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27	27	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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29	29	1st Session of the 59th Leg islature (2023)
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31	31	HOUSE BILL 2548 By: O'Donnell
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37	37	AS INTRODUCED
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39	39	An Act relating to Social Media; creating the
40	40	Oklahoma Social Media Transparency Act of 2023;
41	41	defining terms; establishing industry requirements
42	42	for social media compan ies; requiring publication of
43	43	standards; requiring consistent application;
44	44	directing for notice; providing guidelines for
45	45	censorship or shadow bans; req uiring that certain
46	46	information be provided to users; m andating that
47	47	users be provided post-prioritization and shadow ban
48	48	algorithm opt-outs; requiring annual notice;
49	49	prohibiting post-prioritization and shadow banni ng
50	50	algorithms used on political candidates; requiring
51	51	social media platforms to allo w deplatformed users to
52	52	access certain information; prohibiting censorship,
53	53	deplatforming, or shadow banning of journalistic
54	54	enterprises; providing requirements of notifications;
55	55	Exempting social media platforms f rom requirements if
56	56	censored content is obscene; permitting investigation
57	57	by the attorney general; creating a private cause of
58	58	action; clarifying jurisdiction; clarifying attorney
59	59	general's powers; clarifying enforceability;
60	60	providing for severa bility; providing for
61	61	codification; and providing an effective date.
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67	67	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
68	68	SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
69	69	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3001 of Title 18, unless there
70	70	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follo ws:
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96	96	This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma Social
97	97	Media Transparency Act of 202 3".
98	98	SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
99	99	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3002 of Title 18, unless there
100	100	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
101	101	As used in this act, the term:
102	102	1. "Algorithm" means a mathematical set of rules that specifies
103	103	how a group of data behaves and that will assist in ranking search
104	104	results and maintaining order or that is us ed in sorting or ranking
105	105	content or material based on relevancy or other fact ors instead of
106	106	using published time or chronological order of such content or
107	107	material;
108	108	2. "Censor" includes any action taken by a social media platform
109	109	to delete, regulate, restr ict, edit, alter, inhibit the publication
110	110	or republication of, suspend a righ t to post, remove, or post an
111	111	addendum to any content or material posted by a user. The term also
112	112	includes actions to inhibit the ability of a user to be viewable by
113	113	or to interact with another user of the social media platform ;
114	114	3. "Deplatform" means the action or practice by a social me dia
115	115	platform to permanently delete or ban a user or to temporarily
116	116	delete or ban a user from the social media platform for more than
117	117	fourteen (14) days;
118	118	4. "Journalistic enterprise" means an entity doing business in
119	119	Oklahoma that:
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145	145	a. publishes in excess of one hundred thousand ( 100,000)
146	146	words available online with at least fifty thousand
147	147	paid subscribers or one hundred thousand monthly
148	148	active users,
149	149	b. publishes one hundred (100) hours of audio or video
150	150	available online with at least one hundred million
151	151	viewers annually,
152	152	c. operates a cable chann el that provides more than forty
153	153	(40) hours of content per week to more t han one
154	154	hundred thousand cable television subscribers, or
155	155	d. operates under a broadcast license issued by the
156	156	Federal Communications Commission;
157	157	5. "Post-prioritization" means action by a social media
158	158	platform to place, feature, or prio ritize certain content or
159	159	material ahead of, below , or in a more or less prominent position
160	160	than others in a newsfeed, a feed, a view, or in search results.
161	161	The term does not include post-prioritization of content and
162	162	material of a third party including other users, based on payments
163	163	by that third party, to the social media platform ;
164	164	6. "Shadow ban" means action by a social media platform ;
165	165	through any means, whether the action is determined by a natural
166	166	person or an algorit hm, to limit or eliminate the exp osure of a user
167	167	or content or material posted by a user to other users of the social
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193	193	media platform. This term includes acts of shadow banning by a
194	194	social media platform which are not readily apparent to a user ;
195	195	7. "Social media platform" means any information service,
196	196	system, Internet search engine, o r access software provider that:
197	197	a. provides or enables computer access by multiple users
198	198	to a computer server, including an Internet platform
199	199	or a social media site ,
200	200	b. operates as a sole proprietorship, par tnership,
201	201	limited liability company, corporation , association,
202	202	or other legal entity ,
203	203	c. does business in the state , and
204	204	d. satisfies at least on e of the following thresholds:
205	205	(1) has annual gross revenues in excess of One
206	206	Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000.00), as
207	207	adjusted in January of each odd-numbered year to
208	208	reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index ,
209	209	and
210	210	(2) has at least one hundred million monthly
211	211	individual platform participa nts globally,
212	212	8. "User" means a person who resides or is domiciled in this
213	213	state and who has an account on a social media platform, regardless
214	214	of whether the person posts or has posted content or material to the
215	215	social media platform.
