Parental consent; require for minors before use of interactive computer services.

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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Mansell

HOUSE BILL NO. 1618

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE PROVIDERS 1
FROM ENTERING INTO CONTRACTS WITH MINORS WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT; 2
TO CREATE NEW SECTION 11-79-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 3
PROVIDE DEFINITIONS; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 11-79-3, MISSISSIPPI 4
CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE PROVIDERS 5
FROM KNOWINGLY ALLOWING MINORS TO USE THE SERVICE TO ACCESS 6
MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS OR COMMUNICATE WITH ADULTS AND FROM 7
ALLOWING OTHER PERSONS TO ACCESS THE PERSONA OF A MINOR; TO 8
PROVIDE REASONABLE METHODS OF AGE VERIFICATION; TO CREATE NEW 9
SECTION 11-79-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE 10
ATTORNEY GENERAL TO PROSECUTE VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE 11
THE AMOUNT OF CIVIL PENALTIES IMPOSED FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; 12
TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 45-38-3, 45-38-5, 45-38-7, 45-38-9, 13
45-38-11, 45-38-13 AND 11-77-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE 14
PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 15
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 16
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 17
11-79-1, Mississippi Code of 1972: 18
11-79-1. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the 19
following terms have the meanings as defined in this section, 20
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: 21
(a) "Adult" means any person who is eighteen (18) years 22
of age or older. 23
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(b) "Broadband provider" means that term as defined in 24
47 USC Section 1752(a)(2). 25
(c) "Cloud service provider" means that term as defined 26
in 44 USC Section 3607(b)(5). 27
(d) "Image" means a picture of the person. 28
(e) "Interactive computer service" means that term as 29
defined in 47 USC Section 230. 30
(f) "Likeness" means a physical, digital or other 31
depiction or representation of a person. 32
(g) "Material harmful to minors" means all of the 33
following: 34
(i) Any material that the average person, applying 35
contemporary community standards, would find, taking the material 36
as a whole and with respect to minors, is designed to appeal to, 37
or is designed to pander to, the prurient interest; 38
(ii) Any of the following material that exploits, 39
is devoted to, or principally consists of descriptions of actual, 40
simulated or animated display or depiction of any of the 41
following, in a manner patently offensive with respect to minors: 42
1. Pubic hair, anus, vulva, genitals or 43
nipple of the female breast; 44
2. Touching, caressing or fondling of 45
nipples, breasts, buttocks, anuses or genitals; or 46
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3. Sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, 47
bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation, excretory functions, 48
exhibitions or any other sexual act; and 49
(iii) The material taken as a whole lacks serious 50
literary, artistic, political or scientific value for minors. 51
(h) "Minor" means any person who is under the age of 52
eighteen (18) years. 53
(i) "Name" means the first or last name, or the 54
nickname, of a person when used in a context that reasonably 55
identifies the person with particularity. 56
(j) "News-gathering organization" means any of the 57
following: 58
(i) An employee of a newspaper, news publication 59
or news source, printed or on an online or mobile platform, of 60
current news and public interest, while operating as an employee 61
as provided in this subparagraph (i), who can provide 62
documentation of such employment with the newspaper, news 63
publication or news source; or 64
(ii) An employee of a radio broadcast station, 65
television broadcast station, cable television operator or wire 66
service while operating as an employee as provided in this 67
subparagraph (ii), who can provide documentation of such 68
employment. 69
(k) "Persona" means any of the following: 70
(i) A person's name; 71
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(ii) A person's image; 72
(iii) A person's likeness; 73
(iv) A person's personal identifying information; 74
or 75
(v) A person's precise geolocation data. 76
(l) "Personal identifying information" means any 77
information, including sensitive information, that is linked or 78
reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual. 79
The term includes pseudonymous information when the information is 80
used by a controller or processor in conjunction with additional 81
information that reasonably links the information to an identified 82
or identifiable individual. The term does not include 83
deidentified information. 84
(m) "Reasonable age verification methods" means 85
verifying that the person seeking to access the material is 86
eighteen (18) years of age or older by using any of the following 87
methods: 88
