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7
76-5b-201
78B-3-1001
78B-3-1004
0
Sexual Material Modifications
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Nicholeen P. Peck
Senate Sponsor: Brady Brammer
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions relating to liability for obscenity, a child sex doll, or child
sexual abuse material.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines terms;
provides that an individual has a cause of action if a person exposes the individual to or
depicts the individual in obscenity or child sexual abuse material;
provides that an individual has a cause of action if a person depicts or intends to depict
the individual's likeness as a minor on a child sex doll;
provides requirements for an individual bringing an action under provisions this bill
enacts;
provides the relief a court may grant an individual bringing an action under the provisions
this bill enacts;
provides that an entity that provides access to the internet is not liable under the
provisions this bill enacts, if the entity did not create the content;
authorizes an individual to bring an action regardless of whether conduct has resulted in a
criminal conviction;
provides a severability clause; and
makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
76-5b-201
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapters 173, 223 and 320
78B-3-1001
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 262
ENACTS:
78B-3-1004
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
76-5b-201
is amended to read:
76-5b-201
. Sexual exploitation of a minor -- Offenses.
(1)
Terms defined in Section
76-1-101.5
apply to this section.
(2)
An actor commits sexual exploitation of a minor when the actor knowingly possesses,
views, accesses with the intent to view, or maintains access with the intent to view, child
sexual abuse material.
(3)
(a)
A violation of Subsection
(2)
is a second degree felony.
(b)
It is a separate offense under this section:
(i)
for each minor depicted in the child sexual abuse material; and
(ii)
for each time the same minor is depicted in different child sexual abuse material.
(4)
For a charge of violating this section, it is an affirmative defense that:
(a)
the defendant:
(i)
did not solicit the child sexual abuse material from the minor depicted in the child
sexual abuse material;
(ii)
is not more than two years older than the minor depicted in the child sexual abuse
material; and
(iii)
upon request of a law enforcement agent or the minor depicted in the child
sexual abuse material, removes from an electronic device or destroys the child
sexual abuse material and all copies of the child sexual abuse material in the
defendant's possession; and
(b)
the child sexual abuse material does not depict an offense under Chapter 5, Part 4,
Sexual Offenses, other than Section
76-5-417
,
76-5-418
,
76-5-419
, or
76-5-420
.
(5)
In proving a violation of this section in relation to an identifiable minor, proof of the
actual identity of the identifiable minor is not required.
(6)
The following are not criminally or civilly liable under this section when acting in good
faith compliance with Section
77-4-201
or
78B-3-1004
:
(a)
an entity or an employee, director, officer, or agent of an entity when acting within
the scope of employment, for the good faith performance of:
(i)
reporting or data preservation duties required under federal or state law; or
(ii)
implementing a policy of attempting to prevent the presence of child sexual abuse
material on tangible or intangible property, or of detecting and reporting the
presence of child sexual abuse material on the property;
(b)
a law enforcement officer, a civilian employee of a law enforcement agency, or an
independent contractor who is contracted with a law enforcement agency, acting
within the scope of a criminal investigation;
(c)
an employee of a court who may be required to view child sexual abuse material
during the course of and within the scope of the employee's employment;
(d)
a juror who may be required to view child sexual abuse material during the course of
the individual's service as a juror;
(e)
an attorney or
agent or
employee of an attorney who is required to view child sexual
abuse material during the course of a judicial process and while acting within the
scope of employment
or agency relationship
;
(f)
an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services who is required to
view child sexual abuse material within the scope of the employee's employment;
(g)
an employee, independent contractor, or designated interviewer of a Children's
Justice Center, who is required to view child sexual abuse material within the scope
of the employee's, independent contractor's, or designated interviewer's scope of
employment or assignment;
or
(h)
an attorney who is required to view child sexual abuse material within the scope of
the attorney's responsibility to represent the Department of Health and Human
Services, including the divisions and offices within the Department of Health and
Human Services.
Section 2. Section
78B-3-1001
is amended to read:
78B-3-1001
. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1)
"Child sex doll" means the same as that term is defined in Section
76-5c-209
.
(2)
"Child sexual abuse material" means the same as that term is defined in Section
76-5b-103
.
(1)
(3)
"Commercial entity" includes
corporations, limited liability companies,
partnerships, limited partnerships, sole proprietorships, or other legally recognized
entities
a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, sole proprietorship, or
other legally recognized entity
.
(4)
"Cloud service provider" means a commercial entity that offers data storage, computing
power, or other digital infrastructure resources to a person through the internet.
(2)
(5)
"Digitized identification card" means a data file available on any mobile device
which
that
has connectivity to the
Internet
internet
through a state-approved application
that
:
(a)
allows the mobile device to download the data file from a state agency or an
authorized agent of a state agency that contains all of the data elements visible on the
face and back of a license or identification card
;
and
(b)
displays the current status of the license or identification card.
