Provides relative to material harmful to minors (EG SEE FISC NOTE SG EX)

This bill creates a new civil enforcement mechanism in Louisiana law targeting interactive computer services that contract with minors and subsequently deliver or display harmful material to those minor accounts. The legislation adds R.S. 9:2717.2.1 to the state's civil code and establishes two core prohibitions: interactive computer services cannot deliver or display material harmful to minors that the service itself created or developed, and they cannot use algorithmic systems to select, recommend, prioritize, or amplify such harmful material for display to minor accounts. The statute defines its key terms by reference to existing law, incorporating definitions of account, interactive computer service, and minor from R.S. 9:2717.2 and the definition of material harmful to minors from R.S. 51:2121. Violations trigger civil fines up to ten thousand dollars per violation, with enforcement authority vested exclusively in the state attorney general.

Interactive computer services operating in Louisiana that have contractual relationships with minors, including social media platforms and online services offering accounts to youth, face compliance obligations under this new statute. The attorney general's enforcement begins with a notice-and-cure process: the attorney general must provide written notice identifying alleged violations and explaining the basis for each allegation, and the service provider has forty-five days to cure the violation by written statement to the attorney general, after which no civil enforcement action may be filed unless the service provider fails to cure or commits another violation. If enforcement proceeds, companies face potential civil liability with awards of attorney fees, court costs, and investigative costs to the state. All collected fines go to the attorney general for consumer protection efforts and education, creating a financial incentive for the state to pursue enforcement actions.

This statute operates within Louisiana's existing consumer protection and contracts framework, referencing established definitions in R.S. 9:2717.2 concerning interactive computer services and accounts, and R.S. 51:2121 defining material harmful to minors under state law. The mechanism parallels traditional civil enforcement procedures available to the attorney general in other consumer protection contexts. The statute's reliance on pre-existing definitions means courts will interpret harmful material according to Louisiana's existing obscenity and child protection jurisprudence rather than creating new categorical definitions. The effective date of January 1, 2027 allows companies and the attorney general time to prepare compliance systems and understand the statute's practical application before enforcement commences.