Trade
The Parent’s Accountability and Child Protection Act: online marketplaces: nitrous oxide
California requires age checks for nitrous oxide sales and bars gift-card purchases of certain age-restricted products online.
The law adds nitrous oxide to California’s online age-verification rules for products illegal to sell to minors. It also strengthens enforcement tools against sellers that fail to comply.
What the law does
- Requires sellers doing business in California to take reasonable steps, including age verification, before selling or delivering nitrous oxide to a purchaser.
- Bars online sellers from accepting gift cards or store credit for nitrous oxide, firearms, BB devices, ammunition, tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, and less-lethal weapons.
- Limits sellers’ use, retention, and disclosure of age-verification information to compliance-related purposes.
- Allows public prosecutors to seek $7,500 per violation, injunctions, and attorney’s fees and costs.
- Allows courts to raise penalties to up to $250,000 per violation for businesses with more than $25 million in prior-year gross revenue when needed to deter future violations.
Who it affects
- Online sellers and other businesses selling nitrous oxide or other covered age-restricted products in or into California.
- Minors and purchasers attempting to use gift cards or store credit for covered products.
- Public prosecutors bringing enforcement actions.