Oregon Age-Verification Bill Includes Private Right of Action
Websites could soon be sued in Oregon for not keeping kids younger than 18 off pornographic websites, with a penalty up to $5,000 per violation. The Oregon House Monday had its first reading of a bill (HB-2032) mandating age verification.
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Reasonable methods to verify age include using “information stored on a digital network that positively identifies individuals and the birthdates of the individuals in a manner that is minimally sufficient for the purposes of authorizing payment in a commercial transaction or for the purposes of receiving benefits from a governmental agency,” the bill reads. The mechanism could also comply by using government-issued identification or public or private transactional data, it says.
The proposed legislation includes a private right of action. “A plaintiff may bring an action under this subsection in a circuit court of this state and may obtain a judgment for costs and attorney fees if the plaintiff prevails in the action.”