FIRSTREGULARSESSION
HOUSEBILLNO.691
103RDGENERALASSEMBLY
INTRODUCEDBYREPRESENTATIVECHRISTENSEN.
1888H.01I DANARADEMANMILLER,ChiefClerk
ANACT
Toamendchapter407,RSMo,byaddingtheretoonenewsectionrelatingtopornography
websiteaccess.
BeitenactedbytheGeneralAssemblyofthestateofMissouri,asfollows:
SectionA.Chapter407,RSMo,isamendedbyaddingtheretoonenewsection,tobe
2knownassection407.2095,toreadasfollows:
407.2095.1.Forpurposesofthissection,thefollowingtermsmean:
2 (1)"Commercialentity",includescorporations,limitedliabilitycompanies,
3partnerships,limitedpartnerships,soleproprietorships,orotherlegallyrecognized
4entities;
5 (2)"Distribute",toissue,sell,give,provide,deliver,transfer,transmute,
6circulate,ordisseminatebyanymeans;
7 (3)"Internet",theinternationalcomputernetworkofbothfederalandnon
8federalinteroperablepacket-switcheddatanetworks;
9 (4)"Materialharmfultominors",includes:
10 (a)Anymaterialthattheaveragepersonapplyingcontemporarycommunity
11standardswouldfind,takingthematerialasawholeandwithrespecttominors,is
12designedtoappealtoorpandertotheprurientinterest;
13 (b)Anyofthefollowingmaterialthatexploits,isdevotedto,orprincipally
14consistsofdescriptionsofactual,simulated,oranimateddisplayordepictionofanyof
15thefollowing,inamannerpatentlyoffensivewithrespecttominors:
16 a.Pubichair,anus,vulva,genitals,ornippleofthefemalebreast;
EXPLANATION—Matterenclosedinbold-facedbrackets[thus] intheabovebillisnotenactedandis
intendedtobeomittedfromthelaw.Matterinbold-facetypeintheabovebillisproposedlanguage. 17 b.Touching,caressing,orfondlingofnipples,breasts,buttocks,anuses,or
18genitals;or
19 c.Sexualintercourse,masturbation,sodomy,bestiality,oralcopulation,
20flagellation,excretoryfunctions,exhibitions,oranyothersexualact;and
21 (c)Thematerialtakenasawholelacksseriousliterary,artistic,political,or
22scientificvalueforminors;
23 (5)"Minor",anypersonundereighteenyearsofage;
24 (6)"News-gatheringorganization",anyofthefollowing:
25 (a)Anemployeeofanewspaper,newspublication,ornewssource,printedoron
26anonlineormobileplatform,ofcurrentnewsandpublicinterestwhileoperatingasan
27employeeasprovidedinthisparagraphwhocanprovidedocumentationofsuch
28employmentwiththenewspaper,newspublication,ornewssource;or
29 (b)Anemployeeofaradiobroadcaststation,televisionbroadcaststation,cable
30televisionoperator,orwireservicewhileoperatingasanemployeeasprovidedinthis
31paragraphwhocanprovidedocumentationofsuchemployment;
32 (7)"Publish",tocommunicateormakeinformationavailabletoanotherperson
33orentityonapubliclyavailableinternetwebsite;
34 (8)"Reasonableage-verificationmethods",verifyingthatapersonseekingto
35accessmaterialiseighteenyearsofageorolderbyrequiringthepersonattemptingto
36accessthematerialtocomplywithacommercialage-verificationsystemthatverifiesage
37inoneormoreofthefollowingways:
38 (a)Government-issuedidentification;or
39 (b)Anycommerciallyreasonablemethodthatreliesonpublicorprivate
40transactionaldatatoverifytheageofthepersonattemptingtoaccesstheinformationis
41atleasteighteenyearsofage;
42 (9)"Substantialportion",morethanthirty-threeandone-thirdpercentoftotal
43materialonawebsitethatmeetsthedefinitionof"materialharmfultominors"as
44definedunderthissection;
45 (10)"Transactionaldata",asequenceofinformationthatdocumentsan
46exchange,agreement,ortransferbetweenanindividual,commercialentity,orthird
47partyusedforthepurposeofsatisfyingarequestorevent."Transactionaldata"may
48include,butisnotlimitedto,recordsfrommortgage,education,andemployment
49entities.
50 2.Anycommercialentitythatknowinglyandintentionallypublishesor
51distributesmaterialharmfultominorsontheinternetfromawebsitethatcontainsa
52substantialportionofsuchmaterialshallbeheldliableiftheentityfailstoperform
HB691 2 53reasonableage-verificationmethodstoverifytheageofindividualsattemptingtoaccess
54thematerial.
55 3.Anycommercialentityorthirdpartythatperformstherequiredage
56verificationshallnotretainanyidentifyinginformationoftheindividualafteraccess
57hasbeengrantedtothematerial.
58 4.Anycommercialentitythatisfoundtohaveviolatedthissectionshallbeliable
59toanindividualfordamagesresultingfromaminor'saccessingthematerial,including
60courtcostsandreasonableattorney'sfeesasorderedbythecourt.
61 5.Acommercialentitythatisfoundtohaveknowinglyretainedidentifying
62informationoftheindividualafteraccesshasbeengrantedtotheindividualshallbe
63liabletotheindividualfordamagesresultingfromretainingtheidentifyinginformation,
64includingcourtcostsandreasonableattorney'sfeesasorderedbythecourt.
65 6.Thissectionshallnotapplytoanybonafidenewsorpublicinterestbroadcast,
66websitevideo,report,oreventandshallnotbeconstruedtoaffecttherightsofany
67news-gatheringorganizations.
68 7.Nointernetserviceprovider,oritsaffiliatesorsubsidiaries,searchengine,or
69cloudserviceprovidershallbeheldtohaveviolatedtheprovisionsofthissectionsolely
70forprovidingaccessorconnectiontoorfromawebsiteorotherinformationorcontent
71ontheinternetorafacility,system,ornetworknotunderthatprovider'scontrol,
72includingtransmission,downloading,intermediatestorage,accesssoftware,orother
73activity,totheextentsuchproviderisnotresponsibleforthecreationofthecontentof
74thecommunicationthatconstitutesmaterialharmfultominors.
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HB691 3