(i) Providing a digitized identification card; or 89
(ii) Requiring the person attempting to access the 90
material to comply with a commercial age verification system that 91
verifies in one or more of the following ways: 92
1. Government-issued identification; or 93
2. Any commercially reasonable method that 94
relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age 95
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of the person attempting to access the information is at least 96
eighteen (18) years of age or older. 97
(n) "Transactional data" means a sequence of 98
information that documents an exchange, agreement or transfer 99
between an individual; commercial entity, including a corporation, 100
limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership or 101
sole proprietorship; or any other legally recognized entity or 102
third party used for the purpose of satisfying a request or event. 103
Transactional data includes, but is not limited to, records from 104
mortgage, education and employment entities. 105
SECTION 2. The following shall be codified as Section 106
11-79-3, Mississippi Code of 1972: 107
11-79-3. Prohibitions. (1) Interactive computer service 108
providers shall not, without the prior express consent of the 109
minor's parent or legal guardian, attempt to enter into any 110
contractual agreement with a minor. This prohibition includes, 111
but is not limited to, any agreement with, acknowledgement of or 112
consent to the interactive computer service's terms of service, 113
terms of use, terms and conditions or similar agreement, however 114
described. Any such agreement entered into with a minor without 115
the prior express consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian 116
is, from its inception and thereafter, void. Any such agreement 117
entered into with a minor with the consent of the minor's parent 118
or legal guardian may not conflict with the terms of this act. 119
Any term or condition of an agreement entered into with a minor 120
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that conflicts with any provision or purpose of this act is void 121
as against the public policy of this state and stricken from the 122
agreement from its inception and thereafter. 123
(2) Except as provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this 124
section, an interactive computer service provider that knowingly 125
and intentionally commits any of the following acts shall be 126
liable for the civil penalties and other remedies provided in 127
Section 11-79-5: 128
(a) Purports to enter into a contract or agreement with 129
a minor prohibited by subsection (1) of this section without the 130
prior express consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian; 131
(b) Allows a user who is a minor to access material 132
harmful to minors by using the interactive computer service; 133
(c) Makes any part of the persona of a user who is a 134
minor accessible to other persons using the interactive computer 135
service; or 136
(d) Allows an adult to use the interactive computer 137
service to communicate with a user who is a minor. 138
(3) Any interactive computer service or third party that 139
performs the required age verification shall not retain any 140
identifying information received during the age verification 141
process after access to the interactive computer service has been 142
granted or denied. 143
(4) An interactive computer service shall not be held to 144
have violated subsections (1) and (2) of this section if the 145
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interactive computer service performed reasonable age verification 146
methods to verify the age of the user who is a minor or who 147
obtained, in a separate signed writing for each instance of 148
conducted prohibited by subsection (1) of this section, the 149
consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian to the conduct in 150
question. 151
(5) (a) The provisions of this section shall not apply to 152
any bona fide news or public interest broadcast or report and 153
shall not be construed to affect the rights of any news-gathering 154
organization. 155
(b) A broadband provider, affiliate or subsidiary of a 156
broadband provider, search engine or cloud service provider shall 157
not be held to have violated the provisions of this section if 158
enforcing this section against the provider, affiliate or 159
subsidiary would be inconsistent with 47 USC Section 230. 160
(6) An interactive computer service provider may only obtain 161
the express consent of a parent or legal guardian in compliance 162
with this section by one or more of the following methods: 163
(a) Providing a form for the minor's parent or legal 164
guardian to sign and return to the interactive computer service 165
provider by common carrier, facsimile or electronic scan; 166
(b) Providing a toll-free telephone number for the 167
minor's parent or guardian to call to consent; 168
(c) Coordinating a call with a minor's parent or 169
guardian over video conferencing technology; 170
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(d) Collecting information related to the 171
government-issued identification of the minor's parent or legal 172
