Today's Law As Amended


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SB-388 Platform companies: content management: negative externalities: report: acceptable use policy: illegal content.(2021-2022)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 It is the intent of the Legislature for major social media platforms to account for, and mitigate, negative externalities from their business activities on the public health, democratic security, mental health, violence, extremism, and other impacts on the people of California.

SEC. 2.

 Section 1798.138 is added to the Civil Code, to read:

1798.138.
 (a) As used in this section:
(1) “Negative externalities” means the number of original posts and shared posts on the platform that are classified as obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not those posts are constitutionally protected.
(2) “Platform” means any social networking internet website or electronic or digital networking service or account that provides for the posting, display, or exchange of information through the building of virtual networks and communities, including, but not limited to, social media internet websites or other internet websites featuring videos or still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or internet website profiles or locations.
(b) A social media platform company that, in combination with each subsidiary and affiliate of the service, has 25,000,000 or more unique monthly visitors or users for a majority of the preceding 12 months, shall report to the Department of Justice by April 1, 2022, and by that date each year thereafter, the following information:
(1) The amount of money, labor hours, and other efforts expended to prevent, mitigate the effects of, and remove potentially harmful content.
(2) Any internal accounting of the negative externalities associated with the platform company’s business activities.
(3) Quantified statistics on how much content is being reviewed, how much content is targeted for removal, and how much content is actually removed due to breach of terms-of-service agreement issues or other issues.
(4) The categories the platform places content into that the platform targets for removal and the corresponding number of postings that fall into each category.
(c) The Department of Justice shall make the information reported to it pursuant to subdivision (b) available to consumers.
(d) A platform company shall also report the information required by subdivision (b) to the Legislature and the California Privacy Protection Agency.
(e) A platform company shall develop policies to assess and mitigate the negative externalities reported pursuant to subdivision (b).
(f) A platform company shall develop an “acceptable use” policy for users.