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

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Date Published: 04/19/2021 09:00 PM
SB388:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  April 19, 2021
Amended  IN  Senate  March 22, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 388

Introduced by Senator Stern

February 11, 2021

An act to add Section 1798.138 to the Civil Code, relating to platform companies.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 388, as amended, Stern. Platform companies: content management: negative externalities: report: acceptable use policy: illegal content.
Existing law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), grants a consumer various rights with respect to personal information, as defined, that is collected or sold by a business, as defined, and also establishes, as approved by the voters as Proposition 24 at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, the California Privacy Protection Agency and vests it with full administrative power, authority, and jurisdiction to implement and enforce the CCPA.
This bill would require a social media platform company, as described, to report annually to the Department of Justice by April 1 of each year prescribed information relating to content management and the negative externalities externalities, as defined, associated with the platform company’s business activities. The bill would require the department to make the information reported to it available to consumers. The bill would require a platform company to also report that information to the Legislature and the agency. The bill would require a platform company to develop policies to assess and mitigate their negative externalities, to develop an “acceptable use” policy for users, and to remove illegal content from its platform within 24 hours of its posting. users.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


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, “platform” means any internet website or electronic or digital networking service or account that provides for the posting, display, or exchange of information, 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. 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.

(g)A platform company shall remove illegal content from its platform within 24 hours of the posting of the illegal content.