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AB-227 State employment: social media platforms.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 01/11/2023 09:00 PM
AB227:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 227

Introduced by Assembly Member Sanchez

January 11, 2023

An act to add Part 10 (commencing with Section 22990) to Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to state employment.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 227, as introduced, Sanchez. State employment: social media platforms.
The California Constitution establishes the State Personnel Board (board) and requires the board to, among other things, enforce the civil service statutes, prescribe probationary periods and classifications, adopt rules authorized by statute, and review disciplinary actions. The Constitution also requires the executive officer of the board to administer the civil service statutes under the rules of the board. Under existing law, the board is authorized to conduct audits and investigations of the personnel practices of the Department of Human Resources (department) and appointing authorities to ensure compliance with civil service policies, procedures, and statutes. Existing law establishes the department and provides that, subject to the requirements of the California Constitution, it succeeds to and is vested with the duties, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction exercised by the board as its designee with respect to the board’s administrative and ministerial functions.
This bill, except as specified, would prohibit a person from installing an application for a social media platform on a state-owned or state-issued electronic device if specified conditions are met, including that the social media company that owns the application is domiciled in, has its principal place of business in, has its headquarters in, or is organized under the laws of, a country of concern. The bill would also prohibit a person from installing an application for a social media platform owned or controlled by specified companies from being installed on a state-owned or state-issued electronic device. The bill would define various terms for these purposes.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Part 10 (commencing with Section 22990) is added to Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

PART 10. Applications for Social Media Platforms on State-Owned or State-Issued Devices

22990.
 (a) For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:
(1) (A) “Country of concern” has the same meaning as “foreign adversary” as that term is defined in paragraph (2) of subsection (c) of Section 1607 of Title 47 of the United States Code.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), each of the following is a “country of concern”:
(i) Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
(ii) Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
(iii) Islamic Republic of Iran.
(iv) People’s Republic of China.
(v) Republic of Cuba.
(vi) Russian Federation.
(2) “Social media company” has the same meaning as defined in Section 22675 of the Business and Professions Code.
(3) “Social media platform” has the same meaning as defined in Section 22675 of the Business and Professions Code.
(b) A person shall not install an application for a social media platform on a state-issued or state-owned electronic device if any of the following conditions are met:
(1) The social media company that owns the application is domiciled in, has its principal place of business in, has its headquarters in, or is organized under the laws of, a country of concern.
(2) A country of concern directly or indirectly owns, directly or indirectly controls, or holds 10 percent or more of the voting shares of the social media company that owns the application.
(3) The social media platform uses software or an algorithm controlled by a country of concern.
(c) A person shall not install an application for a social media platform that meets either of the following conditions on a state-issued or state-owned electronic device:
(1) The application is owned or controlled by ByteDance, Ltd., a subsidiary of or a successor company to ByteDance, Ltd., or a company directly or indirectly controlled by ByteDance, Ltd.
(2) The application is owned or controlled by TikTok, a subsidiary of or a successor company to TikTok, or a company directly or indirectly controlled by TikTok.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (b) and (c), a person may install an application for a social media platform on a state-issued or state-owned electronic device if the application is installed for either of the following purposes:
(1) Law enforcement activities.
(2) Cybersecurity research.