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241	241	SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be cod ified
242	242	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3003 of Title 18, unless there
243	243	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
244	244	A social media platform that fails to comply with any of the
245	245	provisions of this section commits an unfair or deceptive act or
246	246	practice:
247	247	A. A social media platform must publish the stan dards,
248	248	including detailed definitions, it uses or has used for determining
249	249	which users to censor, deplatform, and shadow ban.
250	250	B. A social media platform must apply censorship,
251	251	deplatforming, and shadow banning standards in a consistent manner
252	252	among its users on the platform.
253	253	C. A social media platform must inform each user about any
254	254	changes to its user rules, terms, and agreements be fore implementing
255	255	the changes and may not make changes mo re than once every thirty
256	256	(30) days.
257	257	D. A social media platform ma y not censor or shadow ban a
258	258	user's content or material or deplatform a user from the social
259	259	media platform:
260	260	1. Without notifying the user wh o posted or attempted to post
261	261	the content or material; or
262	262	2. In a way that violates this act.
263	263	E. A social media platform must:
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289	289	1. Provide a mechanism that allows a user to request the number
290	290	of other individual platform participants who were provided or shown
291	291	the user's content or posts; and
292	292	2. Provide, upon request, a user with the number of other
293	293	individual platform participants who were provided or shown content
294	294	or posts.
295	295	F. A social media platform must:
296	296	1. Categorize algorithms used for post -prioritization and
297	297	shadow banning; and
298	298	2. Allow a user to opt out of post-prioritization and shadow
299	299	banning algorithm categories to allow sequential or chronological
300	300	posts and content.
301	301	G. A social media platform must provide users with an annual
302	302	notice on the use of al gorithms for post-prioritization and shadow
303	303	banning and reoffer annually the opt -out opportunity in paragraph 2
304	304	of subsection F of this section.
305	305	H. A social media platform may not apply or use post -
306	306	prioritization or shadow banning algorithms for content and material
307	307	posted by or about a user who is known by the social media platform
308	308	to be a candidate, as defined as an individual running for public
309	309	office beginning on the date of qualification and ending on the date
310	310	of the election or the date the candidate ceases to b e a candidate.
311	311	Post-prioritization of certain content or material from or about a
312	312	candidate for office based on payments to the social media platform
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338	338	by such candidate for office or a third party is not a violation of
339	339	this subsection. A social media platfo rm must provide each user a
340	340	method by which the user may be identified as a qualified candi date
341	341	and which provides sufficient information to allow the social media
342	342	platform to confirm the user 's qualification by reviewing the
343	343	website of the Oklahoma State Election Board or the website of the
344	344	local supervisor of elections.
345	345	I. A social media platform must allow a user who has been
346	346	deplatformed to access or retrieve all of the user 's information,
347	347	content, material, and data for at least sixty (60) days after the
348	348	user receives the notice required under paragraph 1 of subsection D
349	349	of this section.
350	350	J. A social media platform may not take any action to censor,
351	351	deplatform, or shadow ban a journalistic enterprise based on the
352	352	content of its publication or broadcast. Post-prioritization of
353	353	certain journalistic enterprise content based on payment s to the
354	354	social media platform by such journalistic e nterprise is not a
355	355	violation of this subsection. This subsection does not apply if the
356	356	content or material is obscene as defin ed in paragraph 1 of
357	357	subsection B of Section 1024 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statute s.
