United States of America: Bill prohibiting access to child sexual abuse material by content providers (HB 752) was introduced to House of Representatives

On 25 February 2025, a Bill to Prohibit Content Providers from Allowing Access to Child Sexual Abuse Material in Montana (HB 752) was introduced to the Montana House of Representatives. The bill aims to prohibit content providers from making CSAM reasonably accessible within the state, and would establish enforcement mechanisms for state authorities and private individuals. It would define "content provider" as any person or entity that creates, produces, publishes, distributes or stores online content. Search engines, web browsers, hosting services and infrastructure providers would be exempt unless they are directly involved in prohibited activities. "Child sexual abuse material" would be defined in reference to 18 U.S.C. § 2256 and relevant Montana criminal statutes. This would include any obscene visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Civil liability would apply to content providers that generate more than USD 500'000 in annual revenue from content containing a "substantial amount" of sexually explicit material, defined as 5% or more. The Bill would authorise enforcement actions by victims or their representatives, the Montana Department of Justice and private plaintiffs. It would establish statutory damages of USD 100'000 for strict liability violations and up to USD 5 million for intentional or knowing violations. Remedies would also include injunctive relief, restitution and compensatory damages. A safe harbour provision would allow content providers to avoid liability if the material is removed within 96 hours of acquiring actual knowledge of it.