Chapter 22.8Content Moderation Requirements for Internet Terms of Service

Section § 22675

Explanation

This section defines several important terms related to social media, such as 'actioned', 'content', and 'social media platform'. 'Actioned' refers to when a social media company takes measures like removal or banning due to rule violations. 'Content' involves user statements and media on these platforms, but not cloud storage. A 'social media platform' connects users and allows profile creation and interaction, yet excludes email services. 'Terms of service' are the rules set by the company that users must follow to avoid penalties.

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(a) “Actioned” means a social media company, due to a suspected or confirmed violation of the terms of service, has taken some form of action, including, but not limited to, removal, demonetization, deprioritization, or banning, against the relevant user or relevant item of content.
(b)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(b) “Artificial intelligence” has the same definition as in Section 11546.45.5 of the Government Code.
(c)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(c)
(1)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(c)(1) “Content” means statements or comments made by users and media that are created, posted, shared, or otherwise interacted with by users on an internet-based service or application.
(2)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(c)(2) “Content” does not include media put on a service or application exclusively for the purpose of cloud storage, transmitting files, or file collaboration.
(d)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(d) “Public or semipublic internet-based service or application” excludes a service or application used to facilitate communication within a business or enterprise among employees or affiliates of the business or enterprise, provided that access to the service or application is restricted to employees or affiliates of the business or enterprise using the service or application.
(e)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(e) “Social media company” means a person or entity that owns or operates one or more social media platforms.
(f)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(f) “Social media platform” means a public or semipublic internet-based service or application that has users in California and that meets both of the following criteria:
(1)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(f)(1)
(A)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(f)(1)(A) A substantial function of the service or application is to connect users in order to allow users to interact socially with each other within the service or application.
(B)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(f)(1)(A)(B) A service or application that provides email or direct messaging services shall not be considered to meet this criterion on the basis of that function alone.
(2)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(f)(2) The service or application allows users to do all of the following:
(A)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(f)(2)(A) Construct a public or semipublic profile for purposes of signing into and using the service or application.
(B)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(f)(2)(B) Populate a list of other users with whom an individual shares a social connection within the system.
(C)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(f)(2)(C) Create or post content viewable by other users, including, but not limited to, on message boards, in chat rooms, or through a landing page or main feed that presents the user with content generated by other users.
(g)CA Business and Professions Code § 22675(g) “Terms of service” means a policy or set of policies adopted by a social media company that specifies, at least, the user behavior and activities that are permitted on the internet-based service owned or operated by the social media company, and the user behavior and activities that may subject the user or an item of content to being actioned.
actioned social media company artificial intelligence user content public internet-based service social connection profile creation user interaction terms of service rule violations direct messaging exclusion message boards chat rooms cloud storage exclusion content removal
(Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 843, Sec. 1. (AB 2885) Effective January 1, 2025.)

Section § 22676

Explanation

This law requires social media companies to clearly post their terms of service for each platform they own or operate, ensuring that all users can easily access and understand them. The terms of service must include contact information for user inquiries, a process for users to report violations, and the company's response commitments. It should also specify possible actions the company might take against content or users. Additionally, these terms need to be available in multiple languages used by the platform, especially those recognized by Medi-Cal.

(a)CA Business and Professions Code § 22676(a) A social media company shall post terms of service for each social media platform owned or operated by the company in a manner reasonably designed to inform all users of the social media platform of the existence and contents of the terms of service.
(b)CA Business and Professions Code § 22676(b) The terms of service posted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include all of the following:
(1)CA Business and Professions Code § 22676(b)(1) Contact information for the purpose of allowing users to ask the social media company questions about the terms of service.
(2)CA Business and Professions Code § 22676(b)(2) A description of the process that users must follow to flag content, groups, or other users that they believe violate the terms of service, and the social media company’s commitments on response and resolution time.
(3)CA Business and Professions Code § 22676(b)(3) A list of potential actions the social media company may take against an item of content or a user, including, but not limited to, removal, demonetization, deprioritization, or banning.
(c)CA Business and Professions Code § 22676(c) The terms of service posted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be available in all Medi-Cal threshold languages, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 128552 of the Health and Safety Code, in which the social media platform offers product features, including, but not limited to, menus and prompts.
social media companies terms of service user inquiries violation reporting response commitments content moderation user penalties Medi-Cal threshold languages multilingual availability user communication flagging process content removal user banning demotion of content accessible information
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 269, Sec. 2. (AB 587) Effective January 1, 2023.)

