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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Leg islature (2023)
HOUSE BILL 2548 By: O'Donnell
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to Social Media; creating the
Oklahoma Social Media Transparency Act of 2023;
defining terms; establishing industry requirements
for social media compan ies; requiring publication of
standards; requiring consistent application;
directing for notice; providing guidelines for
censorship or shadow bans; req uiring that certain
information be provided to users; m andating that
users be provided post-prioritization and shadow ban
algorithm opt-outs; requiring annual notice;
prohibiting post-prioritization and shadow banni ng
algorithms used on political candidates; requiring
social media platforms to allo w deplatformed users to
access certain information; prohibiting censorship,
deplatforming, or shadow banning of journalistic
enterprises; providing requirements of notifications;
Exempting social media platforms f rom requirements if
censored content is obscene; permitting investigation
by the attorney general; creating a private cause of
action; clarifying jurisdiction; clarifying attorney
general's powers; clarifying enforceability;
providing for severa bility; 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 3001 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follo ws:
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This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma Social
Media Transparency Act of 202 3".
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3002 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in this act, the term:
1. "Algorithm" means a mathematical set of rules that specifies
how a group of data behaves and that will assist in ranking search
results and maintaining order or that is us ed in sorting or ranking
content or material based on relevancy or other fact ors instead of
using published time or chronological order of such content or
material;
2. "Censor" includes any action taken by a social media platform
to delete, regulate, restr ict, edit, alter, inhibit the publication
or republication of, suspend a righ t to post, remove, or post an
addendum to any content or material posted by a user. The term also
includes actions to inhibit the ability of a user to be viewable by
or to interact with another user of the social media platform ;
3. "Deplatform" means the action or practice by a social me dia
platform to permanently delete or ban a user or to temporarily
delete or ban a user from the social media platform for more than
fourteen (14) days;
4. "Journalistic enterprise" means an entity doing business in
Oklahoma that:
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a. publishes in excess of one hundred thousand ( 100,000)
words available online with at least fifty thousand
paid subscribers or one hundred thousand monthly
active users,
b. publishes one hundred (100) hours of audio or video
available online with at least one hundred million
viewers annually,
c. operates a cable chann el that provides more than forty
(40) hours of content per week to more t han one
hundred thousand cable television subscribers, or
d. operates under a broadcast license issued by the
Federal Communications Commission;
5. "Post-prioritization" means action by a social media
platform to place, feature, or prio ritize certain content or
material ahead of, below , or in a more or less prominent position
than others in a newsfeed, a feed, a view, or in search results.
The term does not include post-prioritization of content and
material of a third party including other users, based on payments
by that third party, to the social media platform ;
6. "Shadow ban" means action by a social media platform ;
through any means, whether the action is determined by a natural
person or an algorit hm, to limit or eliminate the exp osure of a user
or content or material posted by a user to other users of the social
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media platform. This term includes acts of shadow banning by a
social media platform which are not readily apparent to a user ;
7. "Social media platform" means any information service,
system, Internet search engine, o r access software provider that:
a. provides or enables computer access by multiple users
to a computer server, including an Internet platform
or a social media site ,
b. operates as a sole proprietorship, par tnership,
limited liability company, corporation , association,
or other legal entity ,
c. does business in the state , and
d. satisfies at least on e of the following thresholds:
(1) has annual gross revenues in excess of One
Hundred Million Dollars ($100,000,000.00), as
adjusted in January of each odd-numbered year to
reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index ,
and
(2) has at least one hundred million monthly
individual platform participa nts globally,
8. "User" means a person who resides or is domiciled in this
state and who has an account on a social media platform, regardless
of whether the person posts or has posted content or material to the
social media platform.
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SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be cod ified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3003 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A social media platform that fails to comply with any of the
provisions of this section commits an unfair or deceptive act or
practice:
A. A social media platform must publish the stan dards,
including detailed definitions, it uses or has used for determining
which users to censor, deplatform, and shadow ban.
B. A social media platform must apply censorship,
deplatforming, and shadow banning standards in a consistent manner
among its users on the platform.
C. A social media platform must inform each user about any
changes to its user rules, terms, and agreements be fore implementing
the changes and may not make changes mo re than once every thirty
(30) days.
D. A social media platform ma y not censor or shadow ban a
user's content or material or deplatform a user from the social
media platform:
1. Without notifying the user wh o posted or attempted to post
the content or material; or
2. In a way that violates this act.
E. A social media platform must:
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1. Provide a mechanism that allows a user to request the number
of other individual platform participants who were provided or shown
the user's content or posts; and
2. Provide, upon request, a user with the number of other
individual platform participants who were provided or shown content
or posts.
