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AN ACT
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relating to the creation of artificial sexual material harmful to |
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minors. |
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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 129B, Civil Practice and |
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Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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CHAPTER 129B. LIABILITY RELATED TO SEXUAL MATERIAL HARMFUL TO [FOR |
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ALLOWING] MINORS [TO ACCESS PORNOGRAPHIC MATERIAL] |
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SECTION 2. Section 129B.001, Civil Practice and Remedies |
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Code, is amended by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision |
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(1-a) to read as follows: |
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(1) "Artificial sexual material harmful to minors" |
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means computer-generated sexual material harmful to minors that was |
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produced, adapted, or modified using an artificial intelligence |
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application or other computer software in which a person is |
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recognizable as an actual person by the person's face, likeness, or |
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other distinguishing characteristic, such as a unique birthmark or |
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other recognizable feature. |
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(1-a) "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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SECTION 3. The heading to Section 129B.002, Civil Practice |
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and Remedies Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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Sec. 129B.002. PUBLICATION AND CREATION OF MATERIAL HARMFUL |
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TO MINORS. |
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SECTION 4. Section 129B.002, Civil Practice and Remedies |
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Code, is amended by adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) and amending |
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Subsection (b) to read as follows: |
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(a-1) Except as provided by Subsection (a-2), a commercial |
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entity that operates an Internet website with a publicly |
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accessible tool for creating artificial sexual material harmful to |
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minors or otherwise makes publicly available an application for |
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creating sexual material harmful to minors shall use reasonable age |
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verification methods as described by Section 129B.003 to verify an |
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individual attempting to access the tool is 18 years of age or |
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older. |
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(a-2) Subsection (a-1) does not apply to a commercial entity |
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that: |
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(1) includes a prohibition against the generation of |
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artificial sexual material harmful to minors in the entity's terms |
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and conditions or use policies that must be acknowledged before a |
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user is granted access; and |
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(2) takes affirmative steps to limit the creation of |
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artificial sexual material harmful to minors through technological |
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tools such as training an application or software creating |
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artificial images to identify likely sexual material, providing |
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effective reporting tools, filtering likely sexual material, |
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filtering sexually explicit content generated by artificial |
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intelligence before the material is shown to users, or filtering |
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sexually explicit images from the entity's artificial intelligence |
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dataset before the dataset is used to train the artificial |
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intelligence. |
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(b) A commercial entity that performs the age verification |
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required by Subsection (a) or (a-1) or a third party that performs |
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the age verification required by Subsection (a) or (a-1) may not |
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retain any identifying information of the individual. |
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SECTION 5. Section 129B.003(b), Civil Practice and Remedies |
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Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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(b) A commercial entity required to use reasonable age |
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verification methods under Section 129B.002 [that knowingly and |
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intentionally publishes or distributes material on an Internet |
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website] or a third party that performs age verification under this |
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chapter shall 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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SECTION 6. Chapter 129B, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, |
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is amended by adding Section 129B.0045 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 129B.0045. REQUIREMENTS FOR SOURCES OF ARTIFICIAL |
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SEXUAL MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS. (a) Except as provided by |
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Subsection (b), a commercial entity that operates an Internet |
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website with a publicly accessible tool for creating artificial |
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sexual material harmful to minors or otherwise makes publicly |
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available an application for creating artificial sexual material |
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harmful to minors shall ensure that an individual used as a source |
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for the material: |
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(1) is 18 years of age or older; and |
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(2) has consented to the use of the individual's face |
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and body as a source for the material. |
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(b) This section does not apply to a commercial entity |
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described by Section 129B.002(a-2). |
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SECTION 7. Section 129B.005(b), Civil Practice and Remedies |
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Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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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 chapter solely for providing access or |
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connection to or from a website or other information or content on |
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the Internet or on a facility, system, or network not under that |
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provider's control, including transmission, downloading, |
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intermediate storage, access software, or other services to the |
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extent the provider or search engine is not responsible for the |
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creation of the content that constitutes sexual material harmful to |
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minors or artificial sexual material harmful to minors. |
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SECTION 8. Section 129B.006(b), Civil Practice and Remedies |
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Code, is amended to read as follows: |
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(b) A civil penalty imposed under this section for a |
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violation of Section 129B.002, [or] 129B.003, or 129B.0045 may be |
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in an amount equal to not more than the total, if applicable, of: |
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(1) $10,000 per day that the entity operates an |
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Internet website or makes available an application in violation of |
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the age verification requirements of this chapter; |
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(2) $10,000 per instance when the entity retains |
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identifying information in violation of Section 129B.002(b); and |
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(3) if, because of the entity's violation of the age |
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verification requirements of this chapter, one or more minors |
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accesses sexual material harmful to minors, an additional amount of |
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not more than $250,000. |
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SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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______________________________ |
______________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.B. No. 581 was passed by the House on April |
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24, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, 2 present, not |
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voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. |
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No. 581 on May 28, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 133, Nays 1, 2 |
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present, not voting. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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I certify that H.B. No. 581 was passed by the Senate, with |
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amendments, on May 22, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays |
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0. |
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______________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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APPROVED: __________________ |
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Date |
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__________________ |
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Governor |