AN ACT to enact the north carolina digital interference censorship act.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Chapter 75 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:

Article 9.

Digital Interference Censorship Act.

§ 75‑150.  Title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the North Carolina Digital Interference Censorship Act.

§ 75‑151.  Definitions.

As used in this Article, the following definitions apply:

(1)        Developer. – A creator of a software application made available for download by a user through a digital application distribution platform or other digital distribution platform.

(2)        Digital application distribution platform. – A digital distribution platform for applications and services provided to a user on a general‑purpose hardware, including a mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, personal computer, or other similar internet‑enabled device. The term includes a digital application platform provided or used only for a certain type of device, including a certain grade of computing device, a device made only by a particular manufacturer, or a device running a particular operating system.

(3)        Digital transaction platform. – A system for accepting payments from a user for an application or service received from a digital application distribution platform. The term includes a digital platform that is usable for transactions not related to the digital application distribution platform.

(4)        Domiciled in this State. – When a person is living as a resident of this State or when a person is headquartered in this State, conducts business in this State, and the majority of the person's business is to create and maintain an application.

(5)        In‑application payment system. – An application, service, or user interface used to process a payment from a user to a developer for a software application and digital and physical product distributed through a software application.

(6)        Provider. – A person that owns, operates, implements, or maintains a digital application distribution platform, a digital transaction platform, or an in‑application payment system.

(7)        Resident of this State. – A person whose last known billing address, other than an Armed Forces post office or fleet post office address, is located within this State, as shown in the records of a provider of a digital application distribution platform.

(8)        Special‑purpose digital application distribution platform. – A digital distribution platform for single or specialized categories of applications, software, and services provided to a user on hardware primarily intended for specific purposes, including a gaming console, music player, and other special‑purpose internet‑enabled devices.

§ 75‑152.  Applicability.

(a)        This Article applies to digital application distribution platforms with cumulative gross receipts from sales on the digital application distribution platform to residents of this State that exceed ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in either the current or previous calendar year and that use the platform for one of the following:

(1)        To provide an application that was created by a person domiciled in this State to a user.

(2)        To provide an application to a resident of this State.

(b)        This Article shall not apply to a special‑purpose digital application distribution platform.

§ 75‑153.  Prohibited conduct.

A provider of a digital application distribution platform shall not do any of the following:

(1)        Require a developer to do any of the following:

a.         Use the provider's in‑application payment system as the exclusive means for accepting payment from a user to download the developer's software application.

b.         Purchase a digital or physical product or service created, offered, or provided by the developer through a software application.

(2)        Retaliate against a developer for choosing to use another digital transaction system or in‑application payment system.

(3)        Refuse to allow a developer to provide the provider's application or digital product to or through the provider's platform or system or refuse to allow a user access to the developer's application or digital product through the provider's platform or system, on account of any of the following:

a.         The developer's use of another payment system.

b.         The religious or political content of the developer's application.

c.         The religious or political content of users of the developer's application.

§ 75‑154.  Enforcement.

(a)        If the Attorney General fails to enjoin or otherwise prosecute a claim under this Article within 60 days of receiving a complaint of a violation, a person or entity aggrieved by a violation of this Article may bring any of the following actions in Superior Court:

(1)        An action to enjoin further violations of this Article by the provider.

(2)        An action to recover costs and other damages resulting from the conduct of the provider.

(b)        In an action in Superior Court brought pursuant to this Article, the court may award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorneys' fees if the court finds the defendant willfully engaged in the act or practice in violation of this Article, and the court may award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing defendant if the court finds that the plaintiff knew, or should have known, that the action was frivolous and malicious.

(c)        Actions brought by a person or entity pursuant to this section shall be tried in the county where the plaintiff resides at the time of the commencement of the action.

(d)       This section shall not be construed to alter or restrict any remedy a person may have under any other State or federal law.

(e)        A violation of this Article is a violation of G.S. 75‑1.1.

(f)        A private right of action is created under this Article only if the Attorney General fails to enforce this Article as provided by G.S. 114‑2(11) and subsection (a) of this section.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 114‑2 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

(11)    To enforce Article 9 of Chapter 75 of the General Statutes, the North Carolina Digital Interference Censorship Act.

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2021.