Bill Text: TX SB2021 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to requirements for certain Internet websites containing sexual material harmful to minors; providing a civil penalty.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 36-7)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-23 - Placed on General State Calendar [SB2021 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB2021-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Relating to requirements for certain Internet websites containing sexual material harmful to minors; providing a civil penalty.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 36-7)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-23 - Placed on General State Calendar [SB2021 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SB2021-Comm_Sub.html
By: Paxton | S.B. No. 2021 | |
(In the Senate - Filed March 9, 2023; March 21, 2023, read | ||
first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; | ||
April 13, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee | ||
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; April 13, 2023, | ||
sent to printer.) | ||
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2021 | By: Hughes |
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relating to requirements for certain Internet websites containing | ||
sexual material harmful to minors; providing a civil penalty. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 120, Business & Commerce | ||
Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
CHAPTER 120. SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND INTERNET WEBSITES | ||
SECTION 2. Chapter 120, Business & Commerce Code, is | ||
amended by adding Subchapter E to read as follows: | ||
SUBCHAPTER E. SEXUAL MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS | ||
Sec. 120.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
(1) "Commercial entity" includes a corporation, | ||
limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, sole | ||
proprietorship, or other legally recognized business entity. | ||
(2) "Distribute" means to issue, sell, give, provide, | ||
deliver, transfer, transmute, circulate, or disseminate by any | ||
means. | ||
(3) "Minor" means an individual younger than 18 years | ||
of age. | ||
(4) "News-gathering organization" includes: | ||
(A) an employee of a newspaper, news publication, | ||
or news source, printed or on an online or mobile platform, of | ||
current news and public interest, who is acting within the course | ||
and scope of that employment and can provide documentation of that | ||
employment with the newspaper, news publication, or news source; | ||
and | ||
(B) an employee of a radio broadcast station, | ||
television broadcast station, cable television operator, or wire | ||
service who is acting within the course and scope of that employment | ||
and can provide documentation of that employment. | ||
(5) "Publish" means to communicate or make information | ||
available to another person or entity on a publicly available | ||
Internet website. | ||
(6) "Sexual material harmful to minors" includes any | ||
material that: | ||
(A) the average person, applying contemporary | ||
community standards, would find, taking the material as a whole and | ||
with respect to minors, is designed to appeal to or pander to the | ||
prurient interest; | ||
(B) in a manner patently offensive with respect | ||
to minors, exploits, is devoted to, or principally consists of | ||
descriptions of actual, simulated, or animated display or depiction | ||
of: | ||
(i) a person's pubic hair, anus, or genitals | ||
or the nipple of the female breast; | ||
(ii) touching, caressing, or fondling of | ||
nipples, breasts, buttocks, anuses, or genitals; or | ||
(iii) sexual intercourse, masturbation, | ||
sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation, excretory | ||
functions, exhibitions, or any other sexual act; and | ||
(C) taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, | ||
artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. | ||
(7) "Transactional data" means a sequence of | ||
information that documents an exchange, agreement, or transfer | ||
between an individual, commercial entity, or third party used for | ||
the purpose of satisfying a request or event. The term includes | ||
records from mortgage, education, and employment entities. | ||
Sec. 120.202. PUBLICATION OF MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS. | ||
(a) A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes | ||
or distributes material on an Internet website, including a social | ||
media platform, more than one-third of which is sexual material | ||
harmful to minors, shall use reasonable age verification methods as | ||
described by Section 120.203 to verify that an individual | ||
attempting to access the material is 18 years of age or older. | ||
(b) A commercial entity that performs the age verification | ||
required by Subsection (a) or a third party that performs the age | ||
verification required by Subsection (a) may not retain any | ||
identifying information of the individual after access has been | ||
granted to the material. | ||
(c) A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally | ||
publishes or distributes material on an Internet website that is | ||
found to have violated this section is liable to the parent or | ||
guardian of the minor for damages resulting from a minor's access to | ||
the material, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees | ||
as ordered by the court. | ||
(d) A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally | ||
publishes or distributes material on an Internet website or a third | ||
party that performs the age verification required by Subsection (a) | ||
that is found to have knowingly retained identifying information of | ||
an individual after access has been granted to the individual is | ||
liable to the individual for damages resulting from retaining the | ||
