California AB 3080

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

Amends The Parent’s Accountability and Child Protection Act, which requires sellers of products or services that are illegal to sell to minors to take reasonable steps to ensure that the purchaser is of legal age at the time of the purchase or delivery, including but not limited to verifying the age of the purchaser. Reasonable steps include

1. the provision of a government-issued identification, subject to all laws governing retention,
   use, and disclosure of personally identifiable information,
2. requiring the purchaser to use a nonprepaid credit card for an online purchase, or
3. implementing a system that restricts individuals with accounts designated as minor accounts from purchasing the prohibited products.

Violators are liable for a civil penalty of up to $7500 in actions brought by public prosecutors.

Version 1:

• Enforcement: private lawsuits with civil damages of:
  • $5,000 per violation of the requirement to perform age verification
  • $10,000 per image sent to a minor in violation of the requirement to prevent “access by minors to the material.”
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • A state-issued driver’s license.
  • A state-issued identification card.
  • A government-issued identification card.
  • A military identification card.
  • A credit card, except a credit card that does not require the individual in ownership of the account to be at least 18 years of age.
  • A debit card, except a debit card that does not require the individual in ownership of the account to be at least 18 years of age.
  • Bank account information.
  • Any other means or method that reliably and accurately can determine whether a user of a covered platform is a minor and prevent access by a minor to the content on a covered platform.
• Applies to entities that:
  • have a website
  • “It is in the regular course of the trade or business of the entity to create, host, or make available material harmful to minors”
  • “The material harmful to minors is provided by the entity, user, or other information content provider with the objective of earning a profit.”