AK HB254

Commercial entities that intentionally publish or distribute pornography on internet websites where pornography comprises more than one-third of content must use commercially reasonable age verification methods (digitized ID, government-issued identification, or transactional data verification) to confirm users are 18 or older.

Commercial entities and third parties are prohibited from retaining identifying information used for age verification after access is granted to pornography.

Violations subject commercial entities to civil liability for individual damages, plus state penalties of $10,000 per day for violations and up to an additional $250,000 if a minor accesses pornography due to the entity's violation.

Internet service providers, search engines, cloud service providers, and their affiliates are exempt from liability if they do not create the pornography and only provide access or connections to internet services.

The law does not apply to news broadcasts, publications, websites, or their employees, and establishes that "pornography" requires meeting a three-part test regarding prurient interest, patent offensiveness to minors, and lack of serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.