(a) An operator of an Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application directed to minors or an operator of an Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application that has actual knowledge that a minor is using its Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application shall do all of the following:
(1) Permit a minor who is a registered user of the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application to remove or, if the operator prefers, to request and obtain removal of, content or information posted on the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application by the user.
(2) Provide notice to a minor who is a registered user of the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application that the minor may remove or, if the operator prefers, request and obtain removal of, content or information posted on the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application by the registered user.
(3) Provide clear instructions to a minor who is a registered user of the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application on how the user may remove or, if the operator prefers, request and obtain the removal of content or information posted on the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application.
(4) Provide notice to a minor who is a registered user of the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application that the removal described under paragraph (1) does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of the content or information posted on the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application by the registered user.
(b) An operator or a third party is not required to erase or otherwise eliminate, or to enable erasure or elimination of, content or information in any of the following circumstances:
(1) Any other provision of federal or state law requires the operator or third party to maintain the content or information.
(2) The content or information was stored on or posted to the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application by a third party other than the minor, who is a registered user, including any content or information posted by the registered user that was stored, republished, or reposted by the third party.
(3) The operator anonymizes the content or information posted by the minor who is a registered user, so that the minor who is a registered user cannot be individually identified.
(4) The minor does not follow the instructions provided to the minor pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) on how the registered user may request and obtain the removal of content or information posted on the operator’s Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application by the registered user.
(5) The minor has received compensation or other consideration for providing the content.
(c) This section shall not be construed to limit the authority of a law enforcement agency to obtain any content or information from an operator as authorized by law or pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
(d) An operator shall be deemed compliant with this section if:
(1) It renders the content or information posted by the minor user no longer visible to other users of the service and the public even if the content or information remains on the operator’s servers in some form.
(2) Despite making the original posting by the minor user invisible, it remains visible because a third party has copied the posting or reposted the content or information posted by the minor.
(e) This section shall not be construed to require an operator of an Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application to collect age information about users.
(f) “Posted” means content or information that can be accessed by a user in addition to the minor who posted the content or information, whether the user is a registered user or not, of the Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application where the content or information is posted.
(Added by Stats. 2013, Ch. 336, Sec. 1. (SB 568) Effective January 1, 2014. Section operative January 1, 2015, pursuant to Section 22582.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018