S.B. No. 212 Summary

• Requires businesses that publish or distribute material harmful to juveniles (pornographic content) on publicly available online websites or services to implement reasonable age verification methods before allowing access

• Defines "reasonable age verification methods" as verification through third-party services comparing personal information to commercial databases, any commercially reasonable method using transactional data, or state-issued identification cards

• Prohibits businesses or third parties performing age verification from retaining any identifying information about individuals after access is granted or denied

• Violations constitute unfair or deceptive acts under Ohio consumer protection law, enforceable by the state attorney general

• Exempts internet service providers, search engines, cloud service providers, and their affiliates from liability when merely providing access to content they do not control or publish, and exempts bona fide news or public interest content