West Virginia SB 498

WV SB 498 is an age verification mandate for any online content deemed obscene or pornographic under West Virginia law. The state’s definition of obscenity is fairly standard and “pornographic” is not defined in either the bill or the existing law.

The rest of the bill is extremely specific but relatively straightforward, so we've included an excerpt below rather than a summary:

(c) Mandatory age verification requirements:

(1) Before granting access to pornographic material, any commercial adult website must implement an age verification system requiring all users to:

(A) Provide biometric facial recognition authentication through a government-certified verification system;

(B) Present a valid, government-issued identification card to confirm identity and age;

(C) Provide a valid, registered credit card issued to an adult (18+ years old) to further confirm identity; and

(D) Consent to an instant, third-party verification process conducted by an independent, state-approved age verification provider.

(2) The age verification process must be re-authenticated every 24 hours for continued access.

(3) Storing, selling, or sharing personal information collected during verification is strictly prohibited, and any violation shall be punishable under §46A-2-130 et seq. of this code (Consumer Protection Act).

(d) Prohibition on circumvention and liability for violations:

(1) No online platform, website, or digital entity may allow users to bypass age verification requirements through VPNs, proxy services, or other anonymizing technologies.

(2) Any commercial adult website that fails to enforce these requirements shall be fined $1 million per violation.

(3) Websites that knowingly allow minors access to explicit content shall be permanently blocked from operating within the state and shall face civil liability for damages up to $10,000 per individual minor exposed.

(e) Enforcement and penalties:

(1) The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office shall establish a special enforcement unit to conduct routine compliance audits.

(2) Any website failing to comply with this law for more than 30 days shall:

(A) Be banned from operation in West Virginia and added to a statewide internet blocklist;

(B) Face a civil penalty of up to $50,000 per day of non-compliance; and

(C) Be subject to criminal penalties, including felony charges for website operators who knowingly violate this section.

(3) Any parent or guardian of a minor who has accessed material in violation of this statute shall have the right to file civil suits against the website or hosting provider, with statutory damages of up to $100,000 per incident.

(f) Legal defense for compliance:

(1) A commercial entity shall be immune from liability if it can demonstrate full compliance with this statute and that any access by a minor was due to external circumvention methods not reasonably preventable.

(2) The burden of proof shall rest upon the entity to prove compliance.