Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas Senate Bill SB612 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
2		-	Act 901 of the Regular Session
3		-	LJH246 04-14-2025 09:19:36 LJH246
4		-
5		-	State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H4/14/25 1
	2	+	LJH246 04/02/2025 3:46:07 PM LJH246
	3	+	State of Arkansas 1
6	4		95th General Assembly A Bill 2
7	5		Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 612 3
8	6		4
9	7		By: Senator Dees 5
10	8		By: Representative Eubanks 6
11	9		7
12	10		For An Act To Be Entitled 8
13	11		AN ACT TO CREATE A PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION FOR THE 9
14	12		USE OF A DESIGN, ALGORITHM, OR FEATURE BY A SOCIAL 10
15	13		MEDIA PLATFORM THAT CAUSES HARM; TO IMPOSE A CIVIL 11
16	14		PENALTY ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM THAT KNOWINGLY AND 12
17	15		WILLFULLY CONTRIBUTES TO THE SUICIDE OR ATTEMPTED 13
18	16		SUICIDE OF A MINOR; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 14
19	17		15
20	18		16
21	19		Subtitle 17
22	20		TO CREATE A PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION 18
23	21		AGAINST A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM THAT 19
24	22		CAUSES HARM; AND TO IMPOSE A CIVIL 20
25	23		PENALTY ON A SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM THAT 21
26	24		KNOWINGLY AND WILLFULLY CONTRIBUTES TO A 22
27	25		MINOR'S SUICIDE OR SUICIDE ATTEMPT. 23
28	26		24
29	27		BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 25
30	28		26
31	29		SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 4, Chapter 88, is amended to add an 27
32	30		additional subchapter to read as follows: 28
33	31		SUBCHAPTER 15 — REGULATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS 29
34	32		30
35	33		4-88-1501. Definitions. 31
36		-	(a) As used in this ~~subchapter~~: 32
	34	+	(a) As used in this section: 32
37	35		(1)(A) "Immediate connection" means the: 33
38	36		(i) Final link in the chain of the content’s supply; 34
39	37		(ii) Application on which the content is viewed; or 35
40		-	(iii) Service or website on which the content is 36 ~~As Engrossed: H4/14/25~~ SB612
	38	+	(iii) Service or website on which the content is 36 SB612
41	39
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43		-
44		-
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45	41		viewed. 1
46	42		(B) "Immediate connection" does not include the: 2
47	43		(i) Content creator, unless the content creator 3
48	44		hosts his, her, or its own social media platform for sharing that content and 4
49	45		the social media platform allows for interaction with the content creator or 5
50	46		other viewers of the content; 6
51	47		(ii) Physical device that displays the content; 7
52	48		(iii) Network provider that electronically transmits 8
53	49		the content; or 9
54	50		(iv) Enterprise that stores or hosts the content, 10
55	51		unless that enterprise is owned or operated by the social media platform; 11
56	52		(2) "Minor" means an individual under sixteen (16) years of age; 12
57	53		(3) "Promoting" means placing content on the feed, screen, 13
58	54		account, or other digital medium of the minor that causes the minor to view 14
59	55		the content without explicitly searching for that specific content and 15
60	56		includes algorithmic promotion of the content based on a previous search or 16
61	57		engagement; 17
62	58		(4) "Significant bodily or cognitive harm" means the impairment 18
63	59		of physical condition or the infliction of substantial pain or substantial 19
64	60		bruising, swelling, or visible marks associated with a trauma injury that 20
65	61		impedes typical function of the body or brain and results from a person's 21
66	62		attempt to end his or her own life or gravely injure himself or herself; and 22
67	63		(5) “Social media platform” means a business entity or 23
68	64		organization that operates an online platform, application, or service that: 24
69	65		(A) Is designed to facilitate user -to-user, user-to-group, 25
70	66		or user-to-public interaction, expression, or communication; 26
71	67		(B) Assigns, utilizes, or relies on a unique identifier, 27
