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2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 893
January 4, 2024 - Introduced by Representatives SORTWELL, BEHNKE, GOEBEN,
MURPHY, SCHMIDT and SCHRAA. Referred to Committee on Consumer
Protection.
***AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
AN ACT to create 100.75 of the statutes; relating to: prohibiting social media
website censorship of journalistic enterprises.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill prohibits a social media website from censoring, deplatforming, or
shadow banning a journalistic enterprise on the basis of the content of its publication
or broadcast. The bill applies to social media websites or applications that enable
users to communicate with each other and that have more than 150 million users.
The bill defines a “journalistic enterprise” as an entity that publishes more than
10,000 words online with at least 5,000 paid subscribers or 10,000 monthly active
users, publishes more than 100 hours of audio or video online with at least 100
million viewers annually, operates a cable television channel that provides more
than 40 hours of content per week to more than 100,000 cable television subscribers,
or operates under a broadcast license issued by the Federal Communications
Commission.
Under the bill, a social media website must also provide a mechanism for a
journalistic enterprise to request the number of other individual users who were
provided or shown the journalistic enterprise's content or posts, and to provide that
number to the journalistic enterprise upon request.
The bill also allows a journalistic enterprise to bring a private cause of action
against a social media website if the website violates the bill's requirements. The bill
provides that, in a private cause of action, a court may award statutory damages of
up to $100,000 for each proven violation, actual damages, punitive damages if
aggravating factors exist, other forms of equitable relief, and costs and attorney fees.
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For further information see the state fiscal estimate, which will be printed as
an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 100.75 of the statutes is created to read:
100.75 Social media website censorship of journalistic enterprises. (1)
DEFINITIONS. In this section:
(a) “Algorithm" means a mathematical set of rules that specifies how a group
of data behaves that will assist in ranking search results and maintaining order or
that is used in sorting or ranking content or material on the basis of relevancy or
other factors instead of using published time or chronological order of such content
or material.
(b) “Censor" includes any action taken by a social media website to delete,
regulate, restrict, edit, alter, inhibit the publication or republication of, suspend a
right to post, remove, or post an addendum to any content or material posted by a
journalistic enterprise. “Censor” also includes actions to inhibit the ability of a
journalistic enterprise to be viewable by or to interact with another user of the social
media website.
(c) “Deplatform" means to delete or ban a journalistic enterprise from a social
media website for more than 60 days.
(d) “Journalistic enterprise" means an entity that does any of the following:
1. Publishes more than 10,000 words that are available online with at least
5,000 paid subscribers or 10,000 monthly active users.
2. Publishes more than 100 hours of audio or video that are available online
with at least 100 million viewers annually.
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3. Operates a cable television channel that provides more than 40 hours of
content per week to more than 100,000 cable television subscribers.
4. Operates under a broadcast license issued by the federal communications
commission.
(e) “Post prioritization" means an action by a social media website to place,
feature, or prioritize certain content or material ahead of, below, or in a more or less
prominent position than other content in a newsfeed, feed, view, or search results.
“Post prioritization” does not include actions toward such content or material that
are based on payments by a 3rd party, including other users, to the social media
website. “Post prioritization” also does not include any action toward a journalistic
enterprise's posted content or material that is taken at the request of that
journalistic enterprise.
(f) “Shadow ban" means to limit or eliminate the exposure of a journalistic
enterprise, or content or material posted by a journalistic enterprise, to other users
of the social media website through any means, regardless of whether the action is
determined by an individual or an algorithm, and regardless of whether the action
is readily apparent to a user.
(g) “Social media website” means a website or application that enables users
to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, or
images and to which all of the following apply:
1. The website or application is available to the public.
2. The website or application has more than 150 million users.
(h) “User" means a person who subscribes to or has an account on a social media
website, regardless of whether the person posts or has posted content or material to
the social media website.
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(2) REQUIREMENTS. (a) A social media website may not take any action to
censor, deplatform, or shadow ban a journalistic enterprise on the basis of the content
of the journalistic enterprise's publication or broadcast. Post prioritization of certain
journalistic enterprise content on the basis of payments to the social media website
by such journalistic enterprise is not a violation of this paragraph.
(b) A social media website shall provide a mechanism for a journalistic
enterprise to request the number of other individual participants who were provided
or shown the journalistic enterprise's content or posts, and provide that number to
the journalistic enterprise upon request.
(3) CAUSE OF ACTION. (a) A journalistic enterprise may bring a private cause
of action for a social media website's violation of sub. (2) against the journalistic
enterprise.
(b) In a private cause of action brought under this subsection, a court may
award any of the following damages to a journalistic enterprise:
1. Statutory damages of not more than $100,000 for each proven violation.
2. Actual damages.
3. If aggravating factors are present, punitive damages.
4. Other forms of equitable relief.
5. Costs and, notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), reasonable attorney fees.
(c) Each violation of sub. (2) shall be treated as a separate violation, act, or
practice.
(END)
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