Bill > SB648

This bill establishes a new legal framework for restricting minors' access to online material deemed harmful, requiring commercial websites and applications with more than one-third of their content classified as inappropriate for minors to implement age verification procedures. Under the proposed law, commercial entities must use a "reasonable age verification method" such as government ID checks or other industry-standard techniques that confirm a user is at least 18 years old, while ensuring no personal data is retained. The bill creates legal mechanisms for enforcement, including allowing parents or guardians to sue entities that fail to verify ages, with potential damages of up to $10,000 per violation, and empowering the state attorney general to seek injunctive relief and impose civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation. Commercial entities are specifically prohibited from claiming federal Communications Decency Act protections as a defense. The bill also includes strict data privacy provisions, making it illegal for verification providers to store or sell personal information used in age checks, with potential penalties of $50,000 per incident. Certain organizations like news outlets, libraries, museums, and educational institutions are exempted from these requirements, and the law is set to take effect on January 1, 2027.

Justice

https://gc.nh.gov/bill_Status/billinfo.aspx?id=1271&inflect=2