Section § 22677

Explanation

Social media companies in California need to send a report twice a year to the Attorney General detailing the terms of service for each of their platforms. This report should include the current terms, changes made since the last report, and definitions for specific types of content like hate speech, extremism, and misinformation. They must also describe how they moderate such content, dealing with user reports and taking action against violations. The report should include data on how content was flagged, actioned, and the outcomes, broken down by type, media, and method of flagging. The Attorney General will publish these reports online for public access.

(a)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a) On a semiannual basis in accordance with subdivision (b), a social media company shall submit to the Attorney General a terms of service report. The terms of service report shall include, for each social media platform owned or operated by the company, all of the following:
(1)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(1) The current version of the terms of service of the social media platform.
(2)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(2) If a social media company has filed its first report, a complete and detailed description of any changes to the terms of service since the previous report.
(3)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(3) A statement of whether the current version of the terms of service defines each of the following categories of content, and, if so, the definitions of those categories, including any subcategories:
(A)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(3)(A) Hate speech or racism.
(B)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(3)(B) Extremism or radicalization.
(C)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(3)(C) Disinformation or misinformation.
(D)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(3)(D) Harassment.
(E)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(3)(E) Foreign political interference.
(F)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(3)(F) Controlled substance distribution.
(4)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(4) A detailed description of content moderation practices used by the social media company for that platform, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(4)(A) Any existing policies intended to address the categories of content described in paragraph (3).
(B)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(4)(B) How automated content moderation systems enforce terms of service of the social media platform and when these systems involve human review.
(C)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(4)(C) How the social media company responds to user reports of violations of the terms of service.
(D)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(4)(D) How the social media company would remove individual pieces of content, users, or groups that violate the terms of service, or take broader action against individual users or against groups of users that violate the terms of service.
(E)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(4)(E) The languages in which the social media platform does not make terms of service available, but does offer product features, including, but not limited to, menus and prompts.
(5)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)
(A)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A) Information on content that was flagged by the social media company as content belonging to any of the categories described in paragraph (3), including all of the following:
(i)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(i) The total number of flagged items of content.
(ii)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(ii) The total number of actioned items of content.
(iii)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(iii) The total number of actioned items of content that resulted in action taken by the social media company against the user or group of users responsible for the content.
(iv)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(iv) The total number of actioned items of content that were removed, demonetized, or deprioritized by the social media company.
(v)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(v) The number of times actioned items of content were viewed by users.
(vi)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(vi) The number of times actioned items of content were shared, and the number of users that viewed the content before it was actioned.
(vii)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(vii) The number of times users appealed social media company actions taken on that platform and the number of reversals of social media company actions on appeal disaggregated by each type of action.
(B)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(B) All information required by subparagraph (A) shall be disaggregated into the following categories:
(i)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(B)(i) The category of content, including any relevant categories described in paragraph (3).
(ii)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(B)(ii) The type of content, including, but not limited to, posts, comments, messages, profiles of users, or groups of users.
(iii)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(B)(iii) The type of media of the content, including, but not limited to, text, images, and videos.
(iv)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(B)(iv) How the content was flagged, including, but not limited to, flagged by company employees or contractors, flagged by artificial intelligence software, flagged by community moderators, flagged by civil society partners, and flagged by users.
(v)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(a)(5)(A)(B)(v) How the content was actioned, including, but not limited to, actioned by company employees or contractors, actioned by artificial intelligence software, actioned by community moderators, actioned by civil society partners, and actioned by users.
(b)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(b)
(1)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(b)(1) A social media company shall electronically submit a semiannual terms of service report pursuant to subdivision (a), covering activity within the third and fourth quarters of the preceding calendar year, to the Attorney General no later than April 1 of each year, and shall electronically submit a semiannual terms of service report pursuant to subdivision (a), covering activity within the first and second quarters of the current calendar year, to the Attorney General no later than October 1 of each year.
(2)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(b)(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a social media company shall electronically submit its first terms of service report pursuant to subdivision (a), covering activity within the third quarter of 2023, to the Attorney General no later than January 1, 2024, and shall electronically submit its second terms of service report pursuant to subdivision (a), covering activity within the fourth quarter of 2023, to the Attorney General no later than April 1, 2024. A social media platform shall submit its third report no later than October 1, 2024, in accordance with paragraph (1).
(c)CA Business and Professions Code § 22677(c) The Attorney General shall make all terms of service reports submitted pursuant to this section available to the public in a searchable repository on its official internet website.
social media report terms of service content moderation hate speech radicalization misinformation user reports content flagging Attorney General public disclosure actioned content automated systems content removal semiannual submission
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 824, Sec. 2. (AB 1027) Effective January 1, 2024.)

