Text of NH SB 648 (2026)

SB 648 - AS INTRODUCED 2026 SESSION 26-2082 05/09 SENATE BILL 648 AN ACT requiring age verification to allow access to certain material harmful to minors. SPONSORS: Sen. Reardon, Dist 15 COMMITTEE: Judiciary ----------------------------------------------------------------- ANALYSIS This bill requires a person that owns, operates, or controls a website or application for commercial purposes and publishes or distributes a substantial portion of material that is harmful to minors to implement age verification procedures. The bill establishes a private right of action for noncompliance and provides for enforcement by the attorney general. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics. Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.] Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type. 26-2082 05/09 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six AN ACT requiring age verification to allow access to certain material harmful to minors. Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened: 1 New Chapter; Restriction on Access to Material Harmful to Minors. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 507-I the following new chapter: CHAPTER 507-J RESTRICTION ON ACCESS TO MATERIAL HARMFUL TO MINORS 507-J:1 Definitions. In this chapter: I. "Material harmful to minors" means any material that: (a) The average person applying contemporary community standards would find, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; (b) Depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and (c) Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. II. "Commercial entity" means any person or business that: (a) Owns, operates, or controls a website or application for commercial purposes; and (b) Publishes or distributes a substantial portion of material that is harmful to minors. III. "Substantial portion" means content in which more than one-third of a website's total content, measured by volume or number of images and videos, is harmful to minors. IV. "Reasonable age verification method" means: (a) A government-issued identification card check conducted by a third-party verification service; or (b) Any other method that reasonably verifies that the user is at least 18 years of age, consistent with industry best practices and with no retention of identifying personal data. 507-J:2 Age Verification Requirement. I. A commercial entity that knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on the internet shall: (a) Require all users attempting to access such material to verify their age using a reasonable age verification method; (b) Not retain any personal identifying information used during the verification process; and (c) Post a clear warning message on the landing page that age verification is required. 507-J:3 Liability and Enforcement. I. Any parent or legal guardian of a minor who accesses material harmful to minors due to a commercial entity's failure to verify age as required by this chapter shall have a cause of action against the entity for damages, including statutory damages of up to $10,000 per violation, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. II. A commercial entity shall not claim Section 230 immunity under the federal Communications Decency Act as a defense in any civil action arising from a violation of this chapter. 507-J:4 State Enforcement. The attorney general may bring an action for injunctive relief and civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation against any commercial entity in violation of this chapter. 507-J:5 Data Privacy. I. No commercial entity or third-party age verification provider shall retain, store, or sell any personal information used to verify age under this chapter. II. A knowing violation of this section shall be a separate civil violation subject to a penalty of $50,000 per incident. 507-J:6 Exemptions. This chapter shall not apply to: I. News organizations. II. Libraries. III. Museums. IV. Institutions of higher education when the material is distributed in good faith for legitimate educational or scientific purposes. 2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2027.