Child Protection Registry Acts - Utah Child Protection Registry Act

Utah Child Protection Registry Act

The Utah Child Protection Registry Act, Utah Statutes 13-39-101 et seq., became effective on July 1, 2005. The Act prohibits the sending of a "communication" to a "contact point" that is on the registry for more than 30 days, if the communication either "advertises a product or service that a minor is prohibited by law from purchasing," or "contains or advertises material that is harmful to minors."

A "contact point" is defined as "an electronic identification to which a communication may be sent," and includes an e-mail address, or any of several other types of identifiers, to the extent provided by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection in the Department of Commerce under rulemaking authority granted by the statute, an instant message identity, a telephone number, a facsimile number, or a similar electronic address.

The Department of Commerce has also issued a policy document specifying those products that it deems to be products or services that a minor is prohibited by law from purchasing within the meaning of the statute, i.e., "an alcoholic beverage or product, any form of tobacco, pornographic materials, and any product or service that is illegal in Utah (whether purchased by a minor or an adult), such as illegal drugs, prostitution and gambling."

The Act provides that the consent of a minor to receive such a communication is not a defense to a violation, and that an Internet service provider is not liable for violating the Act "for solely transmitting a message" across its network.

The Act provides that it is a defense to an action for a violation that the violator "reasonably relied" on the electronic registry, and took "reasonable measures to comply" with the Act.

The Utah Child Registry website provides online registration for parents, and for marketers who wish to check their e-mail addresses and other contact points against the database. The Department of Commerce has adopted implementing regulations that charge a fee of $.005 per address checked against the registry, with one-fifth of the fee going to the State of Utah, and four-fifths going to the provider of the registry.

The operator of the registry is UnSpam, Inc., a Utah corporation that also operates the Michigan Child Registry.

A pornography industry trade group brought a legal challenge to the Utah Child Protection Registry Act. A federal judge found the case without merit; the trade group, the Free Speech Coalition, subsequently dropped the case. Free Speech Coalition v. Shurtleff, No. 2:05-cv-00949 (D. Utah Mar. 23, 2007)