Read the full stored bill text
Senate
File
207
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
207
BY
ALONS
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
civil
liability
for
certain
commercial
1
entities
who
publish
or
distribute
obscene
material
on
the
2
internet.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
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Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
554I.1
Definitions.
1
For
purposes
of
this
chapter:
2
1.
“Covered
platform”
means
a
commercial
entity
for
which
it
3
is
in
the
regular
course
of
the
trade
or
business
of
the
entity
4
to
create,
host,
or
make
available,
on
the
internet,
obscene
5
material
provided
by
the
entity,
a
user,
or
other
information
6
content
provider.
7
2.
“Identifying
information”
means
any
representation
of
8
information
that
permits
the
identity
of
an
individual
to
whom
9
the
information
applies
to
be
reasonably
inferred
by
either
10
direct
or
indirect
means.
11
3.
“Information
content
provider”
means
the
same
as
defined
12
in
47
U.S.C.
§230.
13
4.
“Interactive
computer
service”
means
the
same
as
defined
14
in
47
U.S.C.
§230.
15
5.
“Obscene
material”
means
the
same
as
defined
in
section
16
728.1.
17
6.
“Provider”
means
an
internet
service
provider,
cloud
18
service
provider,
wireless
service
provider,
internet
search
19
engine,
or
an
affiliate
or
subsidiary
of
an
internet
service
20
provider,
cloud
service
provider,
wireless
service
provider,
or
21
internet
search
engine.
22
7.
“Reasonable
age
verification”
means
verifying
the
age
of
23
an
individual
by
using
any
of
the
following
methods:
24
a.
Government-issued
identification.
25
b.
Financial
documents
or
other
documents
that
are
reliable
26
proxies
for
age.
27
c.
Any
other
commercially
reasonable
and
reliable
method.
28
Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
554I.2
Publication
and
distribution
29
of
obscene
material
on
the
internet
——
age
verification
——
civil
30
liability.
31
1.
A
covered
platform
shall
be
held
liable
if
the
covered
32
platform
fails
to
perform
reasonable
age
verification
of
33
individuals
attempting
to
access
obscene
material
published
34
or
distributed
by
the
covered
platform
and
the
failure
allows
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access
by
a
minor
to
the
obscene
material.
1
2.
Reasonable
age
verification
required
under
subsection
1
2
may
be
conducted
by
a
third
party
and
may
employ
cryptographic
3
techniques
such
as
zero
knowledge
proofs
to
preserve
anonymity
4
and
protect
privacy.
5
3.
a.
A
covered
platform
or
third
party
that
performs
the
6
reasonable
age
verification
required
under
subsection
1
shall
7
not
retain
an
individual’s
identifying
information
after
the
8
covered
platform
or
third
party
completes
the
individual’s
9
reasonable
age
verification.
10
b.
A
covered
platform
or
third
party
that
performs
the
11
reasonable
age
verification
required
under
subsection
1
shall
12
not
distribute,
sell,
or
otherwise
disseminate
an
individual’s
13
identifying
information
obtained
through
the
covered
platform’s
14
or
third
party’s
performance
of
reasonable
age
verification.
15
4.
A
covered
platform
that
violates
subsection
1
shall
be
16
subject
to
punitive
damages
resulting
from
the
violation,
plus
17
reasonable
attorney
fees
and
costs.
Punitive
damages
shall
not
18
exceed
triple
the
aggregate
amount
of
a
plaintiff’s
reasonable
19
attorney
fees
and
costs.
20
5.
A
covered
platform
or
third
party
that
violates
21
subsection
3
shall
be
subject
to
punitive
damages
and
actual
22
damages
resulting
from
the
violation,
plus
reasonable
attorney
23
fees
and
costs.
Punitive
damages
shall
not
exceed
triple
the
24
aggregate
amount
of
a
plaintiff’s
reasonable
attorney
fees
and
25
costs.
26
Sec.
3.
NEW
SECTION
.
554I.3
Limitations
on
liability.
27
1.
a.
