SB 503

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 2026 Regular Session
 SENATE BILL NO. 503
 BY SENATOR CATHEY
 COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS. Creates the Minor Exploitation Prevention Act. (8/1/28)
1AN ACT
2 To enact Part III of Chapter 20-A of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to
3be comprised of R.S. 51:1776.1 through 1776.7, relative to mobile application
4distribution; to provide for age assurance and protections for minors; to provide for
5duties of application distribution providers and developers; to provide for limitations
6of liability; to provide for enforcement; to provide for penalties; to provide for terms
7and conditions; and to provide for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9Section 1. Part III of Chapter 20-A of Title 51 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of
10 1950, comprised of R.S. 51:1776.1 through 1776.7 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11PART III. MINOR EXPLOITATION PREVENTION
12§1776.1. Short title
13This Part shall be known and may be cited as the "Minor Exploitation
14Prevention Act".
15§1776.2. Definitions
16As used in this Part, the following terms have the following meanings:
17(1) "Adult" means an account holder who is or is reasonably estimated
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1      to be eighteen years of age or older.
2(2) "Age category" means a classification of an individual based on age
3      or estimated age, including a description of the user as a minor, adult, or being
4      within a given age range.
5(3) "Age signal" means a signal indicating an account holder's age
6      category, including the method by which such determination was made.
7(4) "Application" means a software program designed to run on a
8      connected device and distributed through an application distributor. The term
9      shall not include internet browsers or browser extensions.
10(5) "Application distributor" means a digital platform or software
11      through which applications are distributed to users.
12(6) "Application distribution provider" means a person or entity that
13      owns or operates an application distributor.
14(7) "Developer" means a person or entity that creates, owns, or controls
15      an application.
16(8) "Covered application" means an application that provides a different
17      experience to minors than to adults or is intended for adult use only.
18(9) "Connected device" means a device capable of connecting to the
19      internet and downloading applications, including smartphones, tablets, gaming
20      consoles, and virtual reality devices.
21(10) "Minor" means an account holder who is or is reasonably estimated
22      to be under eighteen years of age.
23      §1776.3. Age requirements
24A. An application distribution provider shall do all of the following:
25(1) Require each account holder to declare his age when creating an
26      account with the application distribution provider.
27(2) Use commercially reasonable efforts to determine an account holder's
28      age category.
29(3) Provide an account holder with a mechanism to obtain his age
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1      category and the ability to request an update if he believes the age category is
2      incorrect.
3(4) Provide each developer of a covered application the ability to call an
4      age signal where the account holder or the account holder's parent has agreed
5      to share the account holder's age category. An application distribution provider
6      shall only provide an age signal for an account holder who has provided consent
7      to sharing the account holder's age category with the developer or where a
8      parent has provided consent on behalf of the account holder who is a minor.
9B. A application distribution provider acting in good faith shall not be
10      liable for any of the following:
11(1) Inaccurate age signals.
12(2) Any conduct by a developer of a covered application that receives any
13      age signal, except where the developer and application distribution provider are
14      controlled by the same entity.
15(3) Failing to provide technical ability to call an age signal due to any
16      reasonable technical limitations.
17(4) Failing to provide the age signal to developers that do not adhere to
18      reasonable safety standards and application distributor policies.
19C.(1) Nothing in this Section shall prohibit an application distribution
20      provider from using multiple commercially reasonable methods to obtain,
21      estimate, or provide the age category of an account holder.
22(2) Nothing in this Section shall restrict an application distribution
23      provider's ability to satisfy the provisions of this Part by obtaining a minor
24      account holder's age from the minor's parent.
25      §1776.4. Application distributor provider; duties
26A. An application distribution provider shall do all of the following:
27(1) Provide the account holder's parent or developer of a covered
28      application with the ability to prevent account holders who are not adults from
29      acquiring or using the developer's covered application from the application
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1      distributor.
2(2) Provide a developer the ability to disclose parental controls for
3      covered application through a centralized product page or user interface that
4      provides information about a covered application.
5(3) Comply with the obligations and requirements for its own covered
6      application for which the application distribution provider is also the developer.
7B. An application distributor provider shall not use data collected from
8      a third-party covered application in the course of compliance with this Part to
9      give the application distribution provider preference relative to those of a third
10      party, or to otherwise use the data in an anti-competitive manner.
11      §1776.5. Application developer; duties
12A. A developer of a covered application shall:
13(1) Report to the application distribution provider whether the
14      application provides a different experience for adults than for users who are not
15      adults or is intended only for adults.
16(2) Provide tools to help parents support a minor using the covered
17      application unless the application is intended for adult use only.