identifying information, including court costs and reasonable | ||
attorney's fees as ordered by the court. | ||
Sec. 120.203. REASONABLE AGE VERIFICATION METHODS. (a) In | ||
this section, "digital identification" means information stored on | ||
a digital network that may be accessed by a commercial entity and | ||
that serves as proof of the identity of an individual. | ||
(b) A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally | ||
publishes or distributes material on an Internet website or a third | ||
party that performs age verification under this subchapter shall | ||
require an individual to: | ||
(1) provide digital identification; or | ||
(2) comply with a commercial age verification system | ||
that verifies age using: | ||
(A) government-issued identification; or | ||
(B) a commercially reasonable method that relies | ||
on public or private transactional data to verify the age of an | ||
individual. | ||
Sec. 120.204. SEXUAL MATERIALS HEALTH WARNINGS. A | ||
commercial entity required to use reasonable age verification | ||
methods under Section 120.202(a) shall: | ||
(1) display the following notices on the landing page | ||
of the Internet website and all advertisements for the Internet | ||
website in 14-point font or larger: | ||
"TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Pornography | ||
is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human | ||
brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases | ||
conditioned responses, and weakens brain function." | ||
"TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Exposure to | ||
this content is associated with low self-esteem and body image, | ||
eating disorders, impaired brain development, and other emotional | ||
and mental illnesses." | ||
"TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Pornography | ||
increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation, and | ||
child pornography."; and | ||
(2) display the following notice at the bottom of | ||
every page of the Internet website in 14-point font or larger: | ||
"U.S. SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION | ||
HELPLINE: | ||
1-800-662-HELP (4357) | ||
THIS HELPLINE IS A FREE, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SERVICE (IN | ||
ENGLISH OR SPANISH) OPEN 24 HOURS PER DAY, FOR INDIVIDUALS AND | ||
FAMILY MEMBERS FACING MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. | ||
THE SERVICE PROVIDES REFERRAL TO LOCAL TREATMENT FACILITIES, | ||
SUPPORT GROUPS, AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS." | ||
Sec. 120.205. ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL; CIVIL | ||
PENALTY. (a) A commercial entity who violates this subchapter is | ||
liable to this state for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed | ||
$30,000 for each violation. | ||
(b) The attorney general may bring an action in the name of | ||
the state to recover a civil penalty under this section. The | ||
attorney general may recover attorney's fees and costs incurred in | ||
bringing an action under this section. | ||
(c) The action may be brought in a district court in: | ||
(1) Travis County; or | ||
(2) a county in which any part of the violation or | ||
threatened violation occurs. | ||
(d) The attorney general shall deposit a civil penalty | ||
collected under this section in the state treasury to the credit of | ||
the general revenue fund. | ||
Sec. 120.206. CIVIL ACTION AGAINST COMMERCIAL ENTITY. (a) | ||
A parent or guardian of a minor who accesses sexual material harmful | ||
to minors due to the violation of this subchapter by a commercial | ||
entity may bring a civil action against the commercial entity. | ||
(b) A parent or guardian who brings an action under this | ||
section shall provide written notice of the action to the attorney | ||
general. | ||
(c) Notwithstanding Sections 41.003 and 41.004, Civil | ||
Practice and Remedies Code, a parent or guardian who prevails in an | ||
action under this section is entitled to recover: | ||
(1) damages in the amount of $10,000; | ||
(2) court costs; and | ||
(3) attorney's fees. | ||
(d) A court may certify an action brought against a | ||
commercial entity under this section as a class action. | ||
Sec. 120.207. OTHER ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. (a) In | ||
addition to collecting the penalty under Section 120.205, the | ||
attorney general may bring a civil action to enjoin a commercial | ||
entity from further violating this subchapter. | ||
(b) The attorney general may join an action for which the | ||
attorney general receives notice under Section 120.206(b). | ||
(c) The court shall permit the attorney general to join an | ||
action in accordance with Subsection (b) not later than the 30th day | ||
after the date the attorney general receives notice of the action. | ||
(d) If the attorney general joins an action in accordance | ||
with Subsection (b), the attorney general may seek the remedies | ||
provided under Subsection (a) and Section 120.205. | ||
Sec. 120.208. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. (a) This | ||
subchapter does not apply to a bona fide news or public interest | ||
broadcast, website video, report, or event and may not be construed | ||
to affect the rights of a news-gathering organization. | ||
(b) An Internet service provider, or its affiliates or | ||
subsidiaries, a search engine, or a cloud service provider may not | ||
be held to have violated this subchapter solely for providing | ||
access or connection to or from a website or other information or | ||
content on the Internet or on a facility, system, or network not | ||
under that provider's control, including transmission, | ||
downloading, intermediate storage, access software, or other | ||
services to the extent the provider or search engine is not | ||
responsible for the creation of the content that constitutes sexual | ||
material harmful to minors. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. | ||
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