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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 3097 By: Hasenbeck
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to crimes and punishments; defining
terms; making commercial entities liable for
publishing or distributing obscene material;
providing internet and cellular service subscribers
the opportunity to make certain request; requiring
commercial entities to block access without charge;
establishing liability provisions for vi olations;
providing exemptions from liability; prohibiting the
retention of identifying information; providing
liability provisions for retaining identifying
information; seek injunctive and other relief for
noncompliance; authorizing and di recting the Attorney
General to develop and publish certain guidelines and
regulations; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1040.81 of Title 21, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in this act:
1. "Child pornography" shall have the same meaning as such term
is defined in Sectio n 1024.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
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2. "Child sexual exploitation" shall have th e same meaning as
such term is defined in Section 843.5 of Tit le 21 of the Oklahoma
Statutes;
3. "Commercial entity" includes corporations, limited liability
companies, partnerships, limited partnerships, sole proprietorships,
or other legally recognized entities;
4. "Digitized identification card " means a data file available
on any mobile device which has connectivity to the Internet through
a state-approved application that allows the mobile device to
download the data file from a state agency or an aut horized agent of
a state agency that contains all of the data elements visibl e on the
face and back of a license or identification card and displays the
current status of the license or identification card;
5. "Distribute" means to issue, sell, give, prov ide, deliver,
transfer, transmit, circulate, or disseminate by any means ;
6. "Harmful to minors" shall have the same mea ning as such term
is defined in Section 1040.75 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
7. "Internet" means the international computer n etwork of both
federal and non-federal interoperable packet switched data net works;
8. "Minor" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age;
9. "News-gathering organization" means any of the following:
a. an employee of a newspaper, news publication , or news
source, printed or on an online or mobile platform, of
current news and public interest, while operating as
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an employee as provided in this subparagraph, who can
provide documentation of such employment with the
newspaper, news publication, or ne ws source, or
b. an employee of a radio broadcast station, television
broadcast station, cable television operator, or wire
service while operating as an employee a s provided in
this subparagraph, who can provide documentation of
such employment;
10. "Obscene material" shall have the same meaning as such term
is defined in Section 1024.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
11. "Publish" means to communicate or ma ke information
available to another person or entity on a publicly available
Internet website;
12. "Reasonable age verification methods " means verifying that
the person seeking to access the material is eighteen (18) years of
age or older by using any of the following methods:
a. use of a digitized information card as define d in this
section,
b. verification through an independent, third -party age
verification service that compares the personal
information entered by the individual who is seeking
access to the material that is available from a
commercially available database , or aggregate of
databases, that is regularly used by government
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agencies and businesses for the pur pose of age and
identity verification , or
c. any commercially reasonable method that relies on
public or private transactional data to verify the age
of the person attempting to access the material;
13. "Subscriber" means a person who pays to receive or access a
service;
14. "Substantial portion" means more than thirty-three and one-
third percent (33 1/3%) of total material on a website, which meets
the definition of "material harmful to minors" as defined in this
section; and
15. "Transactional data" means a sequence of information that
documents an exchange, agreement, or tr ansfer between an individual,
commercial entity, or third party used for the purpose of satisfying
a request or an event. Transactional data includes records from
mortgage, education, and employment entities.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A n ew section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1040.82 of Title 21, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Any commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally
publishes or distributes obscene mate rial, or material that depicts
or promotes child pornography or child sexual exploitation, on the
Internet or any other type of electronic, digital, or print media,
may be held liable to an individual for nominal damages, actual
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damages, court costs , and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the
court.
B. A commercial entity that has violated the provisions of this
act in a manner that satisfies the standards fo r imposition of
punitive damages elsewhere provided by law may be held liable to an
individual for puniti ve damages.
C. Individual claims that satisfy the generally applicable
standards for joinde r or class action elsewhere provided by law or
rules of court, as applicable, may combine their claims in a single
action.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1040.83 of Title 21, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, rea ds as follows:
A. Any commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally
publishes or distributes materia l harmful to minors on the Internet
from a website that contains a substantial portion of su ch material
shall provide internet service subscribers and cellular service
subscribers the opportunity, before any individual using such
services may access the material, to request that access to the
material by subscription service be denied.
B. Upon such request by an Internet service subscriber or
cellular service subscriber, a commercial entity shall, without
charge, block access to its website on an y device seeking to access
its website using the internet service or cellular service
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subscription of the subscriber so that a minor does not receive
material harmful to minors via that subscription.
C. A commercial entity that fails to provide Internet service
subscribers or cellular service subscribers an opportunity to
request that access to the website of the commercial entity be
blocked is in violation of the provisions of this act and may be
held liable to the minor, by and through the parent or legal
guardian of the minor, for nominal damages, actual damages, court
costs, and reasonable attorney fee s as ordered by the court.
D. A commercial entity that, after receipt of such request to
block access, allows a minor to access material harmful to minors on
its website is in violation of the provisions of this act and may be
held liable to the minor, by and through the parent or legal
guardian of the minor, for nominal damages, actual damages, court
costs, and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court.
E. A commercial entity that has violated the provisions of this
act in a manner that satisfies the standards for imposition of
punitive damages elsewhere pro vided by law may be held liable to the
minor, by and through the parent or legal guardian of the minor, for
punitive damages.
F. Individual claims that satisfy the generally applicable
standards for joinder or class action elsewhere provided by law or
rules of court, as applicable, may combine their claims in a single
action.
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G. A commercial entity shall not be held liable for allowing
access to its website if the commercial entity performs reasonable
age verification methods to verify that the individua l attempting to
access the material from its website is not a minor.
H. A commercial entity or third p arty that performs the
required age verification shall not retain any identifying
information of the individual after access has been granted to the
material.
I. A commercial entity that is found to have knowingly retained
identifying information of the i ndividual, except as reasonably
necessary to effectuate a block request under the provisions of this
section, shall be liable to the individual for damages re sulting
from retaining the identifying informa tion, including nominal
damages, actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees
as ordered by the court.
J. This section shall not a pply to any bona fide news or public
interest broadcast, website v ideo, report, or event and shall not be
construed to affect the rights of a news-gathering organization,
unless the website of the organization contains a substantial
portion of material har mful to minors.
K. No Internet service provider, affiliate , or subsidiary of an
Internet service provider, se arch engine, or cloud service provider
shall be held to have violated the provisions of this section solely
for providing access or connection to or from a website or other
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information or content on the Internet, or a facility, system, or
network not under the control of the provider, including
transmission, downloading, storing, or providing access, to the
extent that such provider is not responsib le for the creation of the
content of the communication that const itutes obscene material or
material harmful to m inors.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1040.84 of Title 21, unless
there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as foll ows:
A. The Attorney General may seek injunctive and other equitable
relief against a commercial entity that fails to comply with the
provisions of this act.
B. The Attorney General is aut horized and directed to develop
and publish, consistent with the p rovisions of this act, guidance,
or regulations as appropriate to assist commercial entities to
comply with the provisions of this act.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effe ctive November 1, 2024.
59-2-10427 GRS 02/22/24