Wisconsin 2023-2024 Regular Session

Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB373 Compare Versions

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

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3	3	2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
4	4	2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 373
5	5	August 4, 2023 - Introduced by Representatives STEFFEN, ARMSTRONG, GUNDRUM,
6	6	MAXEY, MURPHY, ROZAR, SCHMIDT, STUBBS, TITTL, TUSLER and WICHGERS,
7	7	cosponsored by Senators C OWLES and CABRAL-GUEVARA. Referred to
8	8	Committee on Consumer Protection.
9	9	AN ACT to create 100.75 of the statutes; relating to: use of social media
10	10	platforms by minors, granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty.
11	11	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
12	12	This bill creates requirements related to social media companies' and social
13	13	media platforms' treatment of account holders on the basis of age.
14	14	Under the bill, social media companies must ensure that all accounts created
15	15	on or after January 1, 2019, are designated as a youth accounts that comply with the
16	16	youth account requirements of the bill. A social media company may remove the
17	17	youth account designation from an account if 1) the social media company estimates
18	18	that the account holder is not a minor through employment of a process or program
19	19	that provides a 95 percent accuracy rate of estimating age within 24 months of actual
20	20	age; 2) the social media company verifies that the account holder is not a minor; or
21	21	3) a parent or guardian of a minor account holder requests for the youth account
22	22	designation to be removed from the minor's account.
23	23	Under the bill, a social media company shall do all of the following in regards
24	24	to a youth account: 1) prevent direct messaging between the account holder and
25	25	other account holders or users with whom the youth account holder is not connected;
26	26	2) refrain from showing information about the youth account to any person not
27	27	connected to the youth account holder; 3) prevent advertising from being shown to
28	28	the youth account holder; 4) refrain from collecting or using personal information
29	29	from the youth account; 5) refrain from the use of targeted or suggested groups or
30	30	content on the youth account; and 6) ensure that the youth account cannot be used
31	31	between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
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35	35	ASSEMBLY BILL 373
36	36	The bill also provides to parents of minor account holders certain access,
37	37	including full access to the account and all its posts and messages, the ability to
38	38	change the time limits on the account, and to opt out the minor's account from the
39	39	youth account designation.
40	40	A violation of the requirements of the bill may result in the social media
41	41	platform being required to forfeit $100 per violation per day, an award of damages
42	42	to an injured account holder, and an injunction preventing further violations.
43	43	For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
44	44	an appendix to this bill.
45	45	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
46	46	enact as follows:
47	47	SECTION 1. 100.75 of the statutes is created to read:
48	48	100.75 Social media company requirements. (1) DEFINITIONS. In this
49	49	section:
50	50	(a) “Account” means a social media platform account or profile.
51	51	(b) “Account holder” means a person who has, or opens, an account.
52	52	(c) “Educational entity” means any of the following:
53	53	1. A public school, as defined in s. 115.01 (1).
54	54	2. A charter school, as defined in s. 115.001 (1).
55	55	3. A tribal school, as defined in s. 115.001 (15m).
56	56	4. A private school participating in a program in s. 118.60 or 119.23.
57	57	5. The Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
58	58	6. The Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of
59	59	Hearing.
60	60	7. A school of a parochial or denominational character that offers a course with
61	61	a sectarian objective.
62	62	8. A technical college under the authority of a district board, as defined in s.
63	63	38.01 (6).
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85	85	9. A college campus, as defined in s. 36.05 (6m).
86	86	10. An institution, as defined in s. 36.05 (9).
87	87	11. A tribally controlled college located in this state.
88	88	12. A private, nonprofit postsecondary institution that is a member of the
89	89	Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
90	90	(d) “Interactive computer service” means an information service, an
91	91	information system, or information access software that provides access to the
92	92	Internet or provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer
93	93	server. “Interactive computer service” includes a web service, a web system, a
94	94	website, a web application, and a web portal. “Interactive computer service” does not
95	95	include an Internet service provider.
96	96	(e) “Minor” means a resident under the age of 18. “Minor” does not include an
97	97	emancipated minor, as defined in s. 48.375 (2) (e).
