Bill > A03946

This bill requires websites that publish sexual material harmful to minors to implement robust age verification methods to prevent access by individuals under 18 years old in New York State. Specifically, commercial entities must use methods like digital identification, credit card verification, government ID checks, or transactional data verification to confirm a user's age before allowing access to sexually explicit content. Websites must verify the age of each IP address attempting to access their site at least once per day, and those found in violation can be fined up to $50,000 per day by the New York Attorney General. The bill provides exemptions for news organizations and clarifies that internet service providers, search engines, and cloud service providers are not liable for content they do not create. The law defines "sexual material harmful to minors" using contemporary community standards, focusing on content that is sexually explicit, patently offensive to minors, and lacks serious artistic or scientific value. The bill will take effect 90 days after becoming law, giving websites time to implement the required age verification systems.

Business and Industry

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A3946