Bill > HB1212

This bill requires commercial entities that publish pornographic material on websites accessible in Hawaii to implement age verification methods to prevent minors from accessing such content. The bill defines key terms like "commercial entity" and "pornographic material" and establishes specific age verification requirements, such as using digital identification or commercially available age verification software that checks government-issued ID or transactional data. Importantly, the bill mandates that no entity can retain a user's identifying information during the verification process. The legislation imposes significant financial penalties for non-compliance, including $10,000 per day for operating a website without proper age verification, $10,000 per instance of retaining identification, and up to $250,000 if a minor accesses pornographic content due to inadequate verification. The bill includes exemptions for news media and internet service providers who are not directly producing the content, and it does not apply to news or public interest websites. The age verification requirements aim to protect minors from accessing sexually explicit online content by creating a robust verification system for pornographic websites.

Business and Industry

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=1212&year=2026