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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2835 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 98
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
David M. Rogers
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to internet privacy rights for children.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:David M. Rogers24th Middlesex1/16/2025Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth1/22/2025 1 of 8
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2835 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 98
By Representative Rogers of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 98) of
David M. Rogers and Patrick Joseph Kearney relative to internet privacy rights for children.
Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 80 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act relative to internet privacy rights for children.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 93 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
2section:-
3 Section 115. (a) For the purposes of this section the following words shall, unless the
4context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
5 “Internet web site, online service, online application or mobile application directed to
6minors”, an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile application or a
7portion thereof, that is created for the purpose of reaching an audience that is predominately
8comprised of minors and is not intended for a more general audience comprised of adults;
9provided, however, that an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile 2 of 8
10application or a portion thereof, shall not be deemed to be directed at minors solely because it
11refers or links to an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile application
12directed to minors by using information location tools including, a directory, index, reference,
13pointer or hypertext link.
14 “Less lethal weapon”, any device that is designed to or that has been converted to expel
15or propel less lethal ammunition by any action, mechanism or process for the purpose of
16incapacitating, immobilizing or stunning a human being through the infliction of any less than
17lethal impairment of physical condition, function or senses including, physical pain or
18discomfort.
19 “Marketing or advertising”, in exchange for monetary compensation, to make a
20communication to 1 or more individuals or to arrange for the dissemination to the public of a
21communication about a product or service the primary purpose of which is to encourage
22recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service.
23 “Minor”, a natural person under 18 years of age who resides in the commonwealth.
24 “Obscene matter”, a matter, taken as a whole, that to the average person, applying
25contemporary statewide standards, appeals to the prurient interest, that, taken as a whole, depicts
26or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way and that, taken as a whole, lacks serious
27literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
28 “Operator”, any person or entity that owns an internet web site, online service, online
29application or mobile application. It does not include any third party that operates, hosts or
30manages but, does not own an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile
31application on the owner’s behalf or processes information on the owner’s behalf. 3 of 8
32 “Posted”, content or information that can be accessed by a user in addition to the minor
33who posted the content or information, whether the user is a registered user or not, of the internet
34web site, online service, online application or mobile application where the content or
35information is posted.
36 (b) An operator of an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile
37application directed to minors shall not market or advertise a product or a service described in
38subsection (g) on its internet web site, online service, online application or mobile application
39directed to minors.
40 (c) (1) An operator of an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile
41application shall not market or advertise a product or service described in subsection (g) to a
42minor who the operator has actual knowledge is using its internet web site, online service, online
43application or mobile application and is a minor, if the marketing or advertising is specifically
44directed to that minor based upon information specific to that minor including, but not limited to,
45the minor's profile, activity, address or location sufficient to establish contact with a minor and
46excluding internet protocol address and product identification numbers for the operation of a
47service.
48 (2) An operator of an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile
49application shall be deemed to be in compliance with paragraph (1) if the operator takes
50reasonable actions in good faith designed to avoid marketing or advertising under circumstances
51prohibited under paragraph (1).
52 (d) An operator of an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile
53application directed to minors or who has actual knowledge that a minor is using its internet web 4 of 8
54site, online service, online application or mobile application shall not knowingly use, disclose,
55compile, or allow a third party to use, disclose or compile, the personal information of a minor
56with actual knowledge that the use, disclosure or compilation is for the purpose of marketing or
57advertising products or services to that minor for a product described in subsection (g).
58 (e) This section shall not be construed to require an operator of an internet web site,
59online service, online application or mobile application to collect or retain age information about
60users.
61 (f)(1) With respect to marketing or advertising provided by an advertising service, the
62operator of an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile application directed
63to minors shall be deemed to be in compliance with subsection (b) if the operator notifies the
64advertising service, in the manner required by the advertising service, that the site, service or
65application is directed to minors.
66 (2) If an advertising service is notified, in the manner required by the advertising service,
67that an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile application is directed to
68minors pursuant to paragraph (1), the advertising service shall not market or advertise a product
69or service on the operator's internet web site, online service, online application or mobile
70application that is described in subsection (g).