72	68		username, profile name, or image that is associated with a specific user 28
73	69		account; 29
74	70		(C) Provides mechanisms for a user to create an online 30
75		-	profile comprised of ~~personally identifiable information~~ or professional 31
76		-	~~information, including without~~ limitation a user's name, username, address, 32
77		-	~~date of birth, educational~~ pedigree, professional details, interests, 33
78		-	~~activities~~, ~~or connections;~~ 34
79		-	~~(D) Employs features that allow~~ a ~~user to connect,~~ ~~follow,~~ 35
80		-	or ~~establish a relationship with other users and creates a network of~~ 36 ~~As Engrossed: H4/14/25~~ SB612
	71	+	profile comprised of personal or professional information, including without 31
	72	+	limitation a user's name, username, address, date of birth, educational 32
	73	+	pedigree, professional details, interests, activities, or connections; 33
	74	+	(D) Employs features that allow a user to connect, follow, 34
	75	+	or establish a relationship with other users and creates a network of 35
	76	+	interactions either in real time or asynchronously, including without 36 SB612
81	77
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	79	+	limitation virtual likes and dislikes; and 1
	80	+	(E) Generates revenue primarily through user engagement, 2
	81	+	including without limitation through advertising, user data monetization, or 3
	82	+	premium content. 4
	83	+	5
	84	+	4-88-1502. Prohibited activity by social media platform. 6
	85	+	(a) A social media platform shall not use a design, algorithm, or 7
	86	+	feature that the social media platform knows, or should have known through 8
	87	+	the exercise of reasonable care, causes a user to: 9
	88	+	(1) Purchase a controlled substance; 10
	89	+	(2) Develop an eating disorder; 11
	90	+	(3) Commit or attempt to commit suicide; or 12
	91	+	(4) Develop or sustain an addiction to the social media 13
	92	+	platform. 14
	93	+	(b) Excluding subdivision (a)(3) of this section, a social media 15
	94	+	platform does not violate this section if it demonstrates that it corrected 16
	95	+	any design, algorithm, or feature that the social media platform discovers 17
	96	+	presents more than a de minimis risk of the items listed in subsection (a) of 18
	97	+	this section within thirty (30) days of that discovery. 19
	98	+	20
	99	+	4-88-1503. Liability of social media platform. 21
	100	+	(a) A social media platform that knowingly and willfully violates this 22
	101	+	section is liable under this subsection (a) for: 23
	102	+	(1) A civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) 24
	103	+	per violation; and 25
	104	+	(2) An award of litigation costs and reasonable attorney’s fees 26
	105	+	in an action brought under this subsection (a). 27
	106	+	(b)(1) A parent or guardian whose minor child or legal dependent 28
	107	+	commits suicide or attempts to commit suicide that results in significant 29
	108	+	bodily or cognitive harm following exposure to online content promoting, or 30
	109	+	otherwise advancing, self -harm or suicide may bring a civil action against 31
	110	+	the social media platform that hosted, promoted, shared, or otherwise 32
	111	+	facilitated the immediate connection between the victim and the content. 33
	112	+	(2) A court may award the following under this subsection (b): 34
	113	+	(A) Affirmative relief from the effects of the content; 35
	114	+	(B) Damages; 36 SB612
83	115
84		-
85		-	interactions either in real time or asynchronously, including without 1
86		-	limitation virtual likes and dislikes; 2
87		-	(E) Generates revenue primarily through user engagement, 3
88		-	including without limitation through advertising, user data monetization, or 4
89		-	premium content; and 5
90		-	(F) Is accessed by Arkansas users. 6
91		-	4-88-1502. Prohibited activity by social media platform. 7
92		-	(a) A social media platform shall not use a design, algorithm, or 8
93		-	feature that the social media platform knows, or should have known through 9
94		-	the exercise of reasonable care, causes a user to: 10
95		-	(1) Purchase a controlled substance; 11
96		-	(2) Develop an eating disorder; 12
97		-	(3) Commit or attempt to commit suicide; or 13
