Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4338 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R15537 BCH-F
2	2	By: Holt H.B. No. 4338
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5	5
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the use of safety management software for children on
10	10	large social media platforms.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as Sammy's Law.
13	13	SECTION 2. Chapter 509, Business & Commerce Code, as added
14	14	by Chapter 795 (H.B. 18), Acts of the 88th Legislature, Regular
15	15	Session, 2023, is amended by adding Subchapter C-1 to read as
16	16	follows:
17	17	SUBCHAPTER C-1. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
18	18	Sec. 509.121. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
19	19	(1) "Child" means an individual who is under 17 years
20	20	of age.
21	21	(2) "Department" means the Department of Information
22	22	Resources.
23	23	(3) "Large social media platform" means a social media
24	24	platform to which Chapter 120 applies.
25	25	(4) "Third-party safety software provider" means an
26	26	entity that provides software designed to manage online
27	27	interactions, content, and account settings for the safety of
28	28	children.
29	29	(5) "User data" means any information needed to have a
30	30	profile on a large social media platform or content on a large
31	31	social media platform, including images, video, audio, or text,
32	32	that is created by or sent to a child on or through the child's
33	33	account with the platform.
34	34	Sec. 509.122. REQUIREMENTS FOR LARGE SOCIAL MEDIA
35	35	PLATFORMS. (a) A large social media platform shall create,
36	36	maintain, and make available to third-party safety software
37	37	providers a set of real-time application programming interfaces
38	38	that allow a child or a parent or legal guardian of a child to
39	39	delegate permission to a third-party safety software provider to
40	40	manage the online interactions, content, and account settings of
41	41	the child on the large social media platform on the same terms as
42	42	the child.
43	43	(b) The application programming interfaces must be designed
44	44	to allow third-party safety software providers to effectively
45	45	manage and monitor a child's online activities and provide
46	46	protections against cyberbullying, human trafficking, illegal drug
47	47	distribution, sexual harassment, and violence.
48	48	(c) A large social media platform shall establish and
49	49	implement reasonable policies, practices, and procedures regarding
50	50	the secure transfer of user data to third-party safety software
51	51	providers.
52	52	(d) In the case of a delegation made by a child or a parent
53	53	or legal guardian of a child under this section, the large social
54	54	media platform shall disclose to the child and the parent or legal
55	55	guardian of the child that the delegation has been made and provide
56	56	a summary of the user data that has been transferred to the
57	57	third-party safety software provider.
58	58	Sec. 509.123. IMPLEMENTATION BY DEPARTMENT. The department
59	59	shall:
60	60	(1) oversee the implementation of this subchapter;
61	61	(2) establish guidelines and standards for the
62	62	application programming interfaces and ensure compliance by large
63	63	social media platforms;
64	64	(3) conduct regular audits and assessments to ensure
65	65	that large social media platforms are in compliance with the
66	66	requirements of this subchapter; and
67	67	(4) provide resources and support to parents and legal
68	68	guardians using third-party safety software services to effectuate
69	69	the protection of children from dangers including cyberbullying,
70	70	human trafficking, illegal drug distribution, sexual harassment,
71	71	and violence on large social media platforms.
72	72	Sec. 509.124. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. (a) A large social
73	73	media platform shall submit an annual report not later than January
74	74	1 to the department detailing the platform's compliance with the
75	75	requirements of this subchapter.
76	76	(b) The department shall submit an annual summary of all
77	77	reports submitted by large social media platforms under this
78	78	section not later than February 1 to the governor, the lieutenant
79	79	governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and each
80	80	standing committee of the legislature with primary jurisdiction
81	81	over large social media platforms highlighting the effectiveness of
82	82	this subchapter and any areas needing improvement.
83	83	Sec. 509.125. AUTHENTICATION. The department shall:
84	84	(1) issue guidance to facilitate the ability of a
85	85	third-party safety software provider to obtain user data or access
86	86	in a manner that ensures that a request for user data or access on
87	87	behalf of a child is a verifiable request; and
88	88	(2) issue guidance for large social media platforms
89	89	and third-party safety software providers regarding the
90	90	maintenance of reasonable safety standards to protect user data.
91	91	Sec. 509.126. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. In any civil action
92	92	other than an action brought by the attorney general under
93	93	Subchapter D, a large social media platform provider may not be held
94	94	liable for damages arising out of the transfer of user data to a
95	95	third-party safety software provider if the large social media
96	96	platform has in good faith complied with the requirements of this
97	97	subchapter and the guidance issued by the department under this
98	98	subchapter.
99	99	Sec. 509.127. USER DATA DISCLOSURE. A third-party safety
100	100	software provider may not disclose any user data obtained under
101	101	this subchapter to another person except:
102	102	(1) under a lawful request from a governmental body,
103	103	including for law enforcement purposes or for judicial or
104	104	administrative proceedings;
105	105	(2) to the extent that the disclosure is required by
106	106	law and the disclosure complies with and is limited to the relevant
107	107	requirements of such law;
108	108	(3) to the child or a parent or legal guardian of the
109	109	child who made a delegation under this subchapter and whose data is
110	110	at issue, with the third-party safety software provider making a
111	111	good faith effort to ensure that the disclosure includes only the
112	112	user data necessary for a reasonable parent or guardian to
113	113	understand that the child is experiencing or is at foreseeable risk
114	114	to experience harm;
115	115	(4) in the case of a reasonably foreseeable serious
116	116	and imminent threat to the health or safety of any individual, if
117	117	the disclosure is made to a person or persons reasonably able to
118	118	prevent or lessen the threat; and
119	119	(5) to a public health authority or other appropriate
120	120	government authority authorized by law to receive reports of child
121	121	abuse or neglect.
122	122	Sec. 509.128. DISCLOSURE REPORTING. A third-party safety
123	123	software provider that makes a disclosure permitted by this
124	124	subchapter shall promptly inform the child with respect to whose
125	125	account the delegation was made and the parent or legal guardian
126	126	that a disclosure has been or will be made, unless:
127	127	(1) the third-party safety software provider, in the
128	128	exercise of professional judgment, believes informing the child or
129	129	parent or legal guardian would place the child at risk of serious
130	130	harm; or
131	131	(2) the third-party safety software provider is
132	132	prohibited by law from informing the child or parent or legal
133	133	guardian.
134	134	Sec. 509.129. CONFLICT WITH OTHER LAW. To the extent of any
135	135	conflict between this subchapter and another provision of this
136	136	chapter, this subchapter controls.
137	137	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.