(3)
(6)
"Distribute" means to issue, sell, give, provide, deliver, transfer, transmute,
circulate, or disseminate by any means.
(4)
(7)
"Internet" means the international computer network of both federal and
non-federal interoperable packet switched data networks.
(8)
"Internet service provider" means a commercial entity that connects a person to the
internet by providing or installing technology including cable, wireless, or fiber-optic
technology.
(5)
(9)
"Material harmful to minors"
is defined as all of the following
means
:
(a)
any
material that 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 is designed to pander to, the prurient interest;
(b)
material that exploits, is devoted to, or principally consists of descriptions of actual,
simulated, or animated display or depiction of any of the following, in a manner
patently offensive with respect to minors:
(i)
pubic hair, anus, vulva, genitals, or 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)
the material taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific
value for minors.
(6)
(10)
"Minor" means
any person
an individual
under 18 years old.
(7)
(11)
"News-gathering organization" means any of the following:
(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, while operating as an
employee as provided in this
subsection
Subsection
(11)
, who can provide
documentation of
such
the
employment with the newspaper, news publication, or
news source; or
(b)
an employee of a radio broadcast station, television broadcast station, cable
television operator, or wire service while operating as an employee as provided in
this
subsection
Subsection
(11)
, who can provide documentation of
such
the
employment.
(12)
"Obscenity" means a material or performance that:
(a)
the average individual, applying contemporary community standards, finds that,
taken as a whole, the material or performance appeals to prurient interest in sex;
(b)
is patently offensive in the description or depiction of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual
excitement, sadomasochistic abuse, or excretion; and
(c)
taken as a whole, does not have serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
(8)
(13)
"Publish" means to communicate or make information available to another
person
individual
or entity on a publicly available
Internet
website.
(9)
(14)
"Reasonable age verification methods" means verifying that the person seeking to
access the material is 18 years old or older by using any of the following methods:
(a)
use of a digitized information card as defined in this section;
(b)
verification through an independent, third-party age verification service that
compares the personal information entered by the individual who is seeking access to
the material that is available from a commercially available database, or aggregate of
databases, that is regularly used by government agencies and businesses for the
purpose of age and identity verification; or
(c)
any
a
commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional
data to verify the age of the person attempting to access the material.
(15)
"Search engine" means an internet service that enables an individual to search for
information on the internet by entering a search term.
(10)
(16)
"Substantial portion" means more than 33-1/3% of total material on a website,
which meets the definition of "material harmful to minors" as defined in this section.
(11)
(17)
(a)
"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.
(b)
"Transactional data" includes records from mortgage, education, and employment
entities.
Section 3. Section
78B-3-1004
is enacted to read:
78B-3-1004
. Liability for obscenity, child sexual abuse material, and a child sex
doll -- Severability.
(1)
An individual has a right of action against a person that publishes or distributes
obscenity or child sexual abuse material on the internet within the state, or possesses,
purchases, or distributes a child sex doll in the state if:
(a)
the person is subject to personal jurisdiction in this state;
(b)
(i)
the obscenity, child sexual abuse material, or child sex doll depicts the
individual or the individual's likeness;
(ii)
the person displays the obscenity or child sexual abuse material in a manner that
makes the obscenity or child sexual abuse material accessible to the individual; or
(iii)
the person possesses, purchases, or distributes a child sex doll in the state; and
(c)
(i)
the individual bringing the action is a resident of this state; or
(ii)
the conduct described in Subsection
(1)(b)
occurs in this state.
(2)
If an individual brings an action against a person in accordance with Subsection
(1)
, a
court may award the individual:
(a)
injunctive relief;
(b)
nominal damages;
(c)
actual damages;
(d)
punitive damages; and
(e)
reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
(3)
No internet service provider, affiliate or subsidiary of an internet service provider,
search engine, or cloud service provider shall be held to have violated the provisions of
this section solely for providing access or connection to or from a website or other
information or content on the internet, or a facility, system, or network not under that
provider's control, including transmission, downloading, storing, or providing access, to
the extent that the internet service provider, affiliate or subsidiary of an internet service
provider, search engine, or cloud service provider is not responsible for the creation of
the content of the communication that constitutes obscenity or child sexual abuse
material.
(4)
An individual with a claim under this section who satisfies the applicable standards for
joinder or class action may combine the individual's claim with one or more individuals
with a claim under this section into one action.
(5)
An individual may bring an action under this section regardless of whether the action
that gives rise to a cause of action under Subsection
(1)
has resulted in a criminal
conviction.
(6)
(a)
If any provision of this section or the application of any provision to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this section shall be given effect
without the invalid provision or application.
(b)
The provisions of this section are severable.
Section 4.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-19-26 7:03 PM