Bill > SB175

This bill establishes comprehensive age verification and parental consent requirements for digital applications and online platforms in Ohio, focusing on protecting minors from inappropriate content and providing parents with more control over their children's online experiences. The legislation requires application distribution providers, developers, operating system providers, and internet browsers to implement age verification mechanisms, such as requesting users to declare their age when creating accounts and providing tools for parents to activate content filters. Covered applications must offer different experiences for adults and minors, obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing minors to access age-restricted content, and refrain from delivering personalized advertising to minors. The bill defines key terms like "minor" (under 18), "verifiable parental consent," and "connected device," and mandates that these digital platforms use commercially reasonable efforts to estimate a user's age category. Enforcement is exclusively handled by the Ohio Attorney General, who can impose civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation, but the law does not create a private right of action. The provisions will take effect one year after the bill's enactment, giving companies time to implement the required age verification and parental control systems.

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https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/sb175