, typically offering internet access, data storage, text, and 
email capabilities.

 (9) 
"Tablet" means an internet-ready device equipped with an operating system, 
touchscreen display, rechargeable battery, and has the ability to support 
access to a cellular network.

 Section 
39-5-920. Beginning January 1, 2026, a manufacturer 
must manufacture a device that, when activated in this State, automatically 
enables and passcode protects a filter that:

 (1) 
when enabled, prevents the user from accessing or downloading material that is harmful 
to minors on:

 (a) 
mobile data networks;

 (b) 
applications owned and controlled by the manufacturer;

 (c) 
wired internet networks; and

 (d) 
wireless internet networks;

 (2) 
notifies the user of the device when the filter blocks the device from 
downloading an application or accessing a website;

 (3) 
gives a user with a passcode the opportunity to unblock a filtered application 
or website; and

 (4) 
reasonably precludes a user other than a user with a passcode the opportunity 
to deactivate, modify, or uninstall the filter.

 Section 
39-5-930. (A) Beginning January 1, 
2026, a manufacturer of a device is subject to civil and criminal liability if:

 (1) 
the device is activated in this State;

 (2) 
the device does not, upon activation, enable a filter that complies with the 
requirements described in Section 39-5-920; and

 (3) 
the minor accesses material that is harmful to minors on the device.

 (B) 
Notwithstanding subsection (A), this section does not apply to a manufacturer 
that makes a good faith effort to provide a device that, upon activation of the 
device in this State, automatically enables a generally accepted and 
commercially reasonable method of filtration in accordance with this section 
and industry standards.

 Section 
39-5-940. (A) Whenever the South 
Carolina Attorney General has reason to believe that a person violated or is 
violating