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SENATE FLOOR VERSION
April 2, 2024
ENGROSSED HOUSE
BILL NO. 3097 By: Hasenbeck, Conley, and
Cantrell of the House
and
Alvord of the Senate
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 violations;
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 directing 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:
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1. "Child pornography" shall have the same meaning as such term
is defined in Section 1024.1 of Title 21 of the O klahoma Statutes;
2. "Child sexual exploitation" shall have the same meaning as
such term is defined in Sectio n 843.5 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma
Statutes;
3. "Commercial entity" includes corporations, limited liability
companies, partnerships, limited p artnerships, 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 authorized agent of
a state agency that contains al l of the data elements visible on the
face and back of a license or identification card and displays the
current status of the license or identif ication card;
5. "Distribute" means to issue, sell, give, provide, deliver,
transfer, transmit, circulate, or disseminate by any means;
6. "Harmful to minors" shall have the same meaning as such term
is defined in Section 1040.75 of Title 21 of the Oklah oma Statutes;
7. "Internet" means the international computer network of both
federal and non-federal interoperable packet switched data networks;
8. "Minor" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age;
9. "News-gathering organization" means any of the following:
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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
an employee as provided in this subparagraph, who can
provide documentation of such employment with the
newspaper, news publication, or news source, or
b. an employee of a radio broadcas t station, television
broadcast station, cable television operator, or wire
service while operating as an employee as 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 make information
available to another person or entity on a publicly available
Internet website;
12. "Reasonable age verification methods" me ans 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 defined 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
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access to the material that is availab le from a
commercially available database, or aggregate of
databases, that is regularly used by government
agencies and businesses for the purpose 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 transfer 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 new 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 material, or material that depicts
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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
damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by t he
court.
B. A commercial entity that has violated the provisions of this
act in a manner that satisfies the s tandards for imposition of
punitive damages elsewhere provided by law may be held liable to an
individual for punitive damages.
C. 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.
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 numb ering, reads as follows:
A. Any commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally
publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on the In ternet
from a website that contains a substantial portion of such 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 acces s to the
material by subscription service be denied.
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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 any device seeking to access
its website using the Internet service or cellular service
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 da mages, actual damages, court
costs, and reasonable attorney fees 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 provided by law may be held liable to the
minor, by and through the parent or legal guardian of the minor, for
punitive damages.
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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.
G. A commercial entity shall not be held liable for allow ing
access to its website if the commercial entity performs reasonable
age verification methods to verify that the individual attempting to
access the material from its website is not a minor.
H. A commercial entity or third party that performs the
required age verification shall not retain any identifying
information of the individual after access has been grante d to the
material.
I. A commercial entity that is found to have knowingly retained
identifying information of the individual, except as reasonab ly
necessary to effectuate a block request under the provisions of this
section, shall be liable to the individual for damages resulting
from retaining the identifying information, including nominal
damages, actual damages, court costs, and reasonable atto rney fees
as ordered by the court.
J. This section shall not apply to any bona fide news or public
interest broadcast, website video, 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 harmful to minors.
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K. No Internet service provider, affiliate, or subsidiary of an
Internet service provider, search engine, or cloud service provider
shall be held to have violated the provision s of this section solely
for providing access or connection to or from a website or other
information or conten t on the Internet, or a facility, system, or
network not under the control of the provider, including
transmission, downloading, storing, or prov iding access, to the
extent that such provider is not responsible for the creation of the
content of the communication that constitutes obscene material or
material harmful to minors.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be co dified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1040.84 of Title 21, unless
there is created a duplication in number ing, reads as follows:
A. The Attorney General may seek injunctive and other equitable
relief against a commercial entity that fails to comply w ith the
provisions of this act.
B. The Attorney General is authorized and directed to develop
and publish, consistent with the provisions of this act, guidance,
or regulations as appropriate to assist commercial entities to
comply with the provisions of t his act.
SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COM MITTEE ON JUDICIARY
April 2, 2024 - DO PASS