1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
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3 HOUSE BILL 3097 By: Hasenbeck
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to crimes and punishments; defining
7 terms; making commercial entities liable for
8 publishing or distributing obscene material on the
8 Internet; providing internet and cellular service
9 subscribers the opportunity to make certain request;
9 requiring commercial entities to block access without
10 charge; establishing liability provisions for
10 violations; providing exemptions from liability;
11 prohibiting the retention of identifying information;
11 providing liability provisions for retaining
12 identifying information; seek injunctive and other
12 relief for noncompliance; authorizing and directing
13 the Attorney General to develop and publish certain
13 guidelines and regulations; providing for
14 codification; and providing an effective date.
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17 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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18 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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19 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1040.81 of Title 21, unless
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20 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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21 As used in this act:
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22 1. "Child pornography" shall have the same meaning as such term
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23 is defined in Section 1024.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
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 1 2. "Child sexual exploitation" shall have the same meaning as
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2 such term is defined in Section 843.5 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma
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3 Statutes;
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4 3. "Commercial entity" includes corporations, limited liability
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5 companies, partnerships, limited partnerships, sole proprietorships,
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6 or other legally recognized entities;
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7 4. "Digitized identification card" means a data file available
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8 on any mobile device which has connectivity to the Internet through
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9 a state-approved application that allows the mobile device to
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10 download the data file from a state agency or an authorized agent of
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11 a state agency that contains all of the data elements visible on the
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12 face and back of a license or identification card and displays the
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13 current status of the license or identification card;
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14 5. "Distribute" means to issue, sell, give, provide, deliver,
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15 transfer, transmit, circulate, or disseminate by any means;
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16 6. "Harmful to minors" shall have the same meaning as such term
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17 is defined in Section 1040.75 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
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18 7. "Internet" means the international computer network of both
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19 federal and non-federal interoperable packet switched data networks;
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20 8. "Minor" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age;
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21 9. "News-gathering organization" means any of the following:
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22 a. an employee of a newspaper, news publication, or news
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23 source, printed or on an online or mobile platform, of
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24 current news and public interest, while operating as
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 1 an employee as provided in this subparagraph, who can
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2 provide documentation of such employment with the
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3 newspaper, news publication, or news source, or
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4 b. an employee of a radio broadcast station, television
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5 broadcast station, cable television operator, or wire
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6 service while operating as an employee as provided in
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7 this subparagraph, who can provide documentation of
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8 such employment;
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9 10. "Obscene material" shall have the same meaning as such term
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10 is defined in Section 1024.1 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
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11 11. "Publish" means to communicate or make information
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12 available to another person or entity on a publicly available
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13 Internet website;
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14 12. "Reasonable age verification methods" means verifying that
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15 the person seeking to access the material is eighteen (18) years of
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16 age or older by using any of the following methods:
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17 a. use of a digitized information card as defined in this
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18 section,
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19 b. verification through an independent, third-party age
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20 verification service that compares the personal
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21 information entered by the individual who is seeking
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22 access to the material that is available from a
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23 commercially available database, or aggregate of
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24 databases, that is regularly used by government
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 1 agencies and businesses for the purpose of age and
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2 identity verification, or
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3 c. any commercially reasonable method that relies on
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4 public or private transactional data to verify the age
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5 of the person attempting to access the material;
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6 13. "Substantial portion" means more than thirty-three and one-
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7 third percent (33 1/3%) of total material on a website, which meets
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8 the definition of "material harmful to minors" as defined in this
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9 section; and
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10 14. "Transactional data" means a sequence of information that
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11 documents an exchange, agreement, or transfer between an individual,
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12 commercial entity, or third party used for the purpose of satisfying
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13 a request or an event. Transactional data includes records from
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14 mortgage, education, and employment entities.
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15 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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16 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1040.82 of Title 21, unless
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17 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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18 A. Any commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally
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19 publishes or distributes obscene material, or material that depicts
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20 or promotes child pornography or child sexual exploitation, on the
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21 Internet may be held liable to an individual for nominal damages,
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22 actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees as ordered
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23 by the court.