98		-	(4) Develop or sustain an addiction to the social media 14
99		-	platform. 15
100		-	(b) Excluding subdivision (a)(3) of this section, a social media 16
101		-	platform does not violate this section if it demonstrates that it corrected 17
102		-	any design, algorithm, or feature that the social media platform discovers 18
103		-	presents more than a de minimis risk of the items listed in subsection (a) of 19
104		-	this section within thirty (30) days of that discovery. 20
105		-	21
106		-	4-88-1503. Liability of social media platform. 22
107		-	(a) A social media platform that knowingly and willfully violates this 23
108		-	section is liable under this subsection (a) for: 24
109		-	(1) A civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) 25
110		-	per violation; and 26
111		-	(2) An award of litigation costs and reasonable attorney’s fees 27
112		-	in an action brought under this subsection (a). 28
113		-	(b)(1) A parent or guardian whose minor child or legal dependent 29
114		-	commits suicide or attempts to commit suicide that results in significant 30
115		-	bodily or cognitive harm following exposure to online content promoting, or 31
116		-	otherwise advancing, self -harm or suicide may bring a civil action against 32
117		-	the social media platform that hosted, promoted, shared, or otherwise 33
118		-	facilitated the immediate connection between the victim and the content. 34
119		-	(2) A court may award the following under this subsection (b): 35
120		-	(A) Affirmative relief from the effects of the content; 36 As Engrossed: H4/14/25 SB612
121		-
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123		-
124		-
125		-	(B) Damages; 1
126		-	(C) Costs of medical treatment; 2
127		-	(D) Funeral expenses and related costs; 3
128		-	(E) Punitive damages; 4
129		-	(F) Litigation costs; and 5
130		-	(G) Reasonable attorney's fees. 6
131		-	(3) Reasonable attorney’s fees under subdivision (b)(2)(G) shall 7
132		-	be no less than the lesser of the: 8
133		-	(A) Total cost of the defendant’s legal fees for the 9
134		-	lawsuit; or 10
135		-	(B) Reasonable legal fees for the defense, had the 11
136		-	defendant prevailed. 12
137		-	(c) An action to enforce a cause of action under this section shall be 13
138		-	commenced within four (4) years after the cause of action accrued. 14
139		-	(d) This section does not impose liability on a social media platform 15
140		-	for: 16
141		-	(1) Displaying content that is created and hosted entirely by a 17
142		-	third party, including without limitation an advertisement managed by a third 18
143		-	party and shared on the social media platform; or 19
144		-	(2) Conduct that is protected by the: 20
145		-	(A) First Amendment of the United States Constitution; or 21
146		-	(B) Arkansas Constitution. 22
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	117	+	(C) Costs of medical treatment; 1
	118	+	(D) Funeral expenses and related costs; 2
	119	+	(E) Punitive damages; 3
	120	+	(F) Litigation costs; and 4
	121	+	(G) Reasonable attorney's fees. 5
	122	+	(3) Reasonable attorney’s fees under subdivision (b)(2)(G) shall 6
	123	+	be no less than the lesser of the: 7
	124	+	(A) Total cost of the defendant’s legal fees for the 8
	125	+	lawsuit; or 9
	126	+	(B) Reasonable legal fees for the defense, had the 10
	127	+	defendant prevailed. 11
	128	+	(c) An action to enforce a cause of action under this section shall be 12
	129	+	commenced within four (4) years after the cause of action accrued. 13
	130	+	(d) This section does not impose liability on a social media platform 14
	131	+	for: 15
	132	+	(1) Displaying content that is created and hosted entirely by a 16
	133	+	third party, including without limitation an advertisement managed by a third 17
	134	+	party and shared on the social media platform; or 18
	135	+	(2) Conduct that is protected by the: 19
	136	+	(A) First Amendment of the United States Constitution; or 20
	137	+	(B) Arkansas Constitution. 21
	138	+	22
147	139		23
148		-	~~/s/Dees~~ 24
	140	+	24
149	141		25
150	142		26
151		-	~~APPROVED: 4/21/25~~ 27
	143	+	27
152	144		28
153	145		29
154	146		30
155	147		31
156	148		32
157	149		33
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160	152		36