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The House Committee on Judiciary offers the following substitute to HB 1296:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 5 of Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to online1
internet safety, so as to provide for social media age verification; to provide for definitions;2
to provide for parental permission; to provide for restrictions on minor's social media account3
activity; to provide for parental supervision; to provide for the Consumer Protection Division4
of the Department of Law to investigate complaints; to provide for civil remedies; to provide5
for annual reporting; to provide for exceptions; to provide for redesignation of certain Code6
sections; to provide for limitations; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective7
date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9
SECTION 1.10
Chapter 5 of Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to online internet11
safety, is amended by designating the existing provisions of Chapter 5 as Article 1 of said12
chapter and adding a new article to read as follows:13
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"ARTICLE 214
39-5-10.15
As used in this article, the term:16
(1) 'Account holder' means a person who has, or opens, an account or profile to use a17
social media company's platform.18
(2) 'Division' means the Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Law.19
(3) 'Georgia account holder' means a person who is a resident of this state and an account20
holder, including a Georgia minor account holder.21
(4) 'Georgia minor account holder' means a Georgia account holder who is a minor.22
(5) 'Georgia resident' means an individual who currently resides in this state.23
(6) 'Interactive computer service' means an information service, information system, or24
information access software provider that provides or enables computer access by25
multiple users to a computer server and provides access to the internet. An interactive26
computer service includes a web service, a web system, a website, a web application, or27
a web portal.28
(7) 'Minor' means an individual under circumstances where a social media company29
reasonably believes or has actual knowledge that the individual is under the age of 16 and30
is not emancipated or married. A social media company shall treat an individual as a31
minor if the social media company verifies that the individual is under the age of 16, as32
provided in this article.33
(8) 'Post' means content that an account holder makes available on a social media34
platform for other account holders or users to view.35
(9) 'Social media company' means a person or entity that provides a social media36
platform and is an interactive computer service.37
(10)(A) 'Social media platform' means a public or semipublic internet based service or38
application that:39
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(i) Has users in Georgia;40
(ii) Connects users in order to allow them to interact socially with each other within41
the service or application; and42
(iii) Allows users to:43
(I) Construct a public or semipublic profile for purposes of signing into and using44
the service or application;45
(II) Populate a list of other users with whom an individual shares a social or virtual46
connection within the system, including subscribing to content related to another47
user; and48
(III) Create or post content viewable by other users, including, but not limited to,49
on message boards, in chat rooms, on video channels, or through a landing page or50
main feed that presents the user with content generated by other users.51
(B) Such term shall not include an online service, website, or application where the52
predominant or exclusive function is:53
(i) Email;54
(ii) A service that, pursuant to its terms of use, does not permit minors to use the55
platform and utilizes commercially reasonable age assurance mechanisms to attempt56
to prohibit minors from becoming account holders or users;57
(iii) A streaming service that provides only licensed media in a continuous flow from58
the service, website, or application to the end user and does not obtain a license to the59
media from a user or account holder by agreement to its terms of service;60
(iv) News, sports, entertainment, or other content that is preselected by the provider61
and not user generated, and any chat, comment, or interactive functionality that is62
provided incidental to, directly related to, or dependent upon provisions of the63
content;64
(v) Online shopping or ecommerce, if the interaction with other users or account65
holders is generally limited to the ability to upload a post and comment on reviews,66
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the ability to display lists or collections of goods for sale or wish lists, and any other67
function that is focused on online shopping or ecommerce rather than interaction68
between users or account holders;69
(vi) Interactive gaming, virtual gaming, or an online service that allows the creation70
and uploading of content and the communication related to that content for the71
purpose of interactive gaming, educational entertainment, or associated entertainment;72
(vii) Photograph editing that has an associated photograph hosting service if the73
interaction with other users or account holders is generally limited to liking or74
commenting;75
(viii) Single purpose community groups for public safety if the interaction with other76
users or account holders is limited to that single purpose and the community group77
has guidelines or policies against illegal content;78
(ix) Career development opportunities, including professional networking, job skills,79
learning certifications, and job posting and application services;80
(x) Business-to-business software;81
(xi) A teleconferencing or videoconferencing service that allows reception and82
transmission of audio and video signals for real-time communication;83
(xii) Cloud storage;84
(xiii) Shared document collaboration;85
(xiv) Cloud computing services, which may include cloud storage and shared86
document collaboration;87
(xv) Providing access to or interacting with data visualization platforms, libraries, or88
hubs;89
(xvi) Permitting comments on a digital news website if the news content is posted by90
only the provider of the digital news website;91
(xvii) Providing or obtaining technical support for a platform, product, or service;92
(xviii) Academic, scholarly, or genealogical research;93
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(xix) Internet access and broadband service;94
(xx) A classified advertising service in which the user is limited to providing the95
ability to chat, comment, or interact with other users only if it is directly related to the96
sale of goods; and97
(xxi) An online, service, website, or application that is used by or under the direction98
of an educational entity, including a learning management system, a student99
engagement program, or a subject or skill-specific program, where the majority of the100
content is created or posted by the provider of the online service, website, or101
application and the ability to chat, comment, or interact with other users is directly102
related to the provider's content.103
(11) 'User' means a person who has access to view all or some of the posts on a social104
media platform.105
39-5-11.106
(a) A social media company shall make commercially reasonable efforts to verify the age107
of Georgia account holders with a level of certainty appropriate to the risks that arise from108
the information management practices of the social media company or apply the109
accommodations afforded to minors pursuant to this article to all account holders.110
(b) A social media company shall not permit a Georgia resident who is a minor to be an111
account holder on the social media company's social media platform unless the minor has112