guardian and deleting that information after confirming the 173
identity of the minor's parent or legal guardian; 174
(e) Allowing the minor's parent or legal guardian to 175
provide consent by responding to an email and taking additional 176
steps to verify the identity of the minor's parent or legal 177
guardian; or 178
(f) Any other commercially reasonable method of 179
obtaining consent in light of available technology. 180
(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed to modify an 181
interactive computer service provider's obligations under any 182
other laws of this state, including, but not limited to, the 183
Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Act (Section 45-38-1, et 184
seq.) and Section 11-77-5. 185
SECTION 3. The following shall be codified as Section 186
11-79-5, Mississippi Code of 1972: 187
11-79-5. Remedies. (1) If an interactive computer service 188
provider, having been given no less than thirty-days' prior notice 189
by the Attorney General that it is in violation of Section 190
11-79-3, continues to knowingly violate Section 11-79-3, and the 191
Attorney General believes that bringing an action against the 192
interactive computer service provider is in the public interest, 193
the Attorney General may bring an action in a Hinds County circuit 194
court or a circuit court in any county in which the minor accessed 195
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the interactive computer service in question in the course of 196
conduct that constitutes the violation to enjoin the violation, 197
recover a civil penalty, and obtain other relief the court 198
considers appropriate. 199
(2) A civil penalty imposed under this section for a 200
violation of Section 11-79-3 may be in an amount equal to not more 201
than the total, if applicable, of: 202
(a) Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) per day for each 203
day that the interactive computer service provider operates an 204
interactive computer service in violation of the age verification 205
or parental consent requirements of Section 11-79-3; 206
(b) Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) per instance for 207
each instance that the interactive computer service provider 208
retains identifying information in violation of Section 209
11-79-3(3); and 210
(c) An additional amount of not more than Two Hundred 211
Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) per instance for each 212
instance that, because of the interactive computer service 213
provider's violation of the age verification or parental consent 214
requirements of Section 11-79-3: 215
(i) One or more minors accesses material harmful 216
to minors; 217
(ii) Another person uses the interactive computer 218
service to access any part of the persona of a user who is a 219
minor; or 220
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(iii) An adult uses the interactive computer 221
service to communicate with a user who is a minor. 222
(3) The amount of a civil penalty imposed under this section 223
shall be based on the following factors: 224
(a) The seriousness of the violation, including the 225
nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation; 226
(b) The history of previous violations; 227
(c) The amount necessary to deter a future violation; 228
(d) The economic effect of a penalty on the entity on 229
whom the penalty will be imposed; 230
(e) The entity's knowledge that the act constituted a 231
violation of Section 11-79-3; and 232
(f) Any other matter that justice may require. 233
(4) The Attorney General may recover reasonable and 234
necessary attorney's fees, costs and reasonable expenses of 235
litigation incurred in an action under this section, including, 236
but not limited to, expert witness fees and court reporter's fees. 237
SECTION 4. Section 45-38-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 238
brought forward as follows: 239
45-38-3. For purposes of this chapter, the following words 240
shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly 241
requires otherwise: 242
(a) "Digital service" means a website, an application, 243
a program, or software that collects or processes personal 244
identifying information with Internet connectivity. 245
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(b) "Digital service provider" means a person who: 246
(i) Owns or operates a digital service; 247
(ii) Determines the purpose of collecting and 248
processing the personal identifying information of users of the 249
digital service; and 250
(iii) Determines the means used to collect and 251
process the personal identifying information of users of the 252
digital service. 253
(c) "Harmful material" means material that is harmful 254
to minors as defined by Section 11-77-3(d). 255
(d) "Known minor" means a child who is younger than 256
eighteen (18) years of age who has not had the disabilities of 257
minority removed for general purposes, and who the digital service 258
provider knows to be a minor. 259
(e) "Personal identifying information" means any 260
information, including sensitive information, that is linked or 261
reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual. 262
The term includes pseudonymous information when the information is 263
