South Dakota HB 1053 (Adult Content)
What it does
South Dakota HB 1053 makes any covered platform that hosts material harmful to minors run a reasonable age check confirming a user is 18, accepting a state ID or transaction data. A first violation is a misdemeanor and a second is a felony, enforced by the Attorney General, with reporting that parents can also sue.
Why it matters
South Dakota is one of the handful of states that made this a crime rather than a civil matter, escalating to a felony on the second strike. Criminal exposure pushes operators to either verify aggressively or block the state entirely.
Our take
South Dakota followed Texas with a broad digital-ID law and backed it with criminal penalties. When the choice for a site is felony risk or a hard ID gate on every visitor, the gate is what South Dakotans get.
Votes
- House — Passed (61 to 5) · January 21, 2025
- Senate — Passed (34 to 0) · February 19, 2025
Timeline
- February 27, 2025Signed into law
- July 1, 2025Took effect
Our coverage: all age-verification stories · Status checked July 19, 2026