SF 3433

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to education; establishing the Minnesota Child, Family, and School
Communications Protection Act; providing for rulemaking; establishing a fee;
imposing penalties; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter
125B.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [125B.19] MINNESOTA CHILD, FAMILY, AND SCHOOL
COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION ACT.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Citation. new text end

new text begin This section may be cited as the "Minnesota Child, Family,
and School Communications Protection Act."
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Definitions. new text end

new text begin (a) For the purposes of this section, the terms defined in
this section have the meanings given them.
new text end

new text begin (b) "Contact point" means any electronic identification to which messages can be
sent, including any of the following:
new text end

new text begin (1) an instant message identity;
new text end

new text begin (2) a wireless telephone number, personal digital assistant, pager number, or other
similar wireless communication device identifier;
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new text begin (3) a facsimile number;
new text end

new text begin (4) an electronic mail address; or
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new text begin (5) other electronic addresses identified by the Department of Education.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Internet domain name" means a globally unique, hierarchical reference to an
Internet host or service, assigned through centralized Internet authorities, comprising a
series of character strings separated by periods, with the right-most string specifying
the top of the hierarchy.
new text end

new text begin (d) "Minor" means an individual under the age of 18 years.
new text end

new text begin (e) "Person" means an individual, corporation, association, partnership, or other
legal entity.
new text end

new text begin (f) "Service" means the Minnesota child, family, and school communications
protection service established under subdivision 3.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Child, family, and school communications protection service. new text end

new text begin (a) The
department shall establish and operate, or contract with a qualified provider to establish
and operate, the Minnesota child, family, and school communications protection service.
new text end

new text begin (b) A Minnesota resident or entity under paragraph (d) responsible for a contact
point may register that contact point with the department.
new text end

new text begin (c) A registration under this section shall be for no more than three years. A
registration can be revoked or renewed by the registrant upon notification to the
department.
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new text begin (d) Schools and other institutions or entities primarily serving minor children may
register one or more contact points with the department. An entity under this paragraph
may make one registration for all contact points of the entity, and the registration may
include the entity's Internet domain name.
new text end

new text begin (e) No fee or charge shall be assessed or incurred by a person registering a contact
point.
new text end

new text begin (f) A person sending a message under subdivision 4 shall pay the department a fee
of $.001 for each contact point checked through the mechanism for senders to verify
compliance with the service.
new text end

new text begin (g) The service shall be fully operational no later than July 1, 2007.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Messages to contact points. new text end

new text begin (a) Except as otherwise provided in this
section, a person shall not send, cause to be sent, or conspire with a third party to send
a message to a contact point that has been registered with the service for at least 30
calendar days if the primary purpose of the message is to advertise or induce the sale of a
product or service that a minor is prohibited by law from purchasing, viewing, possessing,
participating in, or otherwise receiving.
new text end

new text begin (b) A person sending a message described in paragraph (a) shall use the mechanism
under subdivision 3, paragraph (f).
new text end

new text begin (c) Senders that, in good faith, use the mechanism under subdivision 3, paragraph
(f), to remove all registered contact points at least every 30 days from their sending lists
shall have immunity from any liability, civil or criminal, for inadvertent violations of this
section during the period in which the mechanism was used.
new text end

new text begin (d) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (h) and subdivision 7, paragraph (c),
the consent to receive the message is not a defense to a violation of this section.
new text end

new text begin (e) A person does not violate this section if the person is an intermediary between
the sender and recipient in the transmission of an electronic message or unknowingly
provides transmission of electronic messages over the person's computer network or
facilities that violate this section.
new text end

new text begin (f) The sending of a message described in paragraph (a) is prohibited only if it is
otherwise a crime for the minor to purchase, view, possess, participate in, or otherwise
receive the product or service.
new text end

new text begin (g) Senders shall be considered on notice of jurisdiction over contact points that
have been registered for at least 30 days with the service. Sending a message to an address
registered for at least 30 calendar days with the child, family, and school communication
protection service shall subject the sender to the state's long-arm jurisdiction.
new text end

new text begin (h) The sending of a message described in paragraph (a) shall not be prohibited if,
prior to sending the message, the sender has obtained, from an adult whose age the sender
has verified, a statement consenting to receive the message at a contact point which the
adult has verified as being the adult's contact point. To comply with this paragraph, the
sender shall:
new text end

new text begin (1) verify that the person making the affirmative statement is of legal age by
inspecting in a face-to-face meeting a valid photo identification issued by a governmental
agency;
new text end

new text begin (2) obtain a written consent form signed by the recipient stating that the recipient has
consented to receive the type of message described in paragraph (a), and retain the consent
form on record and make it available to the department;
new text end

new text begin (3) include in all messages sent under this section a statement that the recipient may
rescind consent and provide an opportunity for the recipient to opt not to receive future
messages; and
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new text begin (4) notify the department that the sender intends to send messages as provided
in this section.
new text end

new text begin The department may implement procedures to audit the sender's records to verify
that the sender is in compliance with this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Prohibition. new text end

new text begin (a) Except as provided under this section, a person shall not:
new text end

new text begin (1) release to another person information concerning persons or provide access
to contact points or other information contained on the service and obtained through
use of the service;
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new text begin (2) sell or use the contents of the service for any reason; and
new text end

new text begin (3) access or attempt to access the service.
new text end

new text begin (b) Records and documents of the service are private data on individuals under
chapter 13.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Violation; penalty. new text end

new text begin A violation of this section is a computer crime and
felony punishable by imprisonment for five years or less, a fine not to exceed $100,000,
or both. The fine may be trebled if the message is viewed by a minor. Each violation of
this section is a separate offense.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Civil action. new text end

new text begin (a) A civil action may be brought by:
new text end

new text begin (1) an authorized individual or the registrant of a contact point who has received a
message in violation of this section;
new text end

new text begin (2) a person through whose facilities the message was transmitted in violation of
this section; or
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new text begin (3) the attorney general against a person who has violated this section.
new text end

new text begin (b) In an action brought under this section, the prevailing party may be awarded
reasonable attorney fees. A person bringing an action may recover:
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new text begin (1) actual damages, including reasonable attorney fees;
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new text begin (2) the lesser of $1,000 per each message transmitted or received by a recipient or
$100,000 for each day that the violation occurs; or
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new text begin (3) for a recipient who is a minor, the lesser of $3,000 per message transmitted or
$300,000 for each day that the violation occurs.
new text end

new text begin (c) It is an affirmative defense to a civil action brought by an individual who
registered a contact point if the sender proves that the individual affirmatively, expressly,
and directly consented, and did not subsequently revoke the consent, to receive messages
from the particular sender to the registered contact point. This consent shall not be a
defense to a criminal or civil action brought by the attorney general or by a person through
whose facilities the message was transmitted.
new text end

new text begin (d) If the attorney general has reason to believe that a person has violated this
section, the attorney general may investigate the business transactions of that person. The
attorney general may require that person to appear, at a reasonable time and place, to give
information under oath and to produce the documents and evidence necessary to determine
if the person is in compliance with the requirements of this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Rules. new text end

new text begin The commissioner must adopt rules to implement this section,
including:
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new text begin (1) procedures to prevent the use or disclosure of protected contact points;
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new text begin (2) procedures to ensure that a registrant meets the requirements of the service;
new text end

new text begin (3) a mechanism for senders to verify compliance with the service; and
new text end

new text begin (4) other necessary procedures or mechanisms.
new text end