Bill > A4146

Introduced Session

This bill requires imposes several requirements on entities that operate certain Internet websites and webpages, including requiring the entity to verify the age of all State residents that attempts to access the website or webpage and prohibiting minors from accessing certain material that is not suitable to minors. Specifically, the bill provides that an entity may not allow a State resident under the age of 18 years to access an Internet website or an individual webpage that contains a "substantial portion" of material harmful to minors, as defined in the bill, unless: (1) the entity verifies the age of each resident that attempts to access the Internet website or webpage using reasonable age verification methods; and (2) if the resident is determined to be a minor, the material contained on the Internet website or webpage is suitable to the minor, as determined by the Division of Consumer Affairs (division) in the Department of law and Public Safety. For the purposes of this bill, "substantial purpose" means that following amounts with respect to each of the following interactive computer services: (1) for a social media platform, more than one-third of total user accounts contain any material harmful to minors, or more than one-third of the content on one or more user's account on that platform contains material harmful to minors; (2) for a search engine, more than one-third of the webpages displayed in response to any user query contain any material harmful to minors, or more than one-third of the thumbnail images displayed in response to any user query contain any material harmful to minors; or (3) for any website or webpage, including a search engine, more than one-third of the total content on the website or on any individual webpage contains any material harmful to minors. The bill also provides that an entity or third party that performs the required age verification may not retain any identifying information of the individual after access has been granted to the material. Under this bill, an entity is required to use reasonable age verification methods that comply with standards and guidelines established by the division. However, the bill provides that the permitted age verifications methods may generally include: (1) use of a digitized information card; (2) 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 (3) any available, reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of the individual attempting to access the material. In developing the standards and guidelines concerning the permitted methods of age verification, the division may consider such factors as technological feasibility, operational effectiveness of the age verification system, and the scale and number of users and the primary consumer use of an interactive computer service. Under this bill, the division would also be required to establish standards and guidelines to determine the types of content that would be deemed "material harmful to minors," as defined in the bill. Additionally, the division would also be required to determine the types of content that would be deemed suitable to minors of each of the following ages, which standards would be based on the different degrees of material harmful that such content may have on minors of such ages: (1) minors under the age of 10 years; (2) minors over the age of 10 years but less than 15 years; and (3) minors from the age of 15 years but less than 18 years. This bill would not apply to any bona fide news or public interest broadcast, website video, report, or event. The bill also provides that interactive computer services, search engines, and certain cloud service providers would not be deemed to violate the provisions of this bill 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, unless the interactive computer service participates in a venture with, and knowingly benefits from, an entity in violation of this bill, regarding an entity's knowing and intentional publishing or distribution of material harmful to minors. Under the bill, the division is required to receive consumer complaints related to, investigate alleged violation of, and enforce the provisions of this bill. The division would be entitled to any penalties, fines, or fees collected for a violation, which monies would be deposited into a fund, established by this bill, to provide aid in the investigation of cyber-crimes involving the exploitation of children. State law agencies may apply for monies from this fund in a manner prescribed by the division. Before initiating an enforcement action, the bill requires the division to provide written notice identifying and explaining the basis for each alleged violation to be enforced. Thereafter, an entity receiving notice may prevent the need for an enforcement action by curing the violation. If the entity does not cure a violation, the division may initiate a civil action as provided in the bill. The division is authorized to impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation or to initiate a civil suit in Superior Court. A court may grant an additional $10,000 per violation. If the division proves a violation, the division is entitled to reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and investigative fees. Additionally, the bill permits an individual to bring an action in the Superior Court against an entity for failure to comply with the provisions of this bill. If the suit is successful, an individual would be entitled to reasonable attorney fees and court costs. An individual would also be entitled to up to $2,500 per instance of violation, and if the violation resulted from a minor accessing material harmful to minors, may include compensatory damages and damages for emotional pain and suffering, provided the conduct of the defendant is found to be willful, wanton, or reckless.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Jay Webber (R)*,  Christian Barranco (R),  Aura Dunn (R),  Dawn Fantasia (R),  Vicky Flynn (R),  Michael Inganamort (R),  Greg McGuckin (R),  Gregory Myhre (R),  Erik Peterson (R),  Gerry Scharfenberger (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee (on 04/04/2024)

Official Document