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ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES57th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session |
Senate: RAGE DP 4-3-0-0 | Third Read 18-11-1-0-0 |
SB 1747: social media; online content; minors.
S/E: social media; minors; fund
Sponsor: Senator Bolick, LD 2
Committee on Commerce
Summary of the Strike-Everything Amendment to SB 1747
Overview
Prescribes requirements for developers and covered companies relating to social media applications. Establishes the Technology Content Protection for Minors Grant Fund (Grant Fund).
History
A person commits unlawful age misrepresentation if the person is at least 18 years of age, and knowing or having reason to know that the recipient of a communication is a minor, uses an electronic communication device to knowingly misrepresent the person's age for the purpose of committing any sexual offense involving the recipient (A.R.S. § 13-3561).
A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material on an internet website, including a social media platform, of which more than one-third is sexual material that is harmful to minors must use reasonable age verification methods to verify that an individual who attempts to access the material is eighteen years of age or older. Individuals attempting to access the material must either: 1) provide a form of digital identification that does not cause or allow the individual's identifying information to be transmitted to any federal, state or local government entity; or 2) comply with a commercial age verification system that does not cause or allow the individual's identifying information to be transmitted to any federal, state or local government entity and verifies age using a government-issued identification or a commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of an individual (A.R.S. § 18-701).
Provisions
Technology Content Protection for Minors Grant Fund
1. Creates the Grant Fund, administered by the Attorney General (AG), which consists of monies from civil penalties, attorney fees and litigation costs that are recovered by the AG in actions brought against a covered company, developer or commercial entity for violations of Technology Content statutes. (Sec. 1)
2. Specifies monies in the Grant Fund are continuously appropriated and are exempt from lapsing. (Sec. 1)
3. Provides restrictions on the use of Grant Fund monies. (Sec. 1)
4. Directs the AG to use Grant Fund monies solely to award grants to nonprofit organizations for specified programs as outlined. (Sec. 1)
5. Instructs the AG, subject to JLBC approval, to establish grant eligibility criteria, application procedures and reporting requirements for recipients of grants awarded. (Sec. 1)
6. Provides reporting requirements that includes an accounting of all the monies spent from the Grant Fund. (Sec. 1)
Technology Content
7. Details requirements for a covered company relating to:
a. determining the age of a user;
b. obtaining parental consent before allowing a child to download or access certain types of applications;
c. notifying the parent of certain features for applications that a child downloads; and
d. providing a developer with an age signal for determining parental consent and the age of an individual. (Sec. 2)
8. Requires a developer to:
a. request from a covered company, on an individual's account creation or first access, an age signal and a parental consent signal for the individual who is a child;
b. use the age signal and parental consent signal to enforce minimum age restrictions, ensure compliance with laws and provide an age-appropriate default, safeguards or experiences; and
c. comply with the additional technology content requirements if the developer operates a social media platform. (Sec. 2)
9. Directs a social media platform to provide readily available features for a parent or guardian to oversee the child's use of the application as appropriate to the risks that arise from the child's use of the developer's application.
10. Outlines certain functions that the available feature must include. (Sec. 2)
11. Requires a social media platform to implement minor account default settings for a user that the developer knows is a minor. (Sec. 2)
12. Specifies the individuals who may modify the minor account default settings based on the minor's age. (Sec. 2)
13. Outlines requirements for the minor account default settings. (Sec. 2)
Age Signal and Verification
14. Provides direction for a developer on using an age signal if an internal age signal conflicts with the age sign from a covered company. (Sec. 2)
15. Requires a developer to transmit the conflicting internal age signal back to a covered company through a mechanism that is provided by the covered company if the developer has clear and convincing evidence that an internal age signal is more accurate. (Sec. 2)
16. Directs a covered company, on receipt of a conflicting internal age signal from a developer, to take steps to reverify the user's age and update the age signal to provide developers with the newly verified age. (Sec. 2)
17. Delineates responsibilities for a commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material that is harmful to minors on the application including using anonymous or standard age verification to verify that the person attempting to access the material is at least the age of 18. (Sec. 2)
Court Proceedings
18. Allows a minor or the minor's parent who has been harmed to bring a civil action against the covered company, developer or commercial entity. (Sec. 2)
19. Outlines the awards that a court may grant to a prevailing plaintiff. (Sec. 2)
20. Requires civil actions to be brought within one year after the date that the complainant knew or reasonably should have known of the violation. (Sec. 2)
21. Authorizes the AG to bring an action against a covered company, developer or commercial entity to:
a. recover a civil penalty of not more than $75,000 for each violation;
b. restrain or enjoin the covered company, developer or commercial entity from violating Technology Content statutes;
c. seek injunctive relief;
d. recover reasonable attorney fees; and
e. recover litigation costs and reasonable costs for investigating the violation. (Sec. 2)
22. Directs the AG to deposit monies collected from civil penalties in the Grant Fund. (Sec. 2)
Immunity
23. Provides circumstances which grant a developer or a covered company immunity from liability for Technology Content violations. (Sec. 2)
24. Stipules a developer is not liable for Technology Content violations if, in determining an application's age rating and content description, the developer uses widely adopted industry standards to determine the application's age category and content description and applies those standards consistently and in good faith. (Sec. 2)
25. Adds a developer is not liable for transmitting an internal age signal to a covered company for the purposes of reconciling conflicting age signals. (Sec. 2)
26. Specifies the described immunity:
a. applies only to actions brought under Technology Content statutes; and
b. does not limit a developer or covered company's liability under any other applicable law. (Sec. 2)
27. Specifies the immunity exemptions do not replace any other available remedy or right in State or federal law. (Sec. 2)
Miscellaneous
28. Specifies the Technology Content statutes do not modify, impair or supersede the operation of any antitrust laws. (Sec. 2)
29. Stipulates a covered company must comply with Technology Content statutes in a nondiscriminatory manner, including by complying with additional outlined requirements. (Sec. 2)
30. Defines pertinent terms. (Sec. 2)
31. Contains a severability clause. (Sec. 3)
32. Contains a delayed effective date. (Sec. 4)
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36. Initials PB SB 1747
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