98	98	(f) “Post” means content that an account holder or user makes available on a
99	99	social media platform for other account holders or users to view.
100	100	(g) “Resident” means an individual who resides in this state.
101	101	(h) “Social media company” means an interactive computer service that makes
102	102	available a social media platform that has 5,000,000 or more account holders.
103	103	(i) 1. “Social media platform” means an online forum that a social media
104	104	company makes publicly available and for which the primary purpose of is enabling
105	105	an account holder to open a profile, upload a post, view a post of another account
106	106	holder, or interact with other account holders or users.
107	107	2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., “social media platform” does not include an online
108	108	service, website, or application for which the predominant or exclusive function is
109	109	any of the following:
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136	136	SECTION 1 ASSEMBLY BILL 373
137	137	a. Electronic mail.
138	138	b. The direct messaging of text, photo, or video messages that are sent between
139	139	devices by electronic means, in which the messages shared between the sender and
140	140	the recipient are visible only to the sender and the recipient and are not posted
141	141	publicly.
142	142	c. A streaming service that provides only licensed media in a continuous flow
143	143	from itself to the end user and that does not obtain a license to the media from an
144	144	account holder or user by agreement to its terms of service.
145	145	d. News, sports, entertainment, or other content that is preselected by a social
146	146	media platform that is not user-generated, on which any provided chat, comment,
147	147	or other interactive functionality is incidental to, directly related to, or dependent
148	148	upon the provision of the content.
149	149	e. A community forum, the primary purpose of which is for customer
150	150	self-service support related to products, sellers, services, events, or places, or any
151	151	combination thereof.
152	152	f. Online shopping or e-commerce if an account holder's or user's interaction
153	153	with other account holders or users is generally limited to the ability to upload a post
154	154	or comment on reviews, the ability to display lists or collections of goods for sale, and
155	155	other functions that are focused on online shopping or e-commerce rather than on
156	156	interaction between account holders or users.
157	157	g. Interactive gaming, virtual gaming, or an online service that allows the
158	158	creating and uploading of content for the purpose of interactive gaming, educational
159	159	entertainment, or entertainment associated with interactive gaming or educational
160	160	entertainment, and the communication related to that content.
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189	189	h. A professional creative network for showcasing and discovering artistic
190	190	content if the content is required to be non-pornographic.
191	191	i. Single-purpose community groups for public safety if interaction between
192	192	account holders or users is generally limited to the single purpose and the
193	193	community has guidelines or policies against illegal content.
194	194	j. Providing career development opportunities, including professional
195	195	networking, job skills, learning certificates, and job posting and application services.
196	196	k. Business-to-business software.
197	197	L. A teleconferencing or videoconferencing service that allows reception and
198	198	transmission of audio and video signals for real-time communication.
199	199	m. Cloud storage.
200	200	n. Shared document collaboration.
201	201	o. Cloud computing services.
202	202	p. Providing access to or interfacing with data visualization platforms,
203	203	libraries, or hubs.
204	204	q. Permitting comments on a digital news website if the news content is posted
205	205	only by the provider of the digital news website.
206	206	r. Providing or obtaining technical support for a platform, product, or service.
207	207	s. Academic or scholarly research.
208	208	t. Genealogical research.
209	209	u. Providing content to account holders or users if any ability of account holders
210	210	or users to chat, comment, or interact with other account holders or users is directly
211	211	related to the provider's content.
212	212	v. A classified ad service that permits only the sale of goods and prohibits the
213	213	solicitation of personal services.
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240	240	SECTION 1 ASSEMBLY BILL 373
241	241	w. Use by and under the direction of an educational entity, including a learning
242	242	management system, a student engagement program, and a subject or skill-specific
243	243	program.
244	244	(j) “User” means a person who is not an account holder and who has access to
245	245	view or create a post on a social media platform.
246	246	(k) “Youth account” means an account on a social media platform for use by a
247	247	minor.
