Mo. Age-Verification Rules Take Effect Nov. 30
Missouri age-verification rules take effect Sunday. They require “reasonable age verification methods” to check that users are at least 18. Any website with at least one-third of material that might be harmful to minors is covered. Violations cost up to $10,000 per day.
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The Missouri regulations say that reasonable age-verification methods include requiring users to provide a digital ID or to comply with a commercial system that verifies ages using government IDs or a “commercially reasonable method that relies on public or private transactional data to verify the age of the individual.” Alternatively, a “commercial entity may adopt a different method of compliance so long as the entity can establish to the agency in charge of promulgating rules under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act … that the alternative method is equally effective.”
The state rules include exemptions for ISPs, search engines, cloud service providers and news-gathering organizations.
“Sites accessible in Missouri should review the rule and take steps to comply in order to avoid potential enforcement,” the Free Speech Coalition blogged Nov. 20. The coalition, which represents the adult entertainment industry and is known for its unsuccessful challenge of a Texas age-verification law at the U.S. Supreme Court (see 2506270041), urged covered businesses to “be aware of the risks and take precautions to protect themselves from potential liability.”