AB373: Bill Text

AB373,,26 (h) “Social media company” means an interactive computer service that makes available a social media platform that has 5,000,000 or more account holders.

AB373,,27 (i) 1. “Social media platform” means an online forum that a social media company makes publicly available and for which the primary purpose of is enabling an account holder to open a profile, upload a post, view a post of another account holder, or interact with other account holders or users.

AB373,,28 2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., “social media platform” does not include an online service, website, or application for which the predominant or exclusive function is any of the following:

AB373,,29 a. Electronic mail.

AB373,,30 b. The direct messaging of text, photo, or video messages that are sent between devices by electronic means, in which the messages shared between the sender and the recipient are visible only to the sender and the recipient and are not posted publicly.

AB373,,31 c. A streaming service that provides only licensed media in a continuous flow from itself to the end user and that does not obtain a license to the media from an account holder or user by agreement to its terms of service.

AB373,,32 d. News, sports, entertainment, or other content that is preselected by a social media platform that is not user-generated, on which any provided chat, comment, or other interactive functionality is incidental to, directly related to, or dependent upon the provision of the content.

AB373,,33 e. A community forum, the primary purpose of which is for customer self-service support related to products, sellers, services, events, or places, or any combination thereof.

AB373,,34 f. Online shopping or e-commerce if an account holder’s or user’s interaction with other account holders or users is generally limited to the ability to upload a post or comment on reviews, the ability to display lists or collections of goods for sale, and other functions that are focused on online shopping or e-commerce rather than on interaction between account holders or users.

AB373,,35 g. Interactive gaming, virtual gaming, or an online service that allows the creating and uploading of content for the purpose of interactive gaming, educational entertainment, or entertainment associated with interactive gaming or educational entertainment, and the communication related to that content.

AB373,,36 h. A professional creative network for showcasing and discovering artistic content if the content is required to be non-pornographic.

AB373,,37 i. Single-purpose community groups for public safety if interaction between account holders or users is generally limited to the single purpose and the community has guidelines or policies against illegal content.

AB373,,38 j. Providing career development opportunities, including professional networking, job skills, learning certificates, and job posting and application services.

AB373,,39 k. Business-to-business software.

AB373,,40 L. A teleconferencing or videoconferencing service that allows reception and transmission of audio and video signals for real-time communication.

AB373,,41 m. Cloud storage.

AB373,,42 n. Shared document collaboration.

AB373,,43 o. Cloud computing services.

AB373,,44 p. Providing access to or interfacing with data visualization platforms, libraries, or hubs.

AB373,,45 q. Permitting comments on a digital news website if the news content is posted only by the provider of the digital news website.

AB373,,46 r. Providing or obtaining technical support for a platform, product, or service.

AB373,,47 s. Academic or scholarly research.

AB373,,48 t. Genealogical research.

AB373,,49 u. Providing content to account holders or users if any ability of account holders or users to chat, comment, or interact with other account holders or users is directly related to the provider’s content.

AB373,,50 v. A classified ad service that permits only the sale of goods and prohibits the solicitation of personal services.

AB373,,51 w. Use by and under the direction of an educational entity, including a learning management system, a student engagement program, and a subject or skill-specific program.

AB373,,52 (j) “User” means a person who is not an account holder and who has access to view or create a post on a social media platform.

AB373,,53 (k) “Youth account” means an account on a social media platform for use by a minor.

AB373,,54 (2) Age-based account requirements. (a) Except as provided in par. (b), beginning on August 1, 2024, a social media company shall ensure that all accounts created on or after January 1, 2019, are designated as youth accounts that comply with the requirements under sub. (3).

AB373,,55 (b) A social media company may remove a youth account designation from a user’s account and in turn be exempted from the corresponding requirements under sub. (3) for the account if any of the following applies:

AB373,,56 1. The social media company estimates that the account holder is not a minor through employment of a process or program that provides a 95 percent accuracy rate of estimating age within 24 months of actual age.

AB373,,57 2. The social media company verifies that the account holder is not a minor.

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AB373,,58 3. A parent or guardian of a minor account holder requests that the social media company remove the youth account designation from the minor’s account as provided under sub. (4) (f).

AB373,,59 (3) Youth accounts. A social media company shall do all of the following regarding a youth account:

AB373,,60 (a) Prevent direct messaging between the account holder and any other account holder or user that is not linked to the account through friending or another process through which 2 persons add each other to a list of contacts associated with the account holder.

AB373,,61 (b) Refrain from showing the account or information about the account in search results provided to any other account holder or user that is not linked to the account through friending or another process through which 2 persons add each other to a list of contacts associated with the account holder.

AB373,,62 (c) Prevent advertising from being shown to the account holder.

AB373,,63 (d) Refrain from collecting or using personal information from the account or the account holder’s posts, messages, text, usage activities, or entered information, other than information that is necessary to comply with state or federal law.

AB373,,64 (e) Refrain from the use of targeted or suggested groups, accounts, users, services, posts, and products on the account.

AB373,,65 (f) Subject to sub. (4) (c), ensure that the account cannot be used or accessed between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. The time of day under this paragraph shall be calculated on the basis of the Internet protocol address being used by the account at the time of attempted access. The social media company shall ensure that an account holder does not change or bypass the time restrictions under this paragraph.

AB373,,66 (4) Parental access. A social media company shall provide to a parent or guardian of a minor account holder a password or other means for the parent or guardian to access the minor’s account until the account holder is no longer a minor. The parent or guardian access required under this subsection shall include all of the following:

AB373,,67 (a) Access to posts that the minor has made on the social media platform.

AB373,,68 (b) Access to all messages and responses sent by or to the minor on the social media platform.

AB373,,69 (c) The ability to change or eliminate the time restrictions required under sub. (3) (c).

AB373,,70 (d) The ability to set a limit of total time per day that the minor may use or access the minor’s youth account.

AB373,,71 (e) The ability to access the minor’s youth account without time restrictions.

AB373,,72 (f) The ability to opt the minor’s account out of the youth account designation and the corresponding youth account requirements provided under sub. (3).

AB373,,73 (5) Privacy. (a) A social media company and its agents may use and retain information and data obtained under this section only for the purpose of complying with this section and may not use that information or data for any other purpose.

AB373,,74 (b) A social media company may not use or employ a person to process estimation or verification requirements for the social media company unless the person’s principal place of business is located in the United States of America.

AB373,,75 (6) Waiver prohibited. A social media company may not include a provision in an agreement or contract, and a finder of fact or court may not enforce or give effect to a provision in an agreement or contract, that waives, limits, or purports to waive or limit any of the following:

AB373,,76 (a) A protection or requirement of this section.

AB373,,77 (b) The right of a person to cooperate with the department or to file a complaint with the department.

AB373,,78 (7) Notice and enforcement. (a) The department shall receive consumer complaints alleging violations of this section, and shall investigate alleged violations of this section. Subject to par. (b), the department, the department of justice in consultation with the department, or a district attorney in consultation with the department may bring an action for temporary or permanent injunctive or other relief for any violation of this section or an action for the penalties authorized in sub. (8).

AB373,,79 (b) 1. At least 30 days before the day on which an action against a social media company is initiated under par. (a), the department, the department of justice in consultation with the department, or a district attorney in consultation with the department seeking to bring an action under par. (a) shall provide the social media company with written notice that identifies each alleged violation of this section, and an explanation of the basis for each allegation.

AB373,,80 2. An action may not be initiated under par. (a) if, within 30 days after the day on which the social media company was provided notice under subd. 1., the social media company cures the violation of this section and the social