Mississippi Keeping Kids Safe Online Act; enact.

S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 1 (ens\tb)

To: Judiciary, Division A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Fillingane

SENATE BILL NO. 2740

AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI KEEPING KIDS SAFE ONLINE ACT; 1
TO DEFINE TERMS; TO PROHIBIT INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE 2
PROVIDERS FROM ATTEMPTING TO ENTER INTO ANY CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT 3
WITH A USER WHO IS A MINOR WITHOUT THE PRIOR EXPRESS CONSENT OF 4
THE MINOR'S PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN; TO PROVIDE THAT IF AN 5
INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE PROVIDER KNOWINGLY AND INTENTIONALLY 6
COMMITS CERTAIN ACTS, IT SHALL BE LIABLE FOR THE CIVIL PENALTIES 7
AND OTHER REMEDIES PROVIDED IN THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN 8
EXCEPTIONS; TO AUTHORIZE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO BRING AN ACTION 9
TO ENJOIN VIOLATION OF THIS CHAPTER AND RECOVER CIVIL PENALTIES; 10
TO AUTHORIZE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO RECOVER REASONABLE ATTORNEY'S 11
FEES, COSTS, AND REASONABLE EXPENSES OF LITIGATION INCURRED IN AN 12
ACTION UNDER THIS CHAPTER; TO DIRECT CODIFICATION; AND FOR RELATED 13
PURPOSES. 14
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 15
SECTION 1. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as 16
the "Mississippi Keeping Kids Safe Online Act." 17
SECTION 2. As used in this chapter, all words and phrases 18
used herein shall have the same meanings as are ascribed to and 19
provided for them in Section 11-77-3, and the following words 20
shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly 21
requires otherwise: 22
(a) "Adult" means any person who is eighteen (18) years 23
of age or older. 24
S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 2 (ens\tb)

(b) "Broadband provider" has the meaning assigned under 25
47 USC § 1752(a)(2). 26
(c) "Cloud service provider" has the meaning assigned 27
under 44 USC § 3607(b)(5). 28
(d) "Image" means a picture of the person. 29
(e) "Interactive computer service" has the meaning 30
assigned under 47 USC § 230. 31
(f) "Likeness" means a physical, digital or other 32
depiction or representation of a person. 33
(g) "Name" means the first or last name, or the 34
nickname, of a person when used in a context that reasonably 35
identifies the person with particularity. 36
(h) "Persona" means any of the following: 37
(i) A person's name; 38
(ii) A person's image; 39
(iii) A person's likeness; 40
(iv) A person's personal identifying information; 41
or 42
(v) A person's precise geolocation data. 43
(i) "Personal identifying information" means any 44
information, including sensitive information, that is linked or 45
reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual. 46
The term includes pseudonymous information when the information is 47
used by a controller or processor in conjunction with additional 48
information that reasonably links the information to an identified 49
S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 3 (ens\tb)

or identifiable individual. The term does not include 50
deidentified information. 51
(j) "Usage history" means, with respect to any user of 52
an interactive computer service, any information stored by the 53
service recording the user's activity on the service or embedded 54
messaging service, including, without limitation: 55
(i) The date of each instance on which the user 56
uses the interactive computer service; 57
(ii) The duration of each instance of the user's 58
use of the interactive computer service, or alternatively, the 59
total duration of the user's use of the interactive computer 60
service over a commercially reasonable period selected by the 61
interactive computer service, such as daily or weekly; 62
(iii) The date and content of any post (including 63
text, photographs, images, videos, files, links, shares, or saves) 64
made by the user on the user's profile or feed or the profile or 65
feed of another user; 66
(iv) The date and content of any post (including 67
text, photographs, videos, links, shares, or saves) made by 68
another user on the user's feed or profile; 69
(v) The date and content of any comments or 70
reactions posted by the user on the user's own profile or feed or 71
the profile or feed of another user; 72
(vi) The date and content of any comments or 73
reactions posted by another user on the user's profile or feed; 74
S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 4 (ens\tb)

(vii) If the interactive computer service is a 75
game or game platform, the identification of any games played, the 76
duration of the user's use, and the username, or other equivalent 77
information by which the other users are identified on the game or 78
game platform, of other game participants; 79
(viii) The date, location, and content of any 80
other interactive computer service accessed by the user from the 81
interactive computer service in question; 82
(ix) The username of every other user with whom 83
the user has established, or has been requested to establish, an 84
ongoing connection, including as a friend, follower, or similar 85
relationship, identifying for each such other user: 86
1. Whether the other user is an entity or a 87
natural person, and if a natural person whether the interactive 88
computer service has verified that the other user is an adult; 89
2. The username or other equivalent 90
information by which the other user is identified on the 91
interactive computer service; 92
3. The date on which the connection was 93
requested; 94
4. Whether the connection request was 95
accepted, refused, or ignored; 96
(x) The date and content (including text, 97
photographs, images, videos, files, links) of any messages or 98
chats involving the user and other users identified by the 99
S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 5 (ens\tb)

usernames or other equivalent information by which the other users 100
are identified on the interactive computer service; 101
and, 102
(xi) Any other information stored by the 103
interactive computer service recording the user's activity on the 104
service or embedded messaging service. 105
SECTION 3. (1) Interactive computer service providers shall 106
not attempt to enter into any contractual agreement with a user 107
who is a minor without the prior express consent of the minor's 108
parent or legal guardian. This prohibition includes, without 109
limitation, any agreement with, acknowledgement of, or consent to 110
the interactive computer service's terms of service, terms of use, 111
terms and conditions, or similar agreement, however described. 112
Any such agreement purportedly entered into with a user who is a 113
minor is, from its inception and thereafter, null, void, and of no 114
effect. Any such agreement entered into with a minor with the 115
consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian may not conflict 116
with the terms of this act. Any term or condition of such an 117
agreement entered into with a minor with the prior express consent 118
of the minor's parent or legal guardian shall, to the extent it 119
conflicts with any provision or purpose of this act, be considered 120
void as against the public policy of this state and stricken from 121
the agreement from its inception and thereafter. 122
(2) Except as provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this 123
section, an interactive computer service provider that knowingly 124
S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 6 (ens\tb)

