Minnesota HF 5409 / SF 5518

Age verification mandate. Relevant features:

• Enforcement:
  • The parent or legal guardian of a minor who accesses a website without verifying the minor's age in violation of this section may bring a civil action against the person who violated this section to recover damages. An entity found liable may also be fined up to $25,000 per violation. Each instance that a website is accessed in violation of this section constitutes a separate violation.
  • A person who accesses a website without verifying the person's age in violation of this section may report the violation to the attorney general. Upon receipt of a report made under this paragraph, the attorney general must investigate and may bring a civil enforcement action and recover the fines described above.
• Age verification mechanisms allowed:
  • a commercially available database that is regularly used by businesses or governmental entities to verify age and identity
  • any other commercially reasonable method to verify age and identity approved by the commissioner of commerce
• Applies to: A person who knowingly shares or distributes material that is harmful to minors on a website where the material appears on 25 percent or more of the webpages viewed on the website in any calendar month, OR hosts a website that meets that criteria