SB571: SB571 Online Internet Safety; age verification to access gambling content on the internet; require

26 LC 56 0614 Senate Bill 571 By: Senators Still of the 48th, Anavitarte of the 31st, Albers of the 56th, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd and Dixon of the 45th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 5 of Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to online1 internet safety, so as to require age verification to access gambling content on the internet;2 to provide for a private right of action; to provide for enforcement by the Attorney General;3 to provide for exceptions; to provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal4 conflicting laws; and for other purposes.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:6 SECTION 1.7 Chapter 5 of Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to online internet8 safety, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:9 "39-5-6.10 (a) As used in this Code section, the term:11 (1) 'Casino style gaming' means any wagering of a stake of mon etary value in the12 expectation of a prize of monetary value, subject to a future a nd uncertain occurrence13 related to games of chance, including, but not limited to, slot machines, dice, and card14 games.15 S. B. 571 - 1 - 26 LC 56 0614 (2) 'Commercial entity' means a corporation, limited liability company, partnership,16 limited partnership, sole proprietorship, or other legally recognized entity.17 (3) 'Digitized identification card' means a data file availabl e on a mobile device with18 connectivity to the internet that contains all of the data elements visible on the face and19 back of a driver's license or identification card that displays the current status of such20 license or identification card as being valid, expired, cancele d, suspended, revoked,21 active, or inactive.22 (4) 'Minor' means any individual under 18 years of age.23 (5) 'News-gathering organization' means:24 (A) An employee of a newspaper, news publication, or news sour ce, printed or25 published on an online or mobile platform, while operating as a n employee of an26 organization who can provide documentation of employment with the newspaper, news27 publication, or news source; or28 (B) An employee of a radio broadcast station, television broad cast station, cable29 television operator, or wire service while operating as an employee of an organization30 who can provide documentation of employment with the station or operator.31 (6) 'Online gambling' means participation in any type of sports betting, prediction market32 trading, or casino style gaming, whether physical or virtual, which is conducted over the33 Internet, and utilizes United States currency or a currency system of payment allowing34 the player to exchange such currency for any prize, award, cash , cash equivalent, or a35 chance to win any prize, award, cash, or cash equivalents.36 (7) 'Prediction market trading' means the trading of contracts or shares based on the37 outcomes of unknown future events.38 (8) 'Reasonable age verification' means to confirm that a pers on seeking to access39 gambling content is at least 18 years of age.40 S. B. 571 - 2 - 26 LC 56 0614 (9) 'Sports betting' means any wagering of a stake of monetary value in the expectation41 of a prize of monetary value, subject to a future and uncertain occurrence related to a42 sports competition.43 (10) 'Substantial portion' means more than 33.33 percent of total material on a website44 that meets the definition of online gambling.45 (b) Before allowing access to a website that contains a substa ntial portion of online46 gambling content, a commercial entity shall use a reasonable ag e verification method,47 which may include, but not be limited to:48 (1) The submission of a digitized identification card, including a digital copy of a driver's49 license;50 (2) The submission of government issued identification; or51 (3) Any commercially reasonable age verification method that m eets or exceeds an52 Identity Assurance Level 2 standard, as defined by the National Institute of Standards and53 Technology.54 (c)(1) A commercial entity that hosts or operates gambling con tent on a website that55 contains a substantial portion of gambling content is liable if the such entity fails to56 perform reasonable age verification of the individual attempting to access such content.57 (2) A commercial entity that violates this Code section is lia ble to an individual for58 damages resulting from a minor accessing gambling content, including court costs and59 reasonable attorney's fees as ordered by the court.60 (3) A commercial entity that violates this Code section shall be subject to a fine of up to61 $10,000.00 for each violation, the amount of which shall be determined by the superior62 court in the county in which any affected minor resides. The A ttorney General or63 solicitor general or district attorney having jurisdiction shal l institute proceedings to64 impose such fine within one year of the violation. The issuanc e of a fine under this65 paragraph shall not preclude any right of action.66 S. B. 571 - 3 - 26 LC 56 0614 (d)(1) When a commercial entity or third party performs a reasonable age verification,67 the commercial entity shall not retain any identifying informat ion after access to the68 content has been granted.69 (2) A commercial entity that is found to have knowingly retained identifying information70 of an individual after access to the content has been granted is liable to such individual71 for damages resulting from retaining such identifying information, including court costs72 and reasonable attorney's fees as ordered by the court.73 (e) This Code section shall not:74 (1) Apply to a news or public interest broadcast, website video, report, or event;75 (2) Affect the rights of a news-gathering organization; or76 (3) Apply to cloud service providers.77 (f) An internet service provider and any affiliate, subsidiary, or search engine shall not be78 considered to have violated this Code section solely by providing access or connection to79 or from a website or to other information or content on the internet or on a facility, system,80 or network that is not under such internet service provider's c ontrol, to the extent the81 internet service provider is not responsible for the creation o f the content or the82 communication that constitutes material that is harmful to minors."83 SECTION 2.84 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.85 S. 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