248	248	(2) AGE-BASED ACCOUNT REQUIREMENTS. (a) Except as provided in par. (b),
249	249	beginning on August 1, 2024, a social media company shall ensure that all accounts
250	250	created on or after January 1, 2019, are designated as youth accounts that comply
251	251	with the requirements under sub. (3).
252	252	(b) A social media company may remove a youth account designation from a
253	253	user's account and in turn be exempted from the corresponding requirements under
254	254	sub. (3) for the account if any of the following applies:
255	255	1. The social media company estimates that the account holder is not a minor
256	256	through employment of a process or program that provides a 95 percent accuracy rate
257	257	of estimating age within 24 months of actual age.
258	258	2. The social media company verifies that the account holder is not a minor.
259	259	3. A parent or guardian of a minor account holder requests that the social media
260	260	company remove the youth account designation from the minor's account as provided
261	261	under sub. (4) (f).
262	262	(3) YOUTH ACCOUNTS. A social media company shall do all of the following
263	263	regarding a youth account:
264	264	(a) Prevent direct messaging between the account holder and any other account
265	265	holder or user that is not linked to the account through friending or another process
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295	295	through which 2 persons add each other to a list of contacts associated with the
296	296	account holder.
297	297	(b) Refrain from showing the account or information about the account in
298	298	search results provided to any other account holder or user that is not linked to the
299	299	account through friending or another process through which 2 persons add each
300	300	other to a list of contacts associated with the account holder.
301	301	(c) Prevent advertising from being shown to the account holder.
302	302	(d) Refrain from collecting or using personal information from the account or
303	303	the account holder's posts, messages, text, usage activities, or entered information,
304	304	other than information that is necessary to comply with state or federal law.
305	305	(e) Refrain from the use of targeted or suggested groups, accounts, users,
306	306	services, posts, and products on the account.
307	307	(f) Subject to sub. (4) (c), ensure that the account cannot be used or accessed
308	308	between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. The time of day under this paragraph shall
309	309	be calculated on the basis of the Internet protocol address being used by the account
310	310	at the time of attempted access. The social media company shall ensure that an
311	311	account holder does not change or bypass the time restrictions under this paragraph.
312	312	(4) PARENTAL ACCESS. A social media company shall provide to a parent or
313	313	guardian of a minor account holder a password or other means for the parent or
314	314	guardian to access the minor's account until the account holder is no longer a minor.
315	315	The parent or guardian access required under this subsection shall include all of the
316	316	following:
317	317	(a) Access to posts that the minor has made on the social media platform.
318	318	(b) Access to all messages and responses sent by or to the minor on the social
319	319	media platform.
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347	347	(c) The ability to change or eliminate the time restrictions required under sub.
348	348	(3) (c).
349	349	(d) The ability to set a limit of total time per day that the minor may use or
350	350	access the minor's youth account.
351	351	(e) The ability to access the minor's youth account without time restrictions.
352	352	(f) The ability to opt the minor's account out of the youth account designation
353	353	and the corresponding youth account requirements provided under sub. (3).
354	354	(5) PRIVACY. (a) A social media company and its agents may use and retain
355	355	information and data obtained under this section only for the purpose of complying
356	356	with this section and may not use that information or data for any other purpose.
357	357	(b) A social media company may not use or employ a person to process
358	358	estimation or verification requirements for the social media company unless the
359	359	person's principal place of business is located in the United States of America.
360	360	(6) WAIVER PROHIBITED. A social media company may not include a provision
361	361	in an agreement or contract, and a finder of fact or court may not enforce or give effect
362	362	to a provision in an agreement or contract, that waives, limits, or purports to waive
363	363	or limit any of the following:
364	364	(a) A protection or requirement of this section.
365	365	(b) The right of a person to cooperate with the department or to file a complaint
366	366	with the department.
367	367	(7) NOTICE AND ENFORCEMENT. (a) The department shall receive consumer
368	368	complaints alleging violations of this section, and shall investigate alleged violations
369	369	of this section. Subject to par. (b), the department, the department of justice in
370	370	consultation with the department, or a district attorney in consultation with the
371	371	department may bring an action for temporary or permanent injunctive or other
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399	399	SECTION 1
400	400	ASSEMBLY BILL 373
401	401	relief for any violation of this section or an action for the penalties authorized in sub.
