SB 498
Relating to pornography access for minors
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Sign in to take action- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House of Delegates
- To Governor
- Became Law
Bill overview
This bill, titled the "Protect" Act, aims to prevent minors in West Virginia from accessing pornography online. It requires commercial adult websites to implement a rigorous age verification system using biometric facial recognition, government-issued identification, and credit card authentication. The bill also prohibits bypassing these measures and establishes significant penalties, including fines and potential website blocking, for those who fail to comply, as well as allowing civil suits against websites for exposing minors to explicit content.
Key provisions
- Requires commercial adult websites to implement an age verification system.
- Mandates biometric facial recognition, government ID, and credit card authentication for age verification.
- Requires re-authentication every 24 hours for continued access.
- Prohibits the use of VPNs or proxy services to bypass age verification.
- Establishes fines of $1,000,000 per violation for websites failing to enforce age verification.
- Allows civil suits against websites for exposing minors to explicit content, with statutory damages up to $100,000.
- Creates a special enforcement unit within the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office.
- Provides a legal defense for compliant entities if minors circumvent the verification system.
Who is affected
- Commercial adult websites
- Minors in West Virginia
- Website operators
- Parents and guardians of minors
- The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office
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