RELATING TO MINORS.

Children Parental Rights

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: SHIMIZU, ALCOS, MATSUMOTO, PIERICK, WARD
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details about the enforcement mechanisms beyond civil penalties.

Rules for Protecting Minors from Harmful Internet Content

This bill establishes civil liability for commercial entities that knowingly or intentionally publish or distribute material harmful to minors without following certain age verification requirements.

What This Bill Does

Defines 'commercial entity', 'interactive computer service', and 'material harmful to minors'.
Requires commercial entities to use age verification methods when publishing or distributing material harmful to minors on the internet.
Imposes a civil penalty of $250 per violation for failing to follow these rules.
Allows the Attorney General, parents, or guardians to sue for damages if a minor accesses harmful content without proper age verification.

Who It Names or Affects

Commercial entities that publish or distribute material harmful to minors on the internet.
Minors who access harmful online content.
Parents and guardians of minors who can take legal action if their child is exposed to harmful content.

Terms To Know

commercial entity: A business or organization that operates for profit, such as a corporation or limited liability company.
interactive computer service: Services like websites and mobile apps where users can interact with the content or each other.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not affect rights and duties that existed before it was approved.
It is unclear how strictly commercial entities will be required to follow these rules once they are in place.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-01-27 H
Referred to CPC, JHA, referral sheet 4
2025-01-23 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-22 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO MINORS.
Internet; Minors; Safety; Adult Content; Civil Penalty
Establishes civil liability for any commercial entity that knowingly or intentionally publishes or distributes materially harmful to minors without following certain age verification requirements.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB1198

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1198

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to minors
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION 1.
�
Chapter 489X, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as
follows:

����
"
�489X-2
�
Publishing or
distributing material harmful to minors on the internet.
�

(a)
�
For the purposes of this
section:

����
(1)
�
�Commercial
entity� means corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, limited
partnerships, sole proprietorships, or other legally recognized entities.

����
(2)
�
�Interactive
computer service� includes, but is not limited to, internet, website, online or
cloud computing service, online application, or mobile application. Further,
such service or materials do not have to be directed to children or targeted or
intended to reach an audience that is composed predominantly of children.

����
(3)
�
�Material
harmful to minors� means any description or representation of nudity, sexual
conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse when it:

���������
(A)
�
Appeals
to the prurient, shameful, or morbid interest of minors;

���������
(B)
�
Is
patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole
with respect to what is suitable material for minors; and

���������
(C)
�
Is,
when taken as a whole, lacking in serious literary, artistic, political, or
scientific value for minors.

����
(b)
�
Any commercial entity that knowingly or
intentionally publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on the internet
from a website that contains a substantial portion of such material shall,
through the use of either a commercially available database that is regularly
used by businesses or governmental entities for the purpose of age and identity
verification or another commercially reasonable method of age and identity
verification, verify that any person attempting to access such material harmful
to minors is 18 years of age or older.

����
(c)
�
Any commercial entity that violates the
provisions of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of $250 per
violation and civil liability for damages resulting from a minor�s access to
such material harmful to a minor and reasonable attorney fees and costs.

����
(d)
�
Nothing in this section shall be construed to
impose liability on a provider or user of an interactive computer service on
the internet.

����
(e)
�
Jurisdiction of actions under this section
shall be in district court.

����
(f)
�
An action under this section may be brought by
the Attorney General or any person, parent, or guardian of any person whose age
was not verified.
"

����
SECTION 2.
�
This Act does not affect rights and duties
that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun
before its effective date.

����
SECTION 3.
�
New statutory material is underscored.

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Internet;
Minors; Safety; Adult Content; Civil Penalty

Description:

Establishes
civil liability for any commercial entity that knowingly or intentionally
publishes or distributes materially harmful to minors without following certain
age verification requirements.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.