HB2112 - 571R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 18, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 7, to read:

CHAPTER 7

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY USE

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

START_STATUTE18-701. Internet pornography; age verification; prohibited data retention; verification methods; website health notice; applicability; liability; civil penalty; attorney general; qui tam plaintiff; attorney fees and costs; definitions

A. A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material on an Internet website, including a social media platform, of which more than one-third is sexual material that is harmful to minors shall use reasonable age verification methods to verify that an individual who attempts to access the material is eighteen years of age or older.

B. A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material on an Internet website or a third-party entity that performs age verification pursuant to this section shall require an individual to do either of the following:

1. Provide digital identification.

2. Comply with a commercial age verification system That verifies age using either of the following:

(a) Government-issued identification.

(b) A commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of an individual.

C. A commercial entity or a third-party entity that performs the age verification that is required by this section may not retain any identifying information of the individual.

D. A commercial entity that is required to use reasonable age verification methods pursuant to subsection A of this section shall do both of the following:

1. Display the following notices on the home page of the Internet website on which sexual material that is harmful to minors is published or distributed and all advertisements for that Internet website in at least fourteen-point font:

Arizona HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Pornography is potentially biologically addictive, is proven to harm human brain development, desensitizes brain reward circuits, increases conditioned responses and weakens brain function.

Arizona HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Exposure to this content is associated with low self-esteem and body image, eating disorders, impaired brain development and other emotional and mental illnesses.

Arizona HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WARNING: Pornography increases the demand for prostitution, child exploitation and child pornography.

2. display the following notice at the bottom of every webpage of the Internet website in at least fourteen-point font:

United States SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION HELPLINE:

1-800-662-HELP (4357)

THIS HELPLINE IS A FREE, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION SERVICE (IN ENGLISH OR SPANISH) OPEN twenty-four HOURS PER DAY, FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILY MEMBERS FACING MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS.

THE SERVICE PROVIDES REFERRAL TO LOCAL TREATMENT FACILITIES, SUPPORT GROUPS AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.

E. This section does not apply to a bona fide news or public interest broadcast, website video, report or event and may not be construed to affect the rights of a news-gathering organization.

F. An Internet service provider, or its affiliates or subsidiaries, a search engine or a cloud service provider may not be held to have violated this section solely for providing access or connection to or from a website or other information or content on the Internet or on a facility, system or network not under that internet service provider's control, including transmission, downloading, intermediate storage, access software or other services to the extent that the internet service provider or search engine is not responsible for the creation of the content that constitutes sexual material that is harmful to minors.

G. If the attorney general believes that an entity is knowingly violating or has knowingly violated this section and the action is in the public interest, the attorney general may bring an action in a Maricopa County superior court or the superior court in the county in which the entity's principal place of business is located in this state to enjoin the violation, recover a civil penalty and obtain other relief the court considers appropriate.

H. If the attorney general does not file a claim against an entity who is knowingly violating or has knowingly violated this section, A PRIVATE PERSON MAY BRING A QUI TAM ACTION FOR A violation of this section FOR THE STATE OF ARIZONA IN THE NAME OF THE STATE. THE ACTION MAY BE DISMISSED ONLY WITH THE WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE COURT AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. ON THE SAME DAY that THE COMPLAINT IS FILED, THE QUI TAM PLAINTIFF SHALL SERVE ON THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED, A COPY OF THE COMPLAINT AND A WRITTEN DISCLOSURE OF SUBSTANTIALLY ALL MATERIAL EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION that THE PERSON POSSESSES. THE STATE MAY INTERVENE AND PROCEED WITH THE ACTION WITHIN ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAYS AFTER IT RECEIVES BOTH THE COMPLAINT AND THE MATERIAL EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION. BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF THE ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DAY PERIOD, THE attorney general SHALL EITHER PROCEED WITH THE ACTION or NOTIFY THE COURT THAT IT DECLINES TO TAKE OVER THE ACTION, IN WHICH CASE THE PERSON BRINGING THE ACTION MAY CONDUCT THE ACTION. AFTER A PERSON BRINGS AN ACTION UNDER THIS subSECTION, NO OTHER PERSON MAY BRING A RELATED ACTION that is BASED ON THE FACTS UNDERLYING THE PENDING ACTION.

I. The court may impose A civil penalty for a violation of this Section:

1. In an amount equal to Not more than the total, if applicable, of both of the following:

(a) $10,000 per day that the entity operates an Internet website in violation of the age verification requirements of this section.

(b) $10,000 per instance when the entity retains identifying information in violation of subSection C of this section.

2. For an additional amount of not more than $250,000 If, because of the entity's violation of the age verification requirements of this section, one or more minors accesses sexual material that is harmful to minors.

J. The court shall determine the amount of a civil penalty that is imposed pursuant to this section based on all of the following factors:

1. the seriousness of the violation, including the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation.

2. the history of previous violations.

3. the amount necessary to deter a future violation.

4. the economic effect of a penalty on the entity on whom the penalty will be imposed.

5. the entity's knowledge that the act constituted a violation of this section.

6. any other matter that justice may require.

K. The attorney general or QUI TAM PLAINTIFF may recover reasonable and necessary attorney fees and costs that are incurred in an action under this section.

L. For the purposes of this SECTION:

1. "Commercial entity" includes a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, sole proprietorship or other legally recognized business entity.

2. "digital identification" means information that is stored on a digital network that may be accessed by a commercial entity and that serves as proof of the identity of an individual.

3. "Distribute" means to issue, sell, give, provide, deliver, transfer, transmute, circulate or disseminate by any means.

4. "Minor" means an individual under eighteen years of age.

5. "News-gathering organization" includes 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, who is acting within the course and scope of that employment and can provide documentation of that employment with the newspaper, news publication or news source.

(b) an employee of a radio broadcast station, television broadcast station, cable television operator or wire service who is acting within the course and scope of that employment and can provide documentation of that employment.

6. "Publish" means to communicate or make information available to another person or entity on a publicly available Internet website.

7. "Sexual material that is harmful to minors" includes any material that:

(a) the average person applying contemporary community standards would find, taking the material as a whole and with respect to minors, is designed to appeal to or pander to the prurient interest.

(b) in a manner patently offensive with respect to minors, exploits, is devoted to, or principally consists of descriptions of actual, simulated or animated displays or depictions of any of the FOLLOWING:

(i) a person's pubic hair, anus or genitals or the nipple of the female breast.

(ii) touching, caressing or fondling of nipples, breasts, buttocks, anuses or genitals.

(iii) sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation, excretory functions, exhibitions or any other sexual act.

8. "Transactional data":

(a) Means a sequence of information that documents an exchange, agreement, or transfer between an individual, commercial entity or third-party entity that is used to satisfy a request or event.

(b) Includes records from mortgage, education and employment entities. END_STATUTE