The proposed bill establishes age verification requirements for individuals accessing applications from online application stores in South Dakota. It introduces a new chapter in Title 26, defining terms such as "age category," "application store," and "verifiable parental consent." The bill mandates that application store providers must verify the age of users when they create accounts, ensuring minors are linked to a parent account and that parental consent is obtained before granting access to applications likely to be accessed by children. Additionally, it outlines developers' responsibilities in determining the age appropriateness of their applications and notifying application store providers of significant changes.

The bill also allows parents to take civil action against application store providers for violations of the age verification requirements, specifying damages and attorney fees. It clarifies that developers are not liable for violations if they can show reliance on age verification data from application store providers. The Attorney General is tasked with establishing rules for commercially reasonable age verification methods, ensuring compliance with privacy standards. Overall, the legislation aims to enhance the protection of minors in the digital space by enforcing stricter age verification protocols.

Statutes affected:
Introduced, 01/30/2025: 37-24-6