House approves age‑verification bill for websites with material harmful to minors after amendment

PIERRE — The South Dakota House passed House Bill 1053, a measure requiring age verification by websites that host material the state defines as harmful to minors, after adopting an amendment that removed military identification as an acceptable form of ID.

Representative Soy, the bill’s sponsor, told the House the bill addresses a rise in children’s exposure to violent sexual content and is modeled on measures in other states. "It's a predatory industry that actively works to ensnare our children," Soy said, summarizing committee testimony and national research cited during debate. The bill adds a covered‑platform definition and a standard for "reasonable age verification," designates the attorney general to enforce the law, and includes exceptions for search engines and internet service providers.

An amendment (1053B) was adopted on the floor to strike military identification from a list of acceptable IDs after Representative Bathew cited Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which limits copying of U.S. identification cards. The floor adopted the amendment by voice vote; Soy then delivered closing remarks urging a yes vote.

Supporters described the bill as one tool among many to protect children online. Representative Schaeff Bauer, a supporter, recounted a case of a young child exposed to material at age 5 and said the measure would add a "guardrail" for parents who cannot supervise their children at all times. Representative Manhart said past examples show some sites withdraw services from states that pass age‑verification laws, which supporters viewed as an additional enforcement mechanism.

Opponents questioned the bill’s feasibility, privacy implications and potential for censorship. Representative Whitman asked who decides what is harmful and how the bill would avoid censoring legitimate educational or reproductive‑health information. Representative Healy and others warned that mandatory age verification could create a database of sensitive personal information and would be vulnerable to breaches; Healy urged approaches that empower families and technology tools over broad mandates.

Representative Soy said the bill contains data‑protection measures, including a provision that companies "may not sell or retain any identifying information," and that the bill relies on the existing statutory definition of material harmful to minors under the Miller test. Soy also noted ongoing national litigation; the House debate referenced Supreme Court arguments in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton and recent district court decisions in Texas, Indiana and Tennessee that have criticized a one‑third content threshold used in some laws.

After floor debate and the amendment, the clerk reported final passage with 61 ayes, 5 nays and 3 excused at one point in proceedings; the displayed final tally after roll call was 61 ayes, 5 nays, 3 excused and the bill was declared passed. (Amendment adoption and final vote were recorded on the House floor.)

The bill as amended requires covered platforms to implement reasonable age verification, forbids retention or sale of identifying information, assigns enforcement to the attorney general with an initial warning for noncompliance, and excludes search engines and ISPs from covered platforms. The bill does not specify implementation funding for enforcement or state IT costs.