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53	53	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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55	55	1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
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57	57	SENATE BILL 977 By: Jett
58	58
59	59
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63	63	AS INTRODUCED
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65	65	An Act relating to censorship of social medi a;
66	66	defining terms; creating cause of action for deletion
67	67	or censorship of certain speech; autho rizing certain
68	68	damages; authorizing award of certain costs and fees;
69	69	prohibiting certain defense; establishing immunity
70	70	from liability for certain actions; clari fying
71	71	persons with standing for certain acti on; authorizing
72	72	Attorney General to bring certain a ction; providing
73	73	for codification; and providing an effective date .
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79	79	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
80	80	SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
81	81	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1450.1 of Title 12, unless there
82	82	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
83	83	A. As used in this section:
84	84	1. “Algorithm” means a set of instructions designed to perform
85	85	a specific task;
86	86	2. “Hate speech” means a phrase concerning content that an
87	87	individual arbitrarily finds offensive based on his or her personal
88	88	moral code;
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140	140	3. “Obscene” means that to the average person, applying
141	141	contemporary community standar ds, the dominant theme of the material
142	142	taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest;
143	143	4. “Political speech” means speech relating to the state, the
144	144	government, the body politic, public administration or government
145	145	policymaking. Political speech includes speech by the government or
146	146	candidates for office and any discussion of social issues.
147	147	Political speech does not include speech concerning the
148	148	administration or the law of or relating to the civil aspects of
149	149	government;
150	150	5. “Religious speech” means a set of unproven answers, truth
151	151	claims, faith-based assumptions and naked assertions that attemp t to
152	152	explain the greater questions like how things were created, what
153	153	humans should or should not be doing, and what happens after death;
154	154	and
155	155	6. “Social media website” means a website or application that
156	156	enables users to communicate with each other by pos ting information,
157	157	comments, messages or images and:
158	158	a. is open to the public,
159	159	b. has more than seventy -five million (75,000,000)
160	160	subscribers, and
161	161	c. has not been specifically affiliated with any one
162	162	political party or religion from its inception.
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214	214	B. The owner or operator of a social media website who
215	215	contracts with users in this state is subject to a private right of
216	216	action by a social media website user if the soci al media website
217	217	purposely:
218	218	1. Deletes or censors a social media website user ’s political
219	219	speech or religious speech ; or
220	220	2. Uses an algorithm to suppress political speech or religious
221	221	speech.
222	222	C. 1. Damages available to a social media website user under
223	223	this section shall include:
224	224	a. a minimum of Seventy Five Thousand Dollars
225	225	($75,000.00) per intentional deletion or censoring of
226	226	the social media website us er’s speech,
227	227	b. actual damages,
228	228	c. punitive damages if aggravating factors are present,
229	229	and
230	230	d. other applicable forms of equitable relief.
231	231	2. The prevailing party in a cause of action under t his section
232	232	may be awarded costs and reasonable attorney fees.
233	233	3. A social media website that restores from deletion or
234	234	removes the censoring of a social media web site user’s speech in a
235	235	reasonable amount of time may use such fact to mitigate any damages.
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287	287	D. A social media website may not use the social media website
288	288	user’s alleged hate speech as a basis for justification or defense
289	289	to the action against the social media website at trial.
290	290	E. 1. A social media website shall be immune from liability
291	291	under this section if it deletes or censors a social media website
292	292	user’s speech or uses an algorithm to disfavor or censure speech
293	293	that:
294	294	a. calls for immediate acts of violence,
295	295	b. is obscene or pornographic in nature,
296	296	c. was the result of operational error ,
297	297	d. was the result of a court order,
298	298	e. came from an inauthentic source or involved false
299	299	impersonation,
300	300	f. enticed criminal conduct , or
301	301	g. involved minors bullying minors.
302	302	2. A social media website shall not be liable under this
303	303	section for a social media website user’s censoring of the speech of
304	304	another social media website use r.
305	305	F. Only users who are eighteen (18) years of age or older shall
306	306	have standing to bring an action pursuant to this sectio n.
307	307	G. The Attorney General may bring a civil cause of action under
308	308	this section on behalf of social media website users who reside in
309	309	this state whose political speech or religious speech has been
310	310	censored by a social media website.
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362	362	SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2 021.
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364	364	58-1-1597 TEK 1/21/2021 8:02:34 PM

Oklahoma 2022 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB977 Compare Versions