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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to restricting access to sexual material harmful to minors |
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on an Internet website. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 120, Business & Commerce |
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Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 120. SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND INTERNET WEBSITES |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 120, Business & Commerce Code, is |
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amended by adding Subchapter E to read as follows: |
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SUBCHAPTER E. SEXUAL MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS |
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Sec. 120.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
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(1) "Commercial entity" includes a corporation, |
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limited liability company, partnership, limited partnership, sole |
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proprietorship, or other legally recognized business entity. |
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(2) "Distribute" means to issue, sell, give, provide, |
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deliver, transfer, transmute, circulate, or disseminate by any |
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means. |
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(3) "Minor" means an individual younger than 18 years |
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of age. |
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(4) "News-gathering organization" includes: |
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(A) an employee of a newspaper, news publication, |
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or news source, printed or on an online or mobile platform, of |
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current news and public interest, who is acting within the course |
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and scope of that employment and can provide documentation of that |
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employment with the newspaper, news publication, or news source; |
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and |
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(B) an employee of a radio broadcast station, |
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television broadcast station, cable television operator, or wire |
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service who is acting within the course and scope of that employment |
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and can provide documentation of that employment. |
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(5) "Publish" means to communicate or make information |
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available to another person or entity on a publicly available |
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Internet website. |
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(6) "Sexual material harmful to minors" includes any |
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material that: |
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(A) the average person, applying contemporary |
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community standards, would find, taking the material as a whole and |
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with respect to minors, is designed to appeal to or pander to the |
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prurient interest; |
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(B) in a manner patently offensive with respect |
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to minors, exploits, is devoted to, or principally consists of |
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descriptions of actual, simulated, or animated display or depiction |
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of: |
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(i) a person's pubic hair, anus, or genitals |
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or the nipple of the female breast; |
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(ii) touching, caressing, or fondling of |
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nipples, breasts, buttocks, anuses, or genitals; or |
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(iii) sexual intercourse, masturbation, |
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sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation, excretory |
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functions, exhibitions, or any other sexual act; and |
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(C) taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, |
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artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. |
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(7) "Transactional data" means a sequence of |
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information that documents an exchange, agreement, or transfer |
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between an individual, commercial entity, or third party used for |
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the purpose of satisfying a request or event. The term includes |
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records from mortgage, education, and employment entities. |
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Sec. 120.202. PUBLICATION OF MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS. |
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(a) A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes |
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or distributes on an Internet website, including a social media |
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platform, sexual material harmful to minors shall use reasonable |
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age verification methods as described by Section 120.203 to verify |
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that an individual attempting to access the material is 18 years of |
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age or older. |
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(b) A commercial entity that performs the age verification |
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required by Subsection (a) or a third party that performs the age |
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verification required by Subsection (a) may not retain any |
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identifying information of the individual after access has been |
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granted to the material. |
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(c) A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally |
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publishes or distributes material on an Internet website that is |
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found to have violated this section is liable to the parent or |
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guardian of the minor for damages resulting from a minor's access to |
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the material, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees |
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as ordered by the court, except as provided by Subsection (d). |
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(d) A social media platform is not liable as provided by |
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Subsection (c) unless the platform fails to remove or restrict |
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through age verification sexual material harmful to minors before |
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the 45th day after the date on which the material was published or |
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distributed. |
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(e) A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally |
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publishes or distributes material on an Internet website, or a |
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third party that performs the age verification required by |
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Subsection (a) that is found to have knowingly retained identifying |
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information of an individual after access has been granted to the |
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individual is liable to the individual for damages resulting from |
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retaining the identifying information, including court costs and |
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reasonable attorney's fees as ordered by the court. |
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Sec. 120.203. REASONABLE AGE VERIFICATION METHODS. (a) In |
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this section, "digital identification" means information stored on |
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a digital network that may be accessed by a commercial entity and |
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that serves as proof of the identity of an individual. |
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(b) A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally |
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publishes or distributes material on an Internet website or a third |
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party that performs age verification under this subchapter shall |
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require an individual to: |
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(1) provide digital identification; or |
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(2) comply with a commercial age verification system |
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that verifies age using: |
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(A) government-issued identification; or |
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(B) a commercially reasonable method that relies |
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on public or private transactional data to verify the age of an |
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individual. |
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Sec. 120.204. APPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. (a) This |
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subchapter does not apply to a bona fide news or public interest |
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broadcast, website video, report, or event and may not be construed |
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to affect the rights of a news-gathering organization. |
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(b) An Internet service provider, or its affiliates or |
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subsidiaries, a search engine, or a cloud service provider may not |
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be held to have violated this subchapter solely for providing |
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access or connection to or from a website or other information or |
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content on the Internet or on a facility, system, or network not |
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under that provider's control, including transmission, |
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downloading, intermediate storage, access software, or other |
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services to the extent the provider or search engine is not |
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responsible for the creation of the content that constitutes sexual |
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material harmful to minors. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |