Youth Social Media Protection Act - Special Business Regulations - Business & Professions - CA

Section § 22588.2

This law provides definitions for terms used in a specific chapter concerning internet and social media interactions. "Content" refers to anything users create or interact with online, like posts or videos, except when these are just for storing or transferring files. "Cyberbullying" is harmful online behavior that causes fear, health issues, or affects school performance. A "large social media platform" is a site with many users that doesn't block children and allows them to share content. Various kinds of threats related to social media, like promoting suicide or drug trafficking, are outlined. The law also defines protocols for handling reports of inappropriate content and specifies who can be considered a "verified reporter." Finally, "terms of service" are the rules a social media platform sets for user behavior.

For purposes of this chapter:

(a)

(1) “Content” means statements or comments made by users and media, including audio, pictures, video, and text, that are created, posted, shared, or otherwise interacted with by users on an internet-based service or application.

(2) “Content” does not include media put on a service or application exclusively for the purpose of cloud storage, transmitting files, or file collaboration.

(b) “Cyberbullying” means any severe or pervasive conduct made by an electronic act or acts, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (r) of Section 48900 of the Education Code and Section 22589, committed by a person directed toward another person that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following:

(1) Placing a reasonable person in fear of bodily harm or harm to that person’s property.

(2) Causing a reasonable person to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the person’s physical or mental health.

(3) Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s academic performance.

(4) Causing a reasonable person to experience substantial interference with the person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.

(c)

(1) “Large social media platform” means a social media platform that meets all of the following criteria:

(A) The social media platform’s terms of service do not prohibit the use of the social media platform by a child.

(B) The social media platform includes features that enable a child to share images, text, or video through the internet with other users of the social media platform whom the child has met, identified, or become aware of solely through the use of the social media platform.

(C) The social media platform has more than 100,000,000 monthly global active users or generates more than one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000) in gross revenue per year, adjusted yearly for inflation.

(2) “Large social media platform” does not include any of the following:

(A) A service that primarily serves to facilitate the sale or provision of professional services or the sale of commercial products.

(B) A service that primarily provides news or information and does not offer the ability for content to be sent by a user directly to a child.

(C) A service that has features that enable a user who communicates directly with a child through a message, including a text, audio, or video message, not otherwise available to other users of the service, to add other users to that message that the child may not have otherwise met, identified, or become aware of solely through the use of the service and does not have any features described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1).

(d) “Public or semipublic internet-based service or application” does not include a service or application used to facilitate communication within a business or enterprise among employees or affiliates of the business or enterprise, if access to the service or application is restricted to employees or affiliates of the business or enterprise using the service or application.

(e) “Risk” means a social media-related threat that more likely than not will cause harm to a child.

(f) “Severe risk” means a social media-related threat that more likely than not will cause serious bodily or mental harm to a child.

(g) “Social media platform” has the same meaning as defined in Section 22675.

(h) “Social media-related threat” means content that promotes, incites, facilitates, or perpetrates any of the following:

(1) Suicide.

(2) Disordered eating.

(3) Drug trafficking.

(4) Substance abuse.

(5) Fraud.

(6) Human trafficking punishable pursuant to Section 236.1 of the Penal Code.

(7) Sexual abuse.

(8) Cyberbullying.

(9) Harassment.

(10) Distribution of harmful matter, as defined by Section 313 of the Penal Code.

(i) “Substantively respond” means to inform a person who makes a report pursuant to Section 22588.3 that the content being reported meets either of the following criteria:

(1) The content does not violate the terms of service of the large social media platform.

(2) The content violates the terms and conditions of the large social media platform.

(j) “Terms of service” means a public-facing policy or set of policies adopted by a social media platform that specifies, at least, the user behavior and activities that are permitted on the social media platform and the user behavior and activities that may result in the social media platform taking action against the user or content.

(k) “Verified reporter” means an individual described in, and verified by, the process required by subdivision (b) of Section 22588.3.

content cyberbullying large social media platform

Section § 22588.3

This law requires large social media platforms to include threat reporting procedures in their terms of service, specifically for principals and mental health professionals. They must verify these individuals as 'verified reporters' and create a process for them to report threats to minors. This includes allowing uploads of screenshots, providing electronic contacts, and tracking reports. Platforms must respond to verified reports within 72 hours or 24 hours if the risk is severe, ensuring a human reviews such severe cases. Annually, platforms must publish data on the number and outcome of these reports. Lastly, verified reporters only need to renew their status every two years.

(a) A social media platform shall disclose all social media-related threat reporting procedures for verified reporters described in subdivision (b) in the social media platform’s terms of service.

(b) A large social media platform shall create a process to verify both of the following individuals as verified reporters:

(1) A principal, or a position of similar responsibility, of any school lawfully operating any programs from kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in the state.

(2) A mental health professional licensed pursuant to California law who provides mental health services to minors in the state.

(c) In addition to any other reporting mechanism required by state law, a large social media platform shall create a process by which a verified reporter can make a report of a social media-related threat or a violation of the large social media platform’s terms of service that in the verified reporter’s opinion poses a risk or a severe risk to the health and safety of a minor that does all of the following:

(1) Enables, but does not require, an individual to upload a screenshot of the content that contains a social media-related threat or violates the terms of service.

(2) Provides all verified reporters with an electronic point of contact specific to matters involving harms to a minor.

(3) Provides confirmation of the receipt of a submitted report and a means to track that report.

(d) A large social media platform shall do both of the following:

(1) Establish an internal process to receive and substantively respond within 72 hours, or within 24 hours if the report is of a severe risk, to a report by a verified reporter of content the verified reporter deems to be a risk to a minor.

(2) Ensure that a report submitted by a verified reporter and deemed by the verified reporter to be of a severe risk receives a review by a natural person.

(e) A large social media platform that receives a report from a verified reporter shall, on a publicly accessible internet website, report annually on all of the following:

(1) The total number of reports from a verified reporter received for the calendar year.

(2) The percentages of each social media-related threat that formed the basis for the total number of reports from verified reporters for the calendar year.

(3) The percentage of reports from verified reporters for which the large social media platform took further action.

(f) A large social media platform shall not require a verified reporter to reverify the verified reporter’s qualifications pursuant to subdivision (b) more often than once every two years.

social media platform threat reporting procedures verified reporters