Missouri HB 1957: Establishes the Protect Young Minds Online Act, which requires internet service providers to authenticate access to obscene websites

Bill Text

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1957
101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE RICHEY.
3678H.01I DANA RADEMAN MILLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To amend chapter 407, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to obscene
websites, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 407, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 407.1600, to read as follows:
407.1600. 1. Thissectionshallbeknownandmaybecitedasthe"ProtectYoung
2 Minds Online Act".
3 2. For the purposes of this section, the following terms mean:
4 (1) "Authentication",themeansbywhichasubscriberoruser designatedbythe
5 subscriber enters verification to access obscene websites, either by password or other
6 account verification through the internet service provider;
7 (2) "Internetserviceprovider",abusinessorapersonengagedinthebusinessof
8 providing access to the internet with the intent of making a profit;
9 (3) "Obscene", material or internet content that is or contains child
10 pornography, explicit sexual material, sadomasochistic abuse, sexual conduct, sexually
11 explicit conduct, or sexual performance as those terms are defined in section 573.010.
12 "Obscene" shall also have the same meaning given to the term in section 573.010;
13 (4) "Subscriber", a resident of this state or a business located in this state that
14 has entered into an agreement with an internet service provider to access the internet,
15 including wireless internet, in a private residence or as a business that will either
16 provide access to the public or to any employee under eighteen years of age.
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.

17 3. Aninternetserviceprovider,whenprovidingsubscribersinternetaccess,shall
18 authenticate access to obscene websites as set forth in subsections 4 to 8 of this section.
19 4. An internetservice provider shallredirect subscribers attempting toaccessan
20 obscene website to a webpage that:
21 (1) Notifies the subscriber that access to the website has been delayed for
22 authentication pursuant to this section; and
23 (2) Provides the subscriber the ability to enter authentication to gain access to
24 the obscene website.
25 5. (1) An internet service provider shall allow a subscriber to access an obscene
26 website only by the use of authentication.
27 (2) An internet service provider shall provide subscribers eighteen years of age
28 or older a mechanism to create a secure authentication in accordance with industry
29 standards for the purpose of allowing the subscriber to access obscene websites.
30 (3) Any information collected from the use of authentication shall be used only
31 for the implementation of this section.
32 6. Authentication shall be required at each attempt to access an obscene website,
33 andaninternetserviceprovidershallnotprovideamechanismfortheauthenticationto
34 be remembered beyond a time-out limit of five minutes. The authentication shall be
35 changed every three months.
36 7. An internet service provider shall provide to its subscribers who are eighteen
37 years of age or older, either in writing or electronically, information about this section
38 and how to create an authentication. The internet service provider shall communicate
39 the information beginning on the effective date of this section or when a person enters
40 into an agreement with the internet service provider for internet service. The
41 information shall include, but not be limited to, a brief description of the law requiring
42 authentication to access obscene websites; the procedure for creating, recovering, and
43 updating the authentication requiring multifactor authentication for the account
44 holder; and the penalty for individuals who knowingly share the authentication with
45 minors under eighteen years of age when such sharing results in the exposure of minors
46 to pornographic material as described in section 573.040.
47 8. The internet service provider shall use a DNS-based system that may be used
48 through an independent third party such as Open DNS, Cisco Umbrella, or any other
49 current industry standard of website filtering as the method of redirecting obscene
50 websites for adult access only, and this system shall stay updated according to industry
51 standards in order to maintain the current listing of websites deemed obscene. The
52 DNS-based system shall also include the ability to update or correct mischaracterized
53 websites.
HB 1957 2

54 9. An internet service provider is not liable for any penalty under this section if
55 the provider makes a good faith effort to apply a generally accepted and commercially
56 reasonable method of compliance with this section and such method or technology has
57 the ability to discover and authenticat