Law / United States / 
Montana
SB 544, Revise Internet Laws Related to Material Harmful to Minors
Mont. Code Ann. section 30-14-159
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
What follows is LexLint's own research summary of this law, not legal advice.
In force since 1 January 2024.
An adult content age verification (AV) rule binding private bodies.
As of 2 September 2026.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Requires commercial entities that knowingly publish or distribute material harmful to minors, where a substantial portion of the site is such material, to use reasonable age verification methods before granting access, and bars retention of identifying information after verification.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureNo
Private right of actionYes
Penalties
Civil damages, court costs, and attorney fees, recoverable only by individuals pursuing a private claim
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
No state agency enforcement; enforceable only through private civil claims after a 2025 amendment removed Attorney General enforcement authority
Litigation
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
- Docket
- Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Knudsen, No. 9:24-cv-00067
- Posture
- In August 2025 the court dismissed the plaintiffs' First Amendment challenge for lack of standing after Montana amended the law to remove the Attorney General's enforcement authority, leaving only a private right of action. The statute remains in effect.
What it reaches
Age threshold
18
Covered services
Commercial websites where a substantial portion of published material is harmful to minors
Obligation class
Age verification, Retention
Verification methods
Digital ID, Gov ID, Transactional data
When LexLint raises it
publishes_adult_content
Read the law
Official Montana Code Annotated text on the Montana legislature's code site
Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.