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Bill > HB0043


WY HB0043

WY HB0043
Age verification for websites with harmful material.


summary

Introduced
01/14/2025
In Committee
02/20/2025
Crossed Over
01/30/2025
Passed
03/04/2025
Dead
Signed/Enacted/Adopted
03/13/2025

Introduced Session

2025 General Session

Bill Summary

AN ACT relating to child protection; requiring age verification for visiting websites with material harmful to minors; specifying requirements and exceptions for age verification; specifying remedies, liability and damages; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.

AI Summary

This bill establishes a comprehensive age verification system for websites that host material considered harmful to minors in Wyoming, requiring covered platforms to implement robust verification methods to prevent minors from accessing obscene or sexually explicit content. The legislation defines a "covered platform" as a website that creates, hosts, or makes available content harmful to minors for profit, and mandates that these platforms use "reasonable age verification measures" such as government-issued IDs (driver's licenses, passports, military cards), credit or debit cards, or other reliable age determination methods. Websites must verify users' ages and immediately delete any identifying information after access is granted. Parents or guardians of minors can sue platforms that fail to implement proper age verification, with potential damages of $5,000 per violation. The bill applies only to minors who are Wyoming residents or have been present in the state for more than 30 days, and includes exceptions for internet service providers, search engines, and scenarios that might conflict with the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause. The law is set to take effect on July 1, 2025, and aims to protect minors from accessing inappropriate online content while establishing clear legal mechanisms for enforcement.

Committee Categories

Justice

Sponsors (15)

Last Action

Assigned Chapter Number 139 (on 03/13/2025)

bill text


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