71 (g) The marketing and advertising restrictions described in subsections (b) and (c) shall
72apply to the following products and services: (i) alcoholic beverages; (ii) firearms or handguns;
73(iii) ammunition or reloaded ammunition; (iv) firearms safety certificates; (v) aerosol container
74of paint that is capable of defacing property; (vi) etching cream that is capable of defacing
75property; (vii) any tobacco, cigarette or cigarette papers, blunt wraps or any other preparation of 5 of 8
76tobacco or any other instrument or paraphernalia that is designed for the smoking or ingestion of
77tobacco, products prepared from tobacco or any controlled substance; (viii) any cannabis,
78cannabis product, cannabis business or any instrument or paraphernalia that is designed for the
79smoking or ingestion of cannabis or cannabis products; (ix) BB, pellet expelling device or a less
80lethal weapon; (x) fireworks; (xi) tanning in an ultraviolet tanning device; (xii) dietary
81supplement products containing ephedrine group alkaloids; (xiii) tickets or shares in a lottery
82game; (ivx) Salvia divinorum or Salvinorin A or any substance or material containing Salvia
83divinorum or Salvinorin A; (xv) body branding; (xvi) permanent tattoo; (xvii) drug
84paraphernalia; (xviii) electronic cigarette; or (xix) obscene matter.
85 (h) The marketing and advertising restrictions described in subsections (b), (c) and (d)
86shall not apply to the incidental placement of products or services embedded in content if the
87content is not distributed by or at the direction of the operator primarily for the purposes of
88marketing and advertising of the products or services described in subsection (g).
89 (i) An operator of an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile
90application directed to minors or an operator of an internet web site, online service, online
91application or mobile application that has actual knowledge that a minor is using its internet web
92site, online service, online application or mobile application shall do all of the following:
93 (1) permit a minor who is a registered user of the operator's internet web site, online
94service, online application or mobile application to remove or if the operator prefers, to request
95and obtain removal of, content or information posted on the operator’s internet web site, online
96service, online application or mobile application by the user; 6 of 8
97 (2) provide notice to a minor who is a registered user of the operator’s internet web site,
98online service, online application or mobile application that the minor may remove or, if the
99operator prefers, request and obtain removal of, content or information posted on the operator's
100internet web site, online service, online application or mobile application by the registered user;
101 (3) provide clear instructions to a minor who is a registered user of the operator's internet
102web site, online service, online application or mobile application on how the user may remove or
103if the operator prefers, request and obtain the removal of content or information posted on the
104operator's internet web site, online service, online application or mobile application; and
105 (4) provide notice to a minor who is a registered user of the operator's internet web site,
106online service, online application or mobile application that the removal described under
107paragraph (1) does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of the content or information
108posted on the operator's internet web site, online service, online application or mobile application
109by the registered user.
110 (j) An operator of an internet web site, online service, online application or mobile
111application directed to minors who violated any provision of this section shall be held liable for a
112civil penalty of not more than $2,500 per violation. The attorney general may file a civil action in
113the superior or district court in the name of the commonwealth to recover such penalties.
114 (k) An operator or a third party is not required to erase or otherwise eliminate or to enable
115erasure or elimination of, content or information in any of the following circumstances:
116 (i) federal law or a general or special law requires the operator or third party to maintain
117the content or information; 7 of 8
118 (ii) the content or information was stored on or posted to the operator’s internet web site,
119online service, online application or mobile application by a third party other than the minor,
120who is a registered user including, any content or information posted by the registered user that
121was stored, republished or reposted by the third party;
122 (iii) the operator anonymizes the content or information posted by the minor who is a
123registered user, so that the minor who is a registered user cannot be individually identified;
124 (iv) the minor does not follow the instructions provided to the minor pursuant to
125paragraph (3) of subsection (i) on how the registered user may request and obtain the removal of
126content or information posted on the operator's internet web site, online service, online
127application or mobile application by the registered user; and
128 (v) the minor has received compensation or other consideration for providing the content.
129 (l) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of a law enforcement agency
130to obtain any content or information from an operator as authorized by law or pursuant to an
131order of a court.
132 (m) An operator shall be deemed compliant with this section if:
133 (i) it renders the content or information posted by the minor user no longer visible to
134other users of the service and the public even if the content or information remains on the
135operator's servers in some form; and
136 (ii) despite making the original posting by the minor user invisible, it remains visible
137because a third party has copied the posting or reposted the content or information posted by the
138minor. 8 of 8
139 (n) This section shall not be construed to require an operator of an internet web site,
140online service, online application or mobile application to collect age information about users.
141 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2026.