This
chapter
shall
not
be
construed
to
impose
28
liability
on
a
user
of
an
interactive
computer
service
on
the
29
internet.
30
b.
This
chapter
shall
not
be
construed
to
impose
liability
31
on
a
provider
solely
for
providing
access
or
connection
to
a
32
covered
platform,
or
to
obscene
material
on
an
internet
site
33
or
in
a
facility,
system,
or
network
not
under
the
provider’s
34
control
to
the
extent
the
provider
is
not
responsible
for
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the
creation
of
the
obscene
material.
For
purposes
of
this
1
paragraph,
“access
or
connection”
includes
but
is
not
limited
to
2
transmitting,
downloading,
providing
intermediate
storage
for,
3
and
providing
access
software
for
data.
4
2.
The
requirements
of
this
chapter
shall
be
enforced
5
exclusively
through
private
civil
actions.
No
direct
or
6
indirect
enforcement
of
this
chapter
may
be
taken
or
threatened
7
by
the
state
or
any
political
subdivision
thereof.
8
EXPLANATION
9
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
10
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
11
This
bill
creates
civil
liability
for
certain
commercial
12
entities
who
publish
or
distribute
certain
material
on
the
13
internet.
14
The
bill
defines
“covered
platform”,
“identifying
15
information”,
“information
content
provider”,
“interactive
16
computer
service”,
“obscene
material”,
“provider”,
and
17
“reasonable
age
verification”.
18
The
bill
makes
a
covered
platform
liable
if
the
covered
19
platform
fails
to
perform
reasonable
age
verification
of
20
individuals
attempting
to
access
obscene
material
published
21
or
distributed
by
the
covered
platform
and
the
failure
22
allows
access
by
a
minor
to
the
obscene
material.
Reasonable
23
age
verification
includes
the
use
of
government-issued
24
identification,
financial
documents
or
other
documents
that
25
are
reliable
proxies
for
age,
or
any
other
commercially
26
reasonable
and
reliable
method.
Reasonable
age
verification
27
may
be
conducted
by
a
third
party,
and
the
bill
permits
the
28
use
of
cryptographic
techniques
to
preserve
anonymity
and
29
protect
privacy.
A
covered
platform
or
third
party
that
30
performs
required
reasonable
age
verification
is
prohibited
31
from
retaining
an
individual’s
identifying
information
after
32
completing
the
individual’s
reasonable
age
verification,
and
33
from
distributing,
selling,
or
disseminating
an
individual’s
34
identifying
information
obtained
through
the
performance
of
35
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reasonable
age
verification.
A
covered
platform
or
third
1
party
is
subject
to
punitive
and
actual
damages
resulting
from
2
a
minor’s
access
to
obscene
material,
from
the
distribution,
3
sale,
or
other
dissemination
of
an
individual’s
identifying
4
information
obtained
through
the
performance
of
reasonable
age
5
verification,
or
from
the
retention
of
identifying
information,
6
plus
reasonable
attorney
fees
and
costs.
7
Punitive
damages
for
a
violation
of
the
bill’s
provisions
8
cannot
exceed
triple
the
aggregate
amount
of
a
plaintiff’s
9
reasonable
attorney
fees
and
costs.
10
The
bill’s
provisions
are
not
to
be
construed
as
to
impose
11
civil
liability
on
a
user
of
an
interactive
computer
service
on
12
the
internet.
13
The
bill’s
provisions
are
not
to
be
construed
as
to
14
impose
liability
on
a
provider
solely
for
providing
access
15
or
connection
to
a
covered
platform,
or
to
obscene
material
16
on
an
internet
site
or
in
a
facility,
system,
or
network
not
17
under
the
provider’s
control
to
the
extent
the
provider
is
not
18
responsible
for
the
creation
of
the
obscene
material.
19
The
bill
may
be
enforced
exclusively
through
private
20
civil
actions,
and
the
state
and
political
subdivisions
are
21
prohibited
from
enforcing
the
provisions
of
the
bill.
22
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