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    AN ACT concerning business transactions.

 
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    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
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represented in the General Assembly:


 
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    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Child 
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Protection Registry Act.
 
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    Section 5. Child Protection Registry.
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    (a) The Office of the Illinois Attorney General shall 
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establish a Child Protection Registry in which parents may 
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register their children's Contact Points as off limits from 
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certain categories of commercial messages as set forth in this 
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Act.

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    (b) Registration by parent.  The Attorney General shall 
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permit a parent, legal guardian, or other person with control 
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or authority over Contact Points to which minor children have 
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access to register those Contact Points with the Registry.
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    (c) Contact points subject to registration.  The Registry 
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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.
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    (d) Addition of new types of Contact Points.  The Office of 
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the Illinois Attorney General shall, from time to time and as 
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messaging technology develops, designate additional kinds of 
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Contact Points subject to registration on the Registry.
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    (e) Prohibition on initiating inappropriate commercial 
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messages to registered Contact Points.  Except as otherwise 
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authorized by the Attorney General in rules  prescribed under 
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this Act, it is unlawful for a person to initiate any 
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commercial message or other communication to any registered 
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Contact Point if the message or communication:
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        (1) advertises products or services that a minor child 
 


 






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is prohibited by law from purchasing; or

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        (2) contains or advertises adult content or links to 
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adult content.

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    (f) Third party liability.  It is unlawful for a person to 
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promote, or allow the promotion of, that person's trade or 
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business, or goods, products, property, or services sold, 
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offered for sale, leased or offered for lease, or otherwise 
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made available through that trade or business in violation of 
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subsection (e) if that person:
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        (1) knows or should have known in the ordinary course 
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of the person's trade or business that the goods, products, 
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property, or services sold, offered for sale, leased, or 
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offered for lease or otherwise made available through that 
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trade or business were being promoted in such a message;

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        (2) received or expected to receive an economic benefit 
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from such promotion; and
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        (3) took no reasonable action to prevent the 
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transmission or to detect the transmission and report it to 
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the Attorney General.
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    (g) Compliance.  The actual or implied consent given by the 
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minor does not create a defense to liability under subsection 
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(e) or (f).
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    (h) Fees.  The Office of the Illinois Attorney General shall 
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include in its rules a method for assessing fees on marketers 
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for use of the Registry that is sufficient to establish, 
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administer, and maintain the Registry.
 
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    Section 10. Exceptions.    A person is not in violation of 
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this Act if: (1) the Contact Point has been on the Registry for 
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less than 30 days; or (2) the person reasonably relies on the 
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Registry provided by the Attorney General and takes reasonable 
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measures to comply with this Act.  
 
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    Section 15. Enforcement.
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    (a) Reporting of violation.  For purposes of enforcing 
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subsections (e) and (f) of Section 5, the Office of the 
 


 






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Illinois Attorney General shall establish procedures to permit 
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the reporting of violations of subsections (e) and (f) of 
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Section 5, including appropriate links on the Internet web site 
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of the Office of the Illinois Attorney General and the use of a 
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toll-free telephone number for such purposes.
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    (b) Criminal penalty.  A violation of subsection (e) or (f) 
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of Section 5 of this Act is a Class B misdemeanor. For purposes 
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of this subsection (b), each message in violation of subsection 
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(e) or (f) of Section 5 constitutes a separate violation.  Each 
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unauthorized use of the Registry is a Class A misdemeanor for 
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which a fine not to exceed $500,000 may be imposed.

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    (c) Civil penalty.  Parents may recover actual damages, on 
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behalf of their children, for messages sent to a registered 
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Contact Point in violation of subsection (e) or (f) of Section 
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5.  In lieu of actual damages, a parent may recover $1,000 per 
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violation.  For purposes of this subsection (c), each message in 
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violation of subsection (e) or (f) of Section 5 constitutes a 
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separate violation.

 

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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
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becoming law.