Mississippi 2024 Regular Session

Mississippi Senate Bill SB2706

Introduced
2/19/24  
Refer
2/19/24  

Caption

Social media; set certain requirements against content depicting tobacco or nicotine for minors.

Impact

The bill mandates that social media platforms implement policies aimed at addressing risks to minors associated with tobacco and nicotine products. These policies must include age verification processes for linking to sites selling these products and mechanisms for reporting harmful content. The act also requires platforms to consider specific factors when evaluating content for removal, ensuring a focus on the potential health risks and misleading claims associated with tobacco use. The law is set to take effect on July 1, 2024, and will have significant implications for how digital platforms manage user-generated content related to these substances.

Summary

Senate Bill 2706 establishes regulations targeted at social media platforms regarding their content policies on tobacco and nicotine products, emphasizing the importance of protecting minors from harmful influences. The bill highlights that the Legislature opposes social media content that showcases the harmful misuse of such products, recognizing a state interest in preventing minors from accessing or being influenced by this material. The objective is to deter minors from tobacco and nicotine usage by limiting their exposure to content that depicts such misuse.

Contention

While the bill seeks to advance public health by curbing minors' exposure to tobacco and nicotine, it may also raise concerns over the censorship of content on social media and the feasibility of enforcing such regulations on large platforms. Critics might argue that these requirements could impose burdensome responsibilities on social media companies and pose challenges regarding the delineation between educational or artistic content versus harmful misuse. Balancing regulatory intentions with free speech considerations will likely be a contentious aspect of the discussion surrounding this bill.

Companion Bills

No companion bills found.

Previously Filed As

MS HB455

Stop Social Media Censorship Act; create.

MS HB139

Mississippi Tobacco Minimum Legal Sale Age of 21 Act; create.

MS SB2015

Tobacco tax; define tobacco products to include electronic smoking devices for purposes of 15% excise tax.

MS SB2346

Material harmful to minors; provide for liability for any entity that distributes on the internet without age verification.

MS SB2278

Social media companies; require to file a report for any restriction of a candidate or elected official. Social media account.

MS HB575

Alternative nicotine; clarify prohibition on school property.

MS HB1091

Minors; hold entities that publish harmful material on the internet civilly liable if age vertification is not performed.

MS SB2886

Material harmful to minors; provide for liability for any entity that distributes on the internet without age verification.

MS HB231

Tobacco education, prevention and cessation program; add fentanyl and drug abuse prevention education.

MS HB725

Social media deplatforming; regulate and prohibit.

Similar Bills

MS HB1395

Mississippi Digital Application Distribution Platform Act; create.

MS HB725

Social media deplatforming; regulate and prohibit.

MS SB2278

Social media companies; require to file a report for any restriction of a candidate or elected official. Social media account.

MS SB2436

Social media; set certain requirements against content depicting tobacco or nicotine for minors.

MS HB1497

Appropriation; MEMA to update its current drone fleet by replacing them with US-made drones.

MS HB1558

Social media platforms; require owners or operators of to regulate advertisement of tobacco and nicotine products.

MS SB2573

Social media companies; require to file a report for any restriction of a candidate or elected official.

MS SB2652

Online betting, gaming and wagering; legalize under certain conditions.