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1 | AN ACT concerning business transactions.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Child | ||||||
5 | Protection Registry Act. | ||||||
6 | Section 5. Child Protection Registry. | ||||||
7 | (a) The Office of the Illinois Attorney General shall | ||||||
8 | establish a Child Protection Registry in which parents may | ||||||
9 | register their children's Contact Points as off limits from | ||||||
10 | certain categories of commercial messages as set forth in this | ||||||
11 | Act.
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12 | (b) Registration by parent. The Attorney General shall | ||||||
13 | permit a parent, legal guardian, or other person with control | ||||||
14 | or authority over Contact Points to which minor children have | ||||||
15 | access to register those Contact Points with the Registry. | ||||||
16 | (c) Contact points subject to registration. The Registry | ||||||
17 | may contain entries for the following kinds of Contact Points: | ||||||
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(1) electronic mail addresses; | ||||||
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(2) instant message identities; | ||||||
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(3) postal addresses; and | ||||||
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(4) telephone numbers. | ||||||
22 | (d) Addition of new types of Contact Points. The Office of | ||||||
23 | the Illinois Attorney General shall, from time to time and as | ||||||
24 | messaging technology develops, designate additional kinds of | ||||||
25 | Contact Points subject to registration on the Registry. | ||||||
26 | (e) Prohibition on initiating inappropriate commercial | ||||||
27 | messages to registered Contact Points. Except as otherwise | ||||||
28 | authorized by the Attorney General in rules prescribed under | ||||||
29 | this Act, it is unlawful for a person to initiate any | ||||||
30 | commercial message or other communication to any registered | ||||||
31 | Contact Point if the message or communication: | ||||||
32 | (1) advertises products or services that a minor child |
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1 | is prohibited by law from purchasing; or
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2 | (2) contains or advertises adult content or links to | ||||||
3 | adult content.
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4 | (f) Third party liability. It is unlawful for a person to | ||||||
5 | promote, or allow the promotion of, that person's trade or | ||||||
6 | business, or goods, products, property, or services sold, | ||||||
7 | offered for sale, leased or offered for lease, or otherwise | ||||||
8 | made available through that trade or business in violation of | ||||||
9 | subsection (e) if that person: | ||||||
10 | (1) knows or should have known in the ordinary course | ||||||
11 | of the person's trade or business that the goods, products, | ||||||
12 | property, or services sold, offered for sale, leased, or | ||||||
13 | offered for lease or otherwise made available through that | ||||||
14 | trade or business were being promoted in such a message;
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15 | (2) received or expected to receive an economic benefit | ||||||
16 | from such promotion; and | ||||||
17 | (3) took no reasonable action to prevent the | ||||||
18 | transmission or to detect the transmission and report it to | ||||||
19 | the Attorney General. | ||||||
20 | (g) Compliance. The actual or implied consent given by the | ||||||
21 | minor does not create a defense to liability under subsection | ||||||
22 | (e) or (f). | ||||||
23 | (h) Fees. The Office of the Illinois Attorney General shall | ||||||
24 | include in its rules a method for assessing fees on marketers | ||||||
25 | for use of the Registry that is sufficient to establish, | ||||||
26 | administer, and maintain the Registry. | ||||||
27 | Section 10. Exceptions. A person is not in violation of | ||||||
28 | this Act if: (1) the Contact Point has been on the Registry for | ||||||
29 | less than 30 days; or (2) the person reasonably relies on the | ||||||
30 | Registry provided by the Attorney General and takes reasonable | ||||||
31 | measures to comply with this Act. | ||||||
32 | Section 15. Enforcement. | ||||||
33 | (a) Reporting of violation. For purposes of enforcing | ||||||
34 | subsections (e) and (f) of Section 5, the Office of the |
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1 | Illinois Attorney General shall establish procedures to permit | ||||||
2 | the reporting of violations of subsections (e) and (f) of | ||||||
3 | Section 5, including appropriate links on the Internet web site | ||||||
4 | of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the use of a | ||||||
5 | toll-free telephone number for such purposes. | ||||||
6 | (b) Criminal penalty. A violation of subsection (e) or (f) | ||||||
7 | of Section 5 of this Act is a Class B misdemeanor. For purposes | ||||||
8 | of this subsection (b), each message in violation of subsection | ||||||
9 | (e) or (f) of Section 5 constitutes a separate violation. Each | ||||||
10 | unauthorized use of the Registry is a Class A misdemeanor for | ||||||
11 | which a fine not to exceed $500,000 may be imposed.
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12 | (c) Civil penalty. Parents may recover actual damages, on | ||||||
13 | behalf of their children, for messages sent to a registered | ||||||
14 | Contact Point in violation of subsection (e) or (f) of Section | ||||||
15 | 5. In lieu of actual damages, a parent may recover $1,000 per | ||||||
16 | violation. For purposes of this subsection (c), each message in | ||||||
17 | violation of subsection (e) or (f) of Section 5 constitutes a | ||||||
18 | separate violation.
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19 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
20 | becoming law.
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