used by a controller or processor in conjunction with additional 264
information that reasonably links the information to an identified 265
or identifiable individual. The term does not include 266
deidentified information or publicly available information. 267
SECTION 5. Section 45-38-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 268
brought forward as follows: 269
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45-38-5. (1) This chapter applies only to a digital service 270
provider who provides a digital service that: 271
(a) Connects users in a manner that allows users to 272
socially interact with other users on the digital service; 273
(b) Allows a user to create a public, semi-public or 274
private profile for purposes of signing into and using the digital 275
service; and 276
(c) Allows a user to create or post content that can be 277
viewed by other users of the digital service, including sharing 278
content on: 279
(i) A message board; 280
(ii) A chat room; or 281
(iii) A landing page, video channel or main feed 282
that presents to a user content created and posted by other users. 283
(2) This chapter does not apply to: 284
(a) A digital service provider who processes or 285
maintains user data in connection with the employment, promotion, 286
reassignment or retention of the user as an employee or 287
independent contractor, to the extent that the user's data is 288
processed or maintained for that purpose; 289
(b) A digital service provider's provision of a digital 290
service that facilitates e-mail or direct messaging services, if 291
the digital service facilitates only those services; 292
(c) A digital service provider's provision of a digital 293
service that: 294
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(i) Primarily functions to provide a user with 295
access to news, sports, commerce, online video games or content 296
primarily generated or selected by the digital service provider; 297
and 298
(ii) Allows chat, comment or other interactive 299
functionality that is incidental to the digital service; or 300
(d) A digital service provider's provision of a digital 301
service that primarily functions to provide a user with access to 302
career development opportunities, including: 303
(i) Professional networking; 304
(ii) Job skills; 305
(iii) Learning certifications; 306
(iv) Job posting; and 307
(v) Application services. 308
(3) The Internet service provider, Internet service 309
provider's affiliate or subsidiary, search engine or cloud service 310
provider is not considered to be a digital service provider or to 311
offer a digital service if the Internet service provider or 312
provider's affiliate or subsidiary, search engine or cloud service 313
provider solely provides access or connection, including through 314
transmission, download, intermediate storage, access software or 315
other service, to an Internet website or to other information or 316
content: 317
(a) On the Internet; or 318
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(b) On a facility, system or network not under the 319
control of the Internet service provider, provider's affiliate or 320
subsidiary, search engine or cloud service provider. 321
SECTION 6. Section 45-38-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 322
brought forward as follows: 323
45-38-7. (1) A digital service provider may not enter into 324
an agreement with a person to create an account with a digital 325
service unless the person has registered the person's age with the 326
digital service provider. A digital service provider shall make 327
commercially reasonable efforts to verify the age of the person 328
creating an account with a level of certainty appropriate to the 329
risks that arise from the information management practices of the 330
digital service provider. 331
(2) A digital service provider shall not permit an account 332
holder who is a known minor to be an account holder unless the 333
known minor has the express consent from a parent or guardian. 334
Acceptable methods of obtaining express consent of a parent or 335
guardian include any of the following: 336
(a) Providing a form for the minor's parent or guardian 337
to sign and return to the digital service provider by common 338
carrier, facsimile, or electronic scan; 339
(b) Providing a toll-free telephone number for the 340
known minor's parent or guardian to call to consent; 341
(c) Coordinating a call with a known minor's parent or 342
guardian over video conferencing technology; 343
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(d) Collecting information related to the 344
government-issued identification of the known minor's parent or 345
guardian and deleting that information after confirming the 346
identity of the known minor's parent or guardian; 347
(e) Allowing the known minor's parent or guardian to 348
provide consent by responding to an email and taking additional 349
steps to verify the identity of the known minor's parent or 350
guardian; or 351
(f) Any other commercially reasonable method of 352
obtaining consent in light of available technology. 353
SECTION 7. Section 45-38-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 354
