CONCORD, N.H.— Lawmakers have approved New Hampshire’s Online Child Safety Act — legislation designed to protect children from online predators and child pornographers.

The bill, S.B. 495, approved June 4 contains penalties for distributing pornography involving images of children up to age 18. That’s a change from the Senate version, which set the age at 16. The compromise keeps the age at 16 for indecent exposure and lewdness.

It also spells out how illegal images will be handled as part of court proceedings, allowing experts who testify on the images to have access while protecting against any further dissemination.

Gov. John Lynch is expected to sign the bill.