and intentionally commits any of the following acts shall be 125
liable for the civil penalties and other remedies provided in 126
Section 4 of this chapter: 127
(a) Purports to enter into a contract or agreement 128
prohibited by subsection (1) of this section without the prior 129
express consent of the minor user's parent or legal guardian. 130
(b) Allows a user who is a minor to access material 131
harmful to minors using the interactive computer service; 132
(c) Makes any part of the persona of a user who is a 133
minor accessible to other persons using the interactive computer 134
service; or 135
(d) Allows an adult to use the interactive computer 136
service to communicate with a user who is a minor. 137
(3) Any interactive computer service or third party that 138
performs the required age verification shall not retain any 139
identifying information of the user after access has been granted 140
to the interactive computer service. 141
(4) Subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not apply 142
to any interactive computer service that: 143
(a) Performs reasonable age-verification methods to 144
verify the adult age of the user who is a minor, or 145
(b) That satisfies both of the following requirements: 146
(i) Obtains, in a separate signed writing for each 147
instance of conduct prohibited by paragraph (a) of this 148
S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 7 (ens\tb)

subsection, the consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian to 149
the conduct in question; and 150
(ii) Continually provides the minor's parent or 151
legal guardian, as part of the interactive computer service, a 152
user-friendly means of accessing the minor's usage history on that 153
service. 154
(5) (a) The provisions of this section shall not apply to 155
any bona fide news or public interest broadcast or report, and 156
shall not be construed to affect the rights of any news-gathering 157
organizations. 158
(b) No broadband provider, affiliate or subsidiary of a 159
broadband provider, search engine, or cloud service provider shall 160
be held to have violated the provisions of this section if 161
enforcing this section against the provider would be inconsistent 162
with 47 USC § 230. 163
(6) An interactive computer service provider may only obtain 164
the express consent of a parent or legal guardian in compliance 165
with this section by one or more of the following methods: 166
(a) Providing a form for the minor's parent or legal 167
guardian to sign and return to the interactive computer service 168
provider by common carrier, facsimile, or electronic scan; 169
(b) Providing a toll-free telephone number for the 170
minor's parent or guardian to call to provide documented consent; 171
(c) Coordinating a call with a minor's parent or 172
guardian over video conferencing technology; 173
S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 8 (ens\tb)

(d) Collecting information related to the 174
government-issued identification of the minor's parent or legal 175
guardian and deleting that information after confirming the 176
identity of the minor's parent or legal guardian; 177
(e) Allowing the minor's parent or legal guardian to 178
provide consent by responding to an email and taking additional 179
steps to verify the identity of the minor's parent or legal 180
guardian; or 181
(f) Any other commercially reasonable method of 182
obtaining consent in light of available technology. 183
SECTION 4. (1) If an interactive computer service provider, 184
having been given no less than thirty (30) days' prior notice by 185
the Attorney General that it is in violation of Section 3 of this 186
chapter, continues to knowingly violate Section 3 of this chapter, 187
and the Attorney General believes that the action is in the public 188
interest, the Attorney General may bring an action in the Seventh 189
Circuit Court District or the circuit court in any county in which 190
the minor user accessed the interactive computer service in 191
question in the course of conduct that constitutes the violation 192
to enjoin the violation, recover a civil penalty, and obtain other 193
relief the court considers appropriate. 194
(2) A civil penalty imposed under this section for a 195
violation of Section 3 of this chapter may be in an amount equal 196
to not more than the total, if applicable, of: 197
S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 9 (ens\tb)

(a) Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) per day that the 198
interactive computer service provider operates an interactive 199
computer service in violation of the age verification or parental 200
consent requirements of Section 3 of this chapter; 201
(b) Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) per instance when 202
the interactive computer service provider retains identifying 203
information in violation of Section 3(3) of this chapter; and 204
(c) If, because of the interactive computer service 205
provider's violation of the age verification or parental consent 206
requirements of this section: 207
(i) One or more minors access material harmful to 208
minors; 209
(ii) Another person uses the interactive computer 210
service to access any part of the persona of a user who is a 211
minor; or 212
(iii) An adult uses the interactive computer 213
service to communicate with a user who is a minor; 214
an additional amount of not more than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand 215
Dollars ($250,000.00) per instance. 216
(3) The amount of a civil penalty under this section shall 217
be based on: 218
(a) The seriousness of the violation, including the 219
nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation; 220
(b) The history of previous violations; 221
(c) The amount necessary to deter a future violation; 222
S. B. No. 2740 *SS26/R914* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R914
PAGE 10 (ens\tb)
ST: Mississippi Keeping Kids Safe Online Act;
enact.
(d) The economic effect of a penalty on the entity on 223
whom the penalty will be imposed; 224
(e) The entity's knowledge that the act constituted a 225
violation of Section 11-79-3; and 226
(f) Any other matter that justice may require. 227
(4) The Attorney General may recover reasonable attorney's 228
fees, costs, and reasonable expenses of litigation incurred in an 229
action under this section, including, without limitation, expert 230
witness fees and court reporter's fees. 231
SECTION 5. Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall be 232
codified as a chapter within Title 11, Mississippi Code of 1972. 233
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from 234
and after January 1, 2027. 235