F. A social media platform must:
1. Categorize algorithms used for post -prioritization and
shadow banning; and
2. Allow a user to opt out of post-prioritization and shadow
banning algorithm categories to allow sequential or chronological
posts and content.
G. A social media platform must provide users with an annual
notice on the use of al gorithms for post-prioritization and shadow
banning and reoffer annually the opt -out opportunity in paragraph 2
of subsection F of this section.
H. A social media platform may not apply or use post -
prioritization or shadow banning algorithms for content and material
posted by or about a user who is known by the social media platform
to be a candidate, as defined as an individual running for public
office beginning on the date of qualification and ending on the date
of the election or the date the candidate ceases to b e a candidate.
Post-prioritization of certain content or material from or about a
candidate for office based on payments to the social media platform
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by such candidate for office or a third party is not a violation of
this subsection. A social media platfo rm must provide each user a
method by which the user may be identified as a qualified candi date
and which provides sufficient information to allow the social media
platform to confirm the user 's qualification by reviewing the
website of the Oklahoma State Election Board or the website of the
local supervisor of elections.
I. A social media platform must allow a user who has been
deplatformed to access or retrieve all of the user 's information,
content, material, and data for at least sixty (60) days after the
user receives the notice required under paragraph 1 of subsection D
of this section.
J. A social media platform may not take any action to censor,
deplatform, or shadow ban a journalistic enterprise based on the
content of its publication or broadcast. Post-prioritization of
certain journalistic enterprise content based on payment s to the
social media platform by such journalistic e nterprise is not a
violation of this subsection. This subsection does not apply if the
content or material is obscene as defin ed in paragraph 1 of
subsection B of Section 1024 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statute s.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3004 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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For purposes of paragraph 1 of subsection D of Section 3 of this
act, a notification must:
1. Be in writing;
2. Be delivered via electronic mail or direct electron ic
notification to the user within 7 days after the censoring action ;
3. Include a thorough rationale explaining the reason that the
social media platform censored the user; and
4. Include a precise and thorough explanation of how the social
media platform became aware of the censored content or material,
including a thorough explanat ion of the algorithms used, if any, to
identify or flag the user's content or material as objectionable.
SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codif ied
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3005 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, a social media
platform is not require d to notify a user if the censored content or
material is obscene as defined in paragraph 1 of subsection B of
Section 1029.1 of Title 21 of the Okl ahoma Statutes.
SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of l aw to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3006 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
If the Oklahoma Attorney General 's Office, by its own inquiry or
as a result of a complain t, suspects that a viola tion of this act is
imminent, occurring, or has occurred, the department may invest igate
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the suspected violation in accordance with this section. Based on
its investigation, the department may bring a civi l or
administrative action under this section.
SECTION 7. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3007 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A user may only bring a private cause of action for violat ions
of subsection B of Section 3 of this act or paragraph 1 of
subsection D of Section 3 of this act. In a private cause of action
brought under subsection B of Section 3 of this act or paragraph 1
of subsection D of Section 3 of this act, the court may award the
following remedies to the user:
1. Up to $100,000 in statutory damages per proven claim ;
2. Actual damages;
3. If aggravating factors are present, punitive damages ;
4. Other forms of equitabl e relief, including injunctive
relief; or
5. If the user was deplatformed in violation of subsection B of
Section 3 of this act, costs and reasonable attorney fees.
SECTION 8. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3008 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in num bering, reads as follows:
For purposes of bringing an action in accordance with this Act,
each failure to comply with the individual provisions of Section 3
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of this act shall be treated as a separate violation, act, or
practice. For purposes of bringing an action in accordance with this
Act, a social media platform that censors, shadow bans, deplatforms,
or applies post-prioritization algorithms to candidates and users in
the state is conclusively presumed to be both engaged in substa ntial
and not isolated activities within the state and operating,
conducting, engaging in, or carrying on a business, and doing
business in this state, and is therefore subject to the jurisdic tion
of the courts of the state.
SECTION 9. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codifi ed
in the Oklahoma Statu tes as Section 3009 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in nu mbering, reads as follows:
In an investigation by the Oklahoma Attorney General into
alleged violations of this se ction, the Oklahoma Attorney General 's
investigative powers includ e, but are not limited to, the ability to
subpoena any algorithm used by a s ocial media platform related to
any alleged violation.
SECTION 10. NEW LAW A n ew section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statut es as Section 3010 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows :
This section may only be enforced to the exte nt not inconsistent
with federal law and 47 U.S.C. Section 230(e)(3), notwithstanding
any other provision of state law.
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SECTION 11. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 3011 of Title 18, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follo ws:
If any provision of this act or the ap plication thereof to any
person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not
affect other provisions or applicati ons of the act which can be
given effect without the invalid provision or application, a nd to
this end the provisions of this act are declared severable.
SECTION 12. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
59-1-5934 MJ 01/10/23