Bill > HB0311

This bill establishes the Autism Spectrum Online Protection Act, which creates legal protections for autistic young adults aged 18-25 who are under conservatorship. The legislation defines key terms such as "grooming" (building a relationship with intent to exploit) and "sextortion" (coercing someone to create sexually explicit content for extortion), and makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a person to use an online platform to groom an autistic young adult who is under conservatorship. The bill urges online platforms to implement policies to prevent and report activities that target this vulnerable population and recommends that family members or conservators have tools to monitor and protect the online activities of autistic young adults. Importantly, the act defines an "autistic young adult" as someone between 18-25 years old who has been diagnosed with various forms of autism spectrum disorders, and it provides specific definitions for terms like exploitation, sexual abuse, and trafficking. The legislation will take effect on July 1, 2025, and aims to provide additional legal safeguards for a potentially vulnerable group of individuals in the digital space.

Justice

https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0311&ga=114