the express consent of a parent or guardian. Acceptable methods of obtaining express113
consent from a parent or guardian include:114
(1) Providing a form for the minor's parent or guardian to sign and return to the digital115
service provider by common carrier, facsimile, or electronic scan;116
(2) Providing a toll-free telephone number for the minor's parent or guardian to call to117
consent;118
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(3) Coordinating a call with a minor's parent or guardian over video conferencing119
technology;120
(4) Collecting information related to the government issued identification of the minor's121
parent or guardian and deleting that information after confirming the identity of the122
minor's parent or guardian;123
(5) Allowing the minor's parent or guardian to provide consent by responding to an email124
and taking additional steps to verify the identity of the minor's parent or guardian; and125
(6) Any other commercially reasonable method of obtaining consent in light of available126
technology.127
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a social media company shall not128
permit a Georgia resident who is a minor to hold or open an account on a social media129
platform if the minor is ineligible to hold or open an account pursuant to any other130
provision of state or federal law.131
39-5-12.132
For a Georgia minor account holder, a social media company shall prohibit:133
(1) Adults from direct messaging a Georgia minor account holder unless the minor is134
already connected to the adult on the service;135
(2) The display of any advertising in the account based on the Georgia minor account136
holder's personal information, except age and location; and137
(3) The collection or use of personal information from the posts, content, messages, text,138
or usage activities of the account other than information beyond what is adequate,139
relevant, and reasonably necessary in relation to the purposes for which such information140
is collected, as disclosed.141
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39-5-13.142
A social media company shall provide a parent or guardian who has given parental consent143
for a Georgia minor account holder as provided in this article with a means for the minor144
account holder or the parent or guardian to initiate account supervision. Such supervision145
shall include the ability for the parent or guardian to view privacy settings of the minor's146
account, set daily time limits for the service, schedule breaks, and offer the minor the147
option to set up parental notifications when the minor reports a person or issue.148
39-5-14.149
(a) The division shall receive consumer complaints alleging any violation of this article,150
and any person may file a consumer complaint with the division that alleges a violation of151
this article.152
(b) The division shall investigate a consumer complaint to determine whether a violation153
of this article has occurred.154
39-5-15.155
(a) The division has exclusive authority to administer and enforce the requirements of this156
article.157
(b) Subject to the ability to cure an alleged violation of subsection (d) of this Code section,158
the Attorney General may impose an administrative fine of up to $2,500.00 for each159
violation of this article, and the division may bring an action in a court of competent160
jurisdiction to enforce any provision of this article.161
(c) In a court action by the division to enforce any provision of this article, the court may:162
(1) Declare that the act or practice violates a provision of this article;163
(2) Issue an injunction for a violation of this article;164
(3) Order any profits, gains, gross receipts, or benefit from a violation of this article to165
be forfeited and paid to the aggrieved person;166
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(4) Impose a civil penalty of up to $2,500.00 for each violation of this article;167
(5) Award damages to the aggrieved person; or168
(6) Award any other relief that the court considers reasonable and necessary.169
(d)(1) At least 45 days before the day on which the division initiates an enforcement170
action against a person who is subject to the requirements of this article, the division shall171
provide the person with a written notice that identifies each alleged violation and an172
explanation of the basis for each allegation.173
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (3) of this subsection, the division shall not initiate174
an action if the person cures the noticed violation within 45 days after the date on which175
the person receives the notice by providing the division with a written statement176
indicating the violation is cured and no further violations will occur.177
(3) The division may initiate a civil action against a person who:178
(A) Fails to cure a violation after receiving the written notice described in179
paragraph (1) of this subsection; or180
(B) Commits another violation of the same provision after curing a violation and181
providing a written statement in accordance with paragraph (2) of this subsection.182
(4) If a court of competent jurisdiction grants judgment or injunctive relief to the183
division, the court shall award the division:184
(A) Reasonable attorney fees;185
(B) Court costs; and186
(C) Investigative costs.187
(5) A person who violates an administrative order or court order issued for a violation188
of this article shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.00 for each189
violation. A civil penalty in accordance with this Code section may be imposed in any190
civil action brought by the division.191
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(6) All moneys received from the payment of a fine or civil penalty imposed and192
collected pursuant to the provisions of this Code section shall be used by the division to193
promote consumer protection and education.194
39-5-16.195
(a) The division shall compile an annual report that contains:196
(1) An evaluation of the liability and enforcement provisions of this article, including,197
but not limited to, the effectiveness of the division's efforts to enforce this article and any198
recommendations for revisions to this article, including proposals for legislation;199
(2) A summary of the consumer interactions, protected and not protected by this article,200
including a list of alleged violations the division has received; and201
(3) An accounting of:202
(A) All administrative fines and civil penalties assessed during the year;203
(B) All administrative fines and civil penalties collected during the year; and204
(C) The use of funds from all administrative fines and civil penalties collected during205
the year.206
(b) The division may update or correct the report as new information becomes available.207
(c) The division shall maintain the report, which shall be published on its website.208
39-5-17.209
Notwithstanding any contract or choice of law provision in a contract, a waiver or210
limitation, or purported waiver or limitation, shall be void and unenforceable as contrary211
to public policy, and a court or arbitrator shall not enforce or give effect to any waiver of212
a protection or requirement pursuant to this article.213
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39-5-18.214
The provisions of this chapter shall be construed as in addition to and in no way limit or215
abridge any other rights or remedies available at law or equity."216
SECTION 2.217
Said chapter is further amended by replacing "chapter" with "article" wherever the former218
term occurs in:219
(1) Code Section 39-5-1, relating to definitions; and220
(2) Code Section 39-5-3, relating to immunity for computer service providers.221
SECTION 3.222
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025.223
SECTION 4.224
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.225
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