358	358	SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
359	359	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3004 of Title 18, unless there
360	360	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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386	386	For purposes of paragraph 1 of subsection D of Section 3 of this
387	387	act, a notification must:
388	388	1. Be in writing;
389	389	2. Be delivered via electronic mail or direct electron ic
390	390	notification to the user within 7 days after the censoring action ;
391	391	3. Include a thorough rationale explaining the reason that the
392	392	social media platform censored the user; and
393	393	4. Include a precise and thorough explanation of how the social
394	394	media platform became aware of the censored content or material,
395	395	including a thorough explanat ion of the algorithms used, if any, to
396	396	identify or flag the user's content or material as objectionable.
397	397	SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codif ied
398	398	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3005 of Title 18, unless there
399	399	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
400	400	Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, a social media
401	401	platform is not require d to notify a user if the censored content or
402	402	material is obscene as defined in paragraph 1 of subsection B of
403	403	Section 1029.1 of Title 21 of the Okl ahoma Statutes.
404	404	SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of l aw to be codified
405	405	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3006 of Title 18, unless there
406	406	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
407	407	If the Oklahoma Attorney General 's Office, by its own inquiry or
408	408	as a result of a complain t, suspects that a viola tion of this act is
409	409	imminent, occurring, or has occurred, the department may invest igate
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435	435	the suspected violation in accordance with this section. Based on
436	436	its investigation, the department may bring a civi l or
437	437	administrative action under this section.
438	438	SECTION 7. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
439	439	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3007 of Title 18, unless there
440	440	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
441	441	A user may only bring a private cause of action for violat ions
442	442	of subsection B of Section 3 of this act or paragraph 1 of
443	443	subsection D of Section 3 of this act. In a private cause of action
444	444	brought under subsection B of Section 3 of this act or paragraph 1
445	445	of subsection D of Section 3 of this act, the court may award the
446	446	following remedies to the user:
447	447	1. Up to $100,000 in statutory damages per proven claim ;
448	448	2. Actual damages;
449	449	3. If aggravating factors are present, punitive damages ;
450	450	4. Other forms of equitabl e relief, including injunctive
451	451	relief; or
452	452	5. If the user was deplatformed in violation of subsection B of
453	453	Section 3 of this act, costs and reasonable attorney fees.
454	454	SECTION 8. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
455	455	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3008 of Title 18, unless there
456	456	is created a duplication in num bering, reads as follows:
457	457	For purposes of bringing an action in accordance with this Act,
458	458	each failure to comply with the individual provisions of Section 3
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484	484	of this act shall be treated as a separate violation, act, or
485	485	practice. For purposes of bringing an action in accordance with this
486	486	Act, a social media platform that censors, shadow bans, deplatforms,
487	487	or applies post-prioritization algorithms to candidates and users in
488	488	the state is conclusively presumed to be both engaged in substa ntial
489	489	and not isolated activities within the state and operating,
490	490	conducting, engaging in, or carrying on a business, and doing
491	491	business in this state, and is therefore subject to the jurisdic tion
492	492	of the courts of the state.
493	493	SECTION 9. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codifi ed
494	494	in the Oklahoma Statu tes as Section 3009 of Title 18, unless there
495	495	is created a duplication in nu mbering, reads as follows:
496	496	In an investigation by the Oklahoma Attorney General into
497	497	alleged violations of this se ction, the Oklahoma Attorney General 's
498	498	investigative powers includ e, but are not limited to, the ability to
499	499	subpoena any algorithm used by a s ocial media platform related to
500	500	any alleged violation.
501	501	SECTION 10. NEW LAW A n ew section of law to be codified
502	502	in the Oklahoma Statut es as Section 3010 of Title 18, unless there
503	503	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows :
504	504	This section may only be enforced to the exte nt not inconsistent
505	505	with federal law and 47 U.S.C. Section 230(e)(3), notwithstanding
506	506	any other provision of state law.
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532	532	SECTION 11. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
533	533	in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3011 of Title 18, unless there
534	534	is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follo ws:
535	535	If any provision of this act or the ap plication thereof to any
536	536	person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not
537	537	affect other provisions or applicati ons of the act which can be
538	538	given effect without the invalid provision or application, a nd to
539	539	this end the provisions of this act are declared severable.
540	540	SECTION 12. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
541	541
542	542	59-1-5934 MJ 01/10/23

Oklahoma 2023 Regular Session

Oklahoma House Bill HB2548 Compare Versions