Pornographic internet websites: consent.

Assembly Member Dixon's legislation establishes new requirements for pornographic website operators to verify consent and age of individuals depicted in sexually explicit content. The measure requires users to submit certification statements confirming that depicted individuals are adults who consented both to the content creation and its upload. Website operators must verify users' email addresses before allowing content uploads and maintain these records for seven years.

The bill creates enforcement mechanisms through civil actions, allowing depicted individuals to seek damages up to $75,000 per violation, plus punitive damages and attorney fees, from both website operators and users who violate the requirements. Public prosecutors may also pursue civil penalties of $25,000 per violation. Each day that non-compliant content remains accessible constitutes a separate violation. Users who knowingly provide false certification statements face infractions carrying $1,000 fines.

The legislation excludes email, messaging, cloud storage and file-sharing services from its scope when those functions stand alone. Content with serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value is also exempt from the requirements. Website operators can rebut presumptions of violations by demonstrating they took reasonable steps to verify consent and age of depicted individuals, consistent with their duty of care obligations under the measure.