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House Bill 2539 |
House Author: Turner, Chris et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-13 |
Senate Sponsor: Davis |
House Bill 2539 amends the Business & Commerce Code to require a computer technician who, in the course and scope of employment or business, views an image on a computer that is or appears to be child pornography to immediately report the discovery of the image to a local or state law enforcement agency or the Cyber Tipline at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The bill establishes the report's required contents, grants a computer technician immunity from civil liability for reporting or failing to report the discovery of such an image except in a case of wilful or wanton misconduct, and grants a telecommunications provider, commercial mobile service provider, or information service provider that immunity for the failure to report child pornography that is transmitted or stored by a user of the service. The bill makes it a Class B misdemeanor for a computer technician to intentionally fail to report the discovery of an image that is or appears to be child pornography and establishes a defense to prosecution if the actor did not report the discovery because the child in the image appeared to be at least 18 years of age.