Purpose

This bill would add a new rule to Minnesota law requiring age verification for certain online content. It targets websites that host or share material deemed harmful to minors and would give enforcement power to the attorney general, along with a private right of action for parents or guardians. The goal is to prevent minors from accessing explicit material by confirming that viewers are at least 18 years old.

Key definitions and concepts

• Commercial entity: any for-profit organization (e.g., corporation, LLC, partnership, sole proprietorship).
• Host: the service that stores and maintains a website’s files so the site is accessible online. Internet service providers are not considered hosts under this section.
• Identifying information: data that can be linked to a person.
• Interactive computer service: a system or provider that lets multiple users access a computer server or the Internet, including services from libraries or schools.
• Material harmful to minors: content that, when viewed by minors, would be found to appeal to prurient interests, be patently offensive to minors, or lack serious value (literary, artistic, political, or scientific) for minors; this includes depictions of intimate parts or sexual acts and related sexual content.
• Sexual contact and sexual penetration: defined in detail, including acts and intrusions involving intimate parts.
• Shares or distributes: making material available for viewing or download.

Age verification requirements (Subdivision 2)

• A commercial entity that knowingly shares or distributes material harmful to minors on a website where 25% or more of the pages in a calendar month contain such material, or hosts a website that meets that criterion, must verify that anyone accessing the site from Minnesota is at least 18.
• Verification must use a commercially available age/identity database or another commercially reasonable method approved by the commissioner of commerce.
• The commissioner may review and approve reliable methods; approval is exempt from certain rulemaking procedures.

Data privacy protections (Subdivision 3)

• The entity performing age verification must not retain identifying information used for verification.
• If an entity knowingly retains such information, they can be held liable for damages to the person, including court-ordered attorney fees and costs.

Enforcement and penalties (Subdivision 4)

• If a website is accessed without proper age verification, the attorney general may investigate and pursue civil enforcement, seeking relief available under Minnesota law, with each access counted as a separate violation.
• Parents or legal guardians of a minor may sue the commercial entity to recover damages, costs, and attorney fees, plus any equitable relief ordered by the court.
• A civil penalty of up to $25,000 may be imposed per violation.

Limitations (Subdivision 5)

• The bill does not impose obligations on Internet service providers or users of an interactive computer service.

Significant changes to existing law

• Creates a new age-verification requirement for certain online content in Minnesota and codifies it as a new section (within Minnesota Statutes chapter 325F).
• Establishes a private right of action for parents/guardians in addition to AG enforcement.
• Introduces mandatory data privacy rules around verification, prohibiting retention of identifying information.
• Sets civil penalties for violations and clarifies that ISPs and general interactive service users are not covered by this requirement.

Relevant terms - age verification - material harmful to minors - commercial entity - host - identifying information - interactive computer service - Minnesota resident - 25% threshold - 18 years of age - commercially available database - commissioner of commerce - data privacy - private right of action - attorney general - civil penalties - per-violation - damages and attorney fees - equitable relief - Internet service provider (ISP) restriction - Minnesota Statutes chapter 325F - Section 1791 (age verification for internet content harmful to minors)