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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
SENATE BILL 977 By: Jett
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to censorship of social medi a;
defining terms; creating cause of action for deletion
or censorship of certain speech; autho rizing certain
damages; authorizing award of certain costs and fees;
prohibiting certain defense; establishing immunity
from liability for certain actions; clari fying
persons with standing for certain acti on; authorizing
Attorney General to bring certain a ction; providing
for codification; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1450.1 of Title 12, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. As used in this section:
1. “Algorithm” means a set of instructions designed to perform
a specific task;
2. “Hate speech” means a phrase concerning content that an
individual arbitrarily finds offensive based on his or her personal
moral code;
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3. “Obscene” means that to the average person, applying
contemporary community standar ds, the dominant theme of the material
taken as a whole appeals to prurient interest;
4. “Political speech” means speech relating to the state, the
government, the body politic, public administration or government
policymaking. Political speech includes speech by the government or
candidates for office and any discussion of social issues.
Political speech does not include speech concerning the
administration or the law of or relating to the civil aspects of
government;
5. “Religious speech” means a set of unproven answers, truth
claims, faith-based assumptions and naked assertions that attemp t to
explain the greater questions like how things were created, what
humans should or should not be doing, and what happens after death;
and
6. “Social media website” means a website or application that
enables users to communicate with each other by pos ting information,
comments, messages or images and:
a. is open to the public,
b. has more than seventy -five million (75,000,000)
subscribers, and
c. has not been specifically affiliated with any one
political party or religion from its inception.
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B. The owner or operator of a social media website who
contracts with users in this state is subject to a private right of
action by a social media website user if the soci al media website
purposely:
1. Deletes or censors a social media website user ’s political
speech or religious speech ; or
2. Uses an algorithm to suppress political speech or religious
speech.
C. 1. Damages available to a social media website user under
this section shall include:
a. a minimum of Seventy Five Thousand Dollars
($75,000.00) per intentional deletion or censoring of
the social media website us er’s speech,
b. actual damages,
c. punitive damages if aggravating factors are present,
and
d. other applicable forms of equitable relief.
2. The prevailing party in a cause of action under t his section
may be awarded costs and reasonable attorney fees.
3. A social media website that restores from deletion or
removes the censoring of a social media web site user’s speech in a
reasonable amount of time may use such fact to mitigate any damages.
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D. A social media website may not use the social media website
user’s alleged hate speech as a basis for justification or defense
to the action against the social media website at trial.
E. 1. A social media website shall be immune from liability
under this section if it deletes or censors a social media website
user’s speech or uses an algorithm to disfavor or censure speech
that:
a. calls for immediate acts of violence,
b. is obscene or pornographic in nature,
c. was the result of operational error ,
d. was the result of a court order,
e. came from an inauthentic source or involved false
impersonation,
f. enticed criminal conduct , or
g. involved minors bullying minors.
2. A social media website shall not be liable under this
section for a social media website user’s censoring of the speech of
another social media website use r.
F. Only users who are eighteen (18) years of age or older shall
have standing to bring an action pursuant to this sectio n.
G. The Attorney General may bring a civil cause of action under
this section on behalf of social media website users who reside in
this state whose political speech or religious speech has been
censored by a social media website.
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SECTION 2. This act shall become effective November 1, 2 021.
58-1-1597 TEK 1/21/2021 8:02:34 PM