Title 22, CRIMES

Except as provided in § 22-24-37 , nothing contained in this chapter limits any county or municipality from regulating obscene material or obscene live conduct within its jurisdiction. Source: SL 1968, ch 29 , § 14; SL 1974, ch 61 , § 2; SL 1976, ch 158 , § 24-2 ; SL 1978, ch 162…

Any county or municipality may provide, by ordinance, for a contemporary community standards test to regulate the sale, distribution, and use of obscene material and to regulate obscene live conduct in any commercial establishment or public place within its jurisdiction. Source: …

Terms used in §§ 22-24-25 to 22-24-37 , inclusive, and §§ 22-24-69 to 22-24-73 , inclusive, mean: (1) "Contemporary community standard," the contemporary community standard of the state in which the question of obscenity is to be tested, by the average person, of the state; (2) "…

Any person who disseminates material harmful to minors is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Source: SL 1968, ch 29 , §§ 3, 9 (b); SDCL Supp, §§ 22-24-13, 22-24-20; SL 1974, ch 165 , § 18; SL 1976, ch 158 , § 24-6 .

A person is guilty of disseminating material that is harmful to minors if the person knowingly gives or makes available to a minor or promotes or possesses with intent to promote to minors, or if the person knowingly sells or loans to a minor for monetary consideration, any mater…

No person may knowingly distribute, display, sell, or exhibit for sale in any public place any magazine, book, or newsprint displaying or containing obscene material on its cover or material unless the magazine, book, or newsprint is wrapped and sealed so that no more than its ti…

A person is guilty of disseminating material harmful to minors if, with reference to a motion picture, show, or other presentation which depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse, and which is harmful to minors, that person knowingly: (1) Exhibits such motion pict…

In any prosecution for disseminating material harmful to minors, it is an affirmative defense that: (1) The defendant had reasonable cause to believe that the minor involved was eighteen years old or more. A draft card, driver's license, birth certificate, or other official or ap…

A person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if that person knowingly misrepresents that he or she is a parent or guardian of a minor for the purpose of obtaining admission of any minor to any motion picture, show, or other presentation which is harmful to minors. Source: SL 1974,…

A minor is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor if that minor misrepresents his or her age for the purpose of obtaining admission to any motion picture, show, or other presentation which is harmful to minors. Source: SL 1974, ch 165 , § 19 (2); SL 1976, ch 158 , § 24-8 ; SL 2005, ch 1…

If more than one article or item of material prohibited under §§ 22-24-27 to 22-24-37 , inclusive, is sold, given, advertised for sale, distributed commercially, or promoted, by the same person, after a hearing and determination that probable cause exists to believe such article …

The provisions of §§ 22-24-27 to 22-24-37 , inclusive, do not apply to any persons who may possess or distribute obscene matter or participate in conduct, otherwise proscribed by those sections, if such possession, distribution, or conduct occurs: (1) In the course of law enforce…

Each public school in the state shall: (1) Equip each public access computer with software that will limit minors' ability to gain access to obscene matter or materials, as defined by § 22-24-27 , or purchase internet connectivity from an internet service provider that provides f…

Each public library in the state shall: (1) Equip each public access computer with software that will limit minors' ability to gain access to obscene matter or material, as defined by § 22-24-27 , or purchase internet connectivity from an internet service provider that provides f…

No public school that complies with § 22-24-55 or any public library that complies with § 22-24-56 may be held liable for any damages that may arise from a minor gaining access to obscene materials through the use of a public access computer that is owned or controlled by the pub…

For the purposes of §§ 22-24-55 to 22-24-59 , inclusive, obscene material is defined pursuant to subdivision 22-24-27 (12). Source: SL 1999, ch 76 , § 4; SL 2005, ch 120 , § 314; SL 2025, ch 95 , § 3.

For the purposes of §§ 22-24-55 to 22-24-59 , inclusive, a public access computer is any computer that is located in a public school or public library. Source: SL 1999, ch 76 , § 5.

For the purposes of §§ 22-24-60 to 22-24-68 , inclusive, a prepaid adult entertainment card is a product, either sold at wholesale, retail, or distributed gratis as a promotion, which permits the cardholder to access one or more erotic or pornographic internet sites by means of a…

It is a Class 1 misdemeanor to sell, give, or distribute any prepaid adult entertainment card or any prepaid adult entertainment telephone card to any person under eighteen years of age. Source: SL 2002, ch 112 , § 2.

A prepaid adult entertainment telephone card is a product, either sold at wholesale, retail, or distributed gratis as a promotion, which permits the cardholder to access one or more adult entertainment telephone services for a predetermined number of minutes by means of a telepho…

Any person who knowingly participates in any conduct proscribed by §§ 22-24-60 to 22-24-68 , inclusive, is liable for civil damages. Source: SL 2002, ch 112 , § 4.

Any of the following persons may bring an action for damages caused by another person's conduct as proscribed by §§ 22-24-60 to 22-24-68 , inclusive: (1) The victimized minor; (2) Any parent, legal guardian, or sibling of a victimized minor; or (3) Any person injured as a result …

Any person entitled to bring an action under § 22-24-64 may seek damages from any person who knowingly participated in the sale or in the chain of distribution of any prepaid adult entertainment card or any prepaid adult entertainment telephone card proscribed by §§ 22-24-60 to 2…

Any person entitled to bring an action under § 22-24-64 may recover the following damages: (1) Economic damages, including the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, medical expenses, loss of economic or educational potential, loss of productivity, absenteeism, support expenses, a…

Any action for damages under §§ 22-24-60 to 22-24-68 , inclusive, shall be commenced within six years of the time the plaintiff knew, or had reason to know, of any injury caused by violations of §§ 22-24-60 to 22-24-68 , inclusive. The knowledge of a parent, guardian, or custodia…

As a public nuisance, all prepaid adult entertainment cards and prepaid adult entertainment telephone cards are subject to seizure and destruction without compensation by any law enforcement agency with appropriate jurisdiction. Source: SL 2002, ch 112 , § 9.

A covered platform must implement reasonable age verification on the platform to verify the age of any individual who attempts to access material that is harmful to minors on the platform and prevent a minor's access to that material. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misd…

A covered platform or third party that performs the age verification required by § 22-24-69 , on behalf of a covered platform, may not sell or retain any identifying information of an individual collected by the covered platform or third party for the age verification. A violatio…

If a covered platform is not in substantial compliance with the requirements of § 22-24-69 or 22-24-70 , the attorney general must provide written notice to the covered platform before initiating an action pursuant to § 22-24-69 , 22-24-70 , or 22-24-72 . The attorney general sha…

Any covered platform found to be in violation of § 22-24-69 or 22-24-70 is subject to an injunction and liable for a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for each separate instance that the covered platform fails to perform reasonable age verification. The civil p…

The provisions of §§ 22-24-69 to 22-24-72 , inclusive, do not apply to any general-purpose search engine, internet service provider or its affiliates or subsidiaries, or cloud service provider. Source: SL 2025, ch 95 , § 8.