18(3) Use commercially reasonable efforts to determine whether a user is
19      an adult or a minor with a reasonable level of certainty.
20(4) Make reasonable efforts, proportionate to the risks, to ensure that
21      users who are minors shall not engage in any activity that has been restricted
22      for adults only.
23(5) Obtain consent prior to permitting minor account holders from
24      accessing content or enabling features the developer has designated as
25      unsuitable for use by minors without parental guidance or supervision.
26B. A developer of a covered application shall not deliver personalized
27      advertising to minors.
28C.(1) If the developer chooses to call an age signal facilitated by an
29      application distribution provider, the developer shall request the minimum
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1      amount of information needed for purposes of compliance with this Part.
2(2) If the developer chooses to call an age signal facilitated by an
3      application distribution provider, the developer shall not:
4(a) Willfully disregard any information regarding an individual's age or
5      age category that is otherwise available to the developer.
6(b) Share the information obtained from the age signal with third
7      parties, except for a service provider, but only if necessary for the service
8      provider to implement any safety measure or privacy protections for minors or
9      otherwise required by law.
10(c) Use the age signal for any purpose beyond that intended by this Part,
11      including but not limited to using the age signal to back into or attempt to back
12      into a users date of birth.
13D. Nothing in this Section shall require the developer to determine
14      whether a user is an adult or a minor, provided the developer and an
15      application distribution provider are controlled by the same entity.
16      §1776.6. Developer; liability
17A. A developer of a covered application is liable for correctly identifying
18      whether its application is a covered application pursuant to this Part. No
19      application distributor is required to proactively identify any covered
20      application, and an application distributor shall not be held liable in any case
21      where a developer provides inaccurate information about its application.
22B. A developer of a covered application shall not be liable for an
23      erroneous age signal provided by an application distribution provider, if it
24      makes a reasonable effort, taking into consideration available technology, to
25      properly use the age signal and carry out other age assurance, if needed, as
26      proportionate to the risks presented to any person using its applications.
27      §1776.7. Enforcement
28A. The attorney general shall have exclusive authority to enforce the
29      provisions of this Part.
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1B. Nothing in this Part or any other provision of law shall be interpreted
2to serve as the basis for a private right of action.
3C. The attorney general may initiate an action and seek a civil penalty
4of up to one thousand dollars for each violation of this Part.
5Section 2. This Act shall become effective on August 1, 2028.
  The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
  of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Senate Legislative Services.
  The keyword, summary, and digest do not constitute part of the law or proof
  or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
  DIGEST
SB 503 Engrossed  2026 Regular Session  Cathey
Proposed law creates the " Minor Exploitation Prevention Act".
Proposed law provides for definitions.
Proposed law requires application distribution providers to implement age assurance
measures, including required age declaration, using reasonable methods to determine age
category, allowing users to access and correct their age category, and enabling developers
to access age signals with user or parental consent.
Proposed law provides that application distribution providers acting in good faith are not
liable for inaccurate signals, developer conduct, technical limitations, or refusal to provide
age signals to noncompliant developers.
Proposed law allows providers to use multiple commercially reasonable methods to
determine age and obtain a minor's age from a parent.
Proposed law requires application distribution providers to enable parental or developer
controls restricting minors' access, provide disclosure of parental controls, comply with
requirements of their own applications, and prohibits anti-competitive use of date collected
from third-party applications.
Proposed law requires developers of covered applications to disclose whether the
applications provide different experiences for minors, provided parental tools or restrict
minors where appropriate, use reasonable efforts to determine user age, restrict minors from
adult-only activities, and obtain consent before allowing minors to access unsuitable content
or features.
Proposed law prohibits developers of covered applications from delivering personalized
advertising to minors.
Proposed law requires developers using age signals to request only the minimum necessary
information and prohibits misuse of such information, including disregarding known age
data, sharing with third parties except as necessary, or using the data beyond compliance
purposes.
Proposed law provides that a developer is not required to determine whether a user is an
adult or a minor if the developer and the application distribution provider are controlled by
the same entity.
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Proposed law provides that a developer is responsible for correctly identifying whether its
application is a covered application. Further provides that application distributors are not
liable for relying on inaccurate information provided to them by the developers.
Proposed law provides that a developer is not liable for an erroneous age signal from an
application distribution provider if the developer makes reasonable efforts to use the signal
appropriately and implement age assurance measures proportionate to risk.
Proposed law provides that the attorney general has exclusive authority to enforce proposed
law and authorizes civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation. Further prohibits a private
right of action.
Effective August 1, 2028.
(Adds R.S. 51:1776.1-1776.7)
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