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 1 B. A commercial entity that has violated the provisions of this
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2 act in a manner that satisfies the standards for imposition of
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3 punitive damages elsewhere provided by law may be held liable to an
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4 individual for punitive damages.
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5 C. Individual claims that satisfy the generally applicable
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6 standards for joinder or class action elsewhere provided by law or
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7 rules of court, as applicable, may combine their claims in a single
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8 action.
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9 SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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10 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1040.83 of Title 21, unless
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11 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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12 A. Any commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally
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13 publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on the Internet
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14 from a website that contains a substantial portion of such material
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15 shall provide internet service subscribers and cellular service
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16 subscribers the opportunity, before any individual using such
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17 services may access the material, to request that access to the
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18 material by subscription service be denied.
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19 B. Upon such request by an Internet service subscriber or
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20 cellular service subscriber, a commercial entity shall, without
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21 charge, block access to its website on any device seeking to access
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22 its website using the internet service or cellular service
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23 subscription of the subscriber so that a minor does not receive
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24 material harmful to minors via that subscription.
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 1 C. A commercial entity that fails to provide Internet service
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2 subscribers or cellular service subscribers an opportunity to
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3 request that access to the website of the commercial entity be
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4 blocked is in violation of the provisions of this act and may be
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5 held liable to the minor, by and through the parent or legal
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6 guardian of the minor, for nominal damages, actual damages, court
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7 costs, and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court.
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8 D. A commercial entity that, after receipt of such request to
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9 block access, allows a minor to access material harmful to minors on
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10 its website is in violation of the provisions of this act and may be
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11 held liable to the minor, by and through the parent or legal
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12 guardian of the minor, for nominal damages, actual damages, court
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13 costs, and reasonable attorney fees as ordered by the court.
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14 E. A commercial entity that has violated the provisions of this
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15 act in a manner that satisfies the standards for imposition of
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16 punitive damages elsewhere provided by law may be held liable to the
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17 minor, by and through the parent or legal guardian of the minor, for
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18 punitive damages.
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19 F. Individual claims that satisfy the generally applicable
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20 standards for joinder or class action elsewhere provided by law or
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21 rules of court, as applicable, may combine their claims in a single
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22 action.
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23 G. A commercial entity shall not be held liable for allowing
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24 access to its website if the commercial entity performs reasonable
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 1 age verification methods to verify that the individual attempting to
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2 access the material from its website is not a minor.
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3 H. A commercial entity or third party that performs the
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4 required age verification shall not retain any identifying
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5 information of the individual after access has been granted to the
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6 material.
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7 I. A commercial entity that is found to have knowingly retained
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8 identifying information of the individual, except as reasonably
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9 necessary to effectuate a block request under the provisions of this
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10 section, shall be liable to the individual for damages resulting
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11 from retaining the identifying information, including nominal
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12 damages, actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees
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13 as ordered by the court.
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14 J. This section shall not apply to any bona fide news or public
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15 interest broadcast, website video, report, or event and shall not be
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16 construed to affect the rights of a news-gathering organization,
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17 unless the website of the organization contains a substantial
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18 portion of material harmful to minors.
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19 K. No Internet service provider, affiliate, or subsidiary of an
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20 Internet service provider, search engine, or cloud service provider
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21 shall be held to have violated the provisions of this section solely
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22 for providing access or connection to or from a website or other
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23 information or content on the Internet, or a facility, system, or
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24 network not under the control of the provider, including
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 1 transmission, downloading, storing, or providing access, to the
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2 extent that such provider is not responsible for the creation of the
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3 content of the communication that constitutes obscene material or
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4 material harmful to minors.
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5 SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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6 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1040.84 of Title 21, unless
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7 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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8 A. The Attorney General may seek injunctive and other equitable
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9 relief against a commercial entity that fails to comply with the
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10 provisions of this act.
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11 B. The Attorney General is authorized and directed to develop
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12 and publish, consistent with the provisions of this act, guidance,
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13 or regulations as appropriate to assist commercial entities to
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14 comply with the provisions of this act.
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15 SECTION 5. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
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17 59-2-9290 GRS 01/15/24
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