HB164 Alabama 2024 Session

Updated Feb 23, 2026

High Interest

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Ben RobbinsRepresentative
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2024
Title: Consumer Protection; online distribution of material harmful to minors, prohibited; online age-verification requirements, required
Summary: HB164 would require age-verification for online distribution of material harmful to minors, restrict data retention, require safety notices, add a new Alabama tax on related revenues, tighten consent for private images, and strengthen enforcement with penalties.
What This Bill Does
If enacted, the bill would force commercial online distributors of material harmful to minors to use reasonable age-verification methods to block under-18 access, and prohibit retaining identifying information collected during verification. It would require warnings about pornography's harms on their sites, and impose a 10% tax on gross receipts from such material produced or sold in Alabama, with revenue going to mental health services. It would also require written, notary-sworn consent to publish private images, create civil and criminal penalties for violations, treat violations as Deceptive Trade Practices, and empower the Attorney General to enforce violations, including emergency measures.

Who It Affects
Commercial entities operating adult websites or distributing material harmful to minors online in Alabama (must implement age-verification, face penalties, and pay the new tax).
Alabama residents, including minors and their parents/guardians (gain enhanced protections, warnings, potential civil remedies, and access to enforcement).

Key Provisions
Age-verification requirement for publishing or distributing material harmful to minors on adult websites, using a reasonable age-verification method to prevent access by those under 18.
Prohibition on retaining any personally identifying information obtained during verification; liability for retention with damages, except for bona fide news-gathering organizations.
Mandatory notices about the dangers of pornography on the home page and all pages/ads of the site, plus a 24-hour helpline notice on every page for mental health or substance use services.
10% tax on the gross receipts from sales, distributions, memberships, subscriptions, performances, and other content harmful to minors produced or based in Alabama; collected by the Department of Revenue and distributed to the Department of Mental Health.
Written consent to publish or distribute a private image; consent must be signed by the depicted person and sworn before a notary; records kept for at least five years.
Civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation; violations also treated as Deceptive Trade Practices; Attorney General can seek emergency injunctions.
Immunity for ISPs and similar providers from liability solely for providing access or connection to harmful content when not responsible for the content’s creation.
Effective dates: most sections take effect October 1, 2024; the new tax provision (Section 10) becomes effective September 1, 2025.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Consumer Protection