402	402	(8).
403	403	(b) 1. At least 30 days before the day on which an action against a social media
404	404	company is initiated under par. (a), the department, the department of justice in
405	405	consultation with the department, or a district attorney in consultation with the
406	406	department seeking to bring an action under par. (a) shall provide the social media
407	407	company with written notice that identifies each alleged violation of this section, and
408	408	an explanation of the basis for each allegation.
409	409	2. An action may not be initiated under par. (a) if, within 30 days after the day
410	410	on which the social media company was provided notice under subd. 1., the social
411	411	media company cures the violation of this section and the social media company
412	412	provides to the department a written statement that the violation has been cured and
413	413	that no further violation will occur.
414	414	3. Notwithstanding subd. 2., the department, the department of justice, or a
415	415	district attorney may initiate an action under par. (a) if the social media company
416	416	does not cure a violation of this section or provide a written statement as provided
417	417	in subd. 2., or, if after curing a noticed violation of this section and providing a written
418	418	statement in accordance with subd. 2., the social media company commits another
419	419	violation of the same provision of this section.
420	420	(8) PENALTIES. A social media company that violates this section is subject to
421	421	all of the following:
422	422	(a) A forfeiture of $100 for each violation. Each account affected by a violation
423	423	constitutes a separate offense. Each day of continued violation constitutes a
424	424	separate offense.
425	425	(b) An order to pay an award of damages to an injured account holder.
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453	453	(c) Disgorgement of the money the social media company received in the course
454	454	of violating this section's requirements and payout of the disgorged money to all
455	455	injured account holders.
456	456	(d) Notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), a court-ordered award to the department
457	457	and the department of justice, as appropriate, for the reasonable and necessary costs
458	458	of investigation and expenses of prosecution, including court costs and attorney fees.
459	459	(e) Any other relief or course of action the court deems reasonable and
460	460	necessary.
461	461	(9) RULE MAKING. The department shall promulgate rules establishing all of the
462	462	following:
463	463	(a) Processes by which a social media company may meet the requirements of
464	464	this section.
465	465	(b) Acceptable forms or methods of age verification that are not limited to a
466	466	valid identification card issued by a government entity.
467	467	(c) Requirements for providing confirmation of the receipt of any information
468	468	provided by a person seeking to verify age under this section.
469	469	(d) Processes to confirm the identity of a person claiming to be a minor account
470	470	holder's parent or guardian.
471	471	(e) Requirements for social media companies regarding the retaining,
472	472	protecting, and securely disposing of any information obtained by a social media
473	473	company or one of its agents as a result of compliance with the requirements of this
474	474	section.
475	475	(f) Processes by which the department ensures that it appropriately retains,
476	476	protects, and securely disposes of any forms of identification or documents it obtains
477	477	in the course of enforcing this section.
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505	505	SECTION 1
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507	507	(g) Such rules as are necessary to effectively enforce this section.
508	508	(10) DEPARTMENT REPORT. (a) The department shall, on July 1, 2025, and
509	509	annually thereafter, submit a report to the governor and the appropriate standing
510	510	committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3) that includes all of the following
511	511	information:
512	512	1. An evaluation of the liability and enforcement provisions of this section,
513	513	including the effectiveness of the department's efforts to enforce this section and any
514	514	recommendations for changes to this section.
515	515	2. A summary of the consumer interactions that are protected and not protected
516	516	by this section, including a list of alleged violations of this section that the
517	517	department has received.
518	518	3. An accounting for the year of all penalties assessed and all forfeitures
519	519	collected.
520	520	(b) The department may update or correct the report submitted under par. (a)
521	521	as new information becomes available.
522	522	SECTION 2.0Effective dates. This act takes effect on August 1, 2024, except as
523	523	follows:
524	524	(1) The treatment of s. 100.75 (9) takes effect on the day after publication.
525	525	(END)
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