Section § 22678

Explanation

This law states that a social media company in California can be fined up to $15,000 per day for each violation of specific provisions. These violations include not posting terms of service, failing to submit reports on time to the Attorney General, or providing incorrect or incomplete information in reports. When determining fines, the court will consider if the company made a reasonable effort to comply. Only the Attorney General or qualified city attorneys can bring these actions to court, and funds from penalties are shared between local and state treasuries.

(a)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22678(a)
(1)Copy CA Business and Professions Code § 22678(a)(1) A social media company that violates the provisions of this chapter shall be liable for a civil penalty not to exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per violation per day, and may be enjoined in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(2)CA Business and Professions Code § 22678(a)(2) A social media company shall be considered in violation of the provisions of this chapter for each day the social media company does any of the following:
(A)CA Business and Professions Code § 22678(a)(2)(A) Fails to post terms of service in accordance with Section 22676.
(B)CA Business and Professions Code § 22678(a)(2)(B) Fails to timely submit to the Attorney General a report required pursuant to Section 22677.
(C)CA Business and Professions Code § 22678(a)(2)(C) Materially omits or misrepresents required information in a report submitted pursuant to Section 22677.
(3)CA Business and Professions Code § 22678(a)(3) In assessing the amount of a civil penalty pursuant to paragraph (1), the court shall consider whether the social media company has made a reasonable, good faith attempt to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(b)CA Business and Professions Code § 22678(b) Actions for relief pursuant to this chapter shall be prosecuted exclusively in a court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or by a city attorney of a city having a population in excess of 750,000, or by a city attorney in a city and county in the name of the people of the State of California upon their own complaint or upon the complaint of a board, officer, person, corporation, or association.
(c)CA Business and Professions Code § 22678(c) If an action pursuant to this section is brought by the Attorney General, one-half of the penalty collected shall be paid to the treasurer of the county in which the judgment was entered, and one-half to the General Fund. If the action is brought by a city attorney, one-half of the penalty collected shall be paid to the treasurer of the city in which the judgment was entered, and one-half to the treasurer of the county in which the judgment was entered.
social media company fines terms of service compliance Attorney General reporting civil penalty assessments court jurisdiction material omissions in reports reasonable effort to comply city attorney enforcement penalty allocation daily violation fines report submission deadlines
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 269, Sec. 2. (AB 587) Effective January 1, 2023.)

Section § 22679

Explanation

This law section makes it clear that any responsibilities or penalties from this chapter add to those from other laws, rather than replacing them. So, if there are other local, state, or federal laws with duties or punishments, they still apply on top of what's in this chapter.

(a)CA Business and Professions Code § 22679(a) The duties and obligations imposed by this chapter are cumulative to any other duties or obligations imposed under local, state, or federal law and shall not be construed to relieve any party from any duties or obligations imposed under law.
(b)CA Business and Professions Code § 22679(b) The remedies or penalties provided by this chapter are cumulative to each other and to any other remedies or penalties available under local, state, or federal law.
cumulative duties obligations remedies penalties local law compliance state law obligations federal law adherence additional duties legal responsibilities concurrent remedies compounded penalties
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 269, Sec. 2. (AB 587) Effective January 1, 2023.)

Section § 22680

Explanation

If a social media company made less than $100 million in total revenue last year, this specific set of rules doesn’t apply to them.

This chapter shall not apply to a social media company that generated less than one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in gross revenue during the preceding calendar year.
social media company gross revenue revenue threshold preceding calendar year exemption applicability exclusion business revenue financial criteria monetary threshold regulatory exemption
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 269, Sec. 2. (AB 587) Effective January 1, 2023.)

Section § 22681

Explanation

This law section clarifies that certain online services or apps, like those involving direct messages, commercial transactions, consumer reviews, or a mix of these activities, are not covered by the rules of this chapter.

This chapter shall not be construed to apply to an internet-based service or application for which interactions between users are limited to direct messages, commercial transactions, consumer reviews of products, sellers, services, events, or places, or any combination thereof.
internet-based service direct messages commercial transactions consumer reviews user interactions sellers services events places online applications exceptions limited interactions
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 269, Sec. 2. (AB 587) Effective January 1, 2023.)