brought forward as follows: 355
45-38-9. (1) A digital service provider that enters into an 356
agreement with a known minor for access to a digital service 357
shall: 358
(a) Limit collection of the known minor's personal 359
identifying information to information reasonably necessary to 360
provide the digital service; and 361
(b) Limit use of the known minor's personal identifying 362
information to the purpose for which the information was 363
collected. 364
(2) A digital service provider that enters into an agreement 365
with a known minor for access to a digital service may not: 366
(a) Use the digital service to collect the known 367
minor's precise geolocation data; 368
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(b) Use the digital service to display targeted 369
advertising involving harmful material to the known minor; or 370
(c) Share, disclose or sell the known minor's personal 371
identifying information unless required to: 372
(i) Comply with a civil, criminal or regulatory 373
inquiry, investigation, subpoena or summons by a governmental 374
entity; 375
(ii) Comply with a law enforcement investigation; 376
(iii) Detect, block or prevent the distribution of 377
unlawful, obscene or other harmful material to a known minor; 378
(iv) Block or filter spam; 379
(v) Prevent criminal activity; or 380
(vi) Protect the security of a digital service. 381
SECTION 8. Section 45-38-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 382
brought forward as follows: 383
45-38-11. (1) In relation to a known minor's use of a 384
digital service, a digital service provider shall make 385
commercially reasonable efforts to develop and implement a 386
strategy to prevent or mitigate the known minor's exposure to 387
harmful material and other content that promotes or facilitates 388
the following harms to minors: 389
(a) Consistent with evidence-informed medical 390
information, the following: self-harm, eating disorders, 391
substance use disorders, and suicidal behaviors; 392
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(b) Patterns of use that indicate or encourage 393
substance abuse or use of illegal drugs; 394
(c) Stalking, physical violence, online bullying, or 395
harassment; 396
(d) Grooming, trafficking, child pornography, or other 397
sexual exploitation or abuse; 398
(e) Incitement of violence; or 399
(f) Any other illegal activity. 400
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed to require 401
a digital service provider to prevent or preclude: 402
(a) Any minor from deliberately and independently 403
searching for, or specifically requesting, content; or 404
(b) The digital service provider or individuals on the 405
digital service from providing resources for the prevention or 406
mitigation of the harms described in subsection (1), including 407
evidence-informed information and clinical resources. 408
SECTION 9. Section 45-38-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 409
brought forward as follows: 410
45-38-13. (1) Except as provided by subsection (2) of this 411
section, this chapter may not be construed as providing a basis 412
for, or being subject to, a private right of action for a 413
violation of this chapter. 414
(2) If a digital service provider violates this chapter, the 415
parent or guardian of a known minor affected by that violation may 416
bring a cause of action seeking: 417
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(a) A declaratory judgment under Rule 57 of Mississippi 418
Rules of Civil Procedure; or 419
(b) An injunction against the digital service provider. 420
(3) A court may not certify an action brought under this 421
section as a class action. 422
SECTION 10. Section 11-77-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 423
brought forward as follows: 424
11-77-5. (1) Any commercial entity that knowingly and 425
intentionally publishes or distributes material harmful to minors 426
on the internet from a website that contains a substantial portion 427
of such material shall be held liable if the entity fails to 428
perform reasonable age verification methods to verify the age of 429
individuals attempting to access the material. 430
(2) Any commercial entity or third party that performs the 431
required age verification shall not retain any identifying 432
information of the individual after access has been granted to the 433
material. 434
(3) (a) Any commercial entity that is found to have 435
violated this section shall be liable to an individual for damages 436
resulting from a minor's accessing the material, including court 437
costs and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court. 438
(b) A commercial entity that is found to have knowingly 439
retained identifying information of the individual after access 440
has been granted to the individual shall be liable to the 441
individual for damages resulting from retaining the identifying 442
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ST: Parental consent; require for minors before
use of interactive computer services.
information, including court costs and reasonable attorney fees as 443
ordered by the court. 444
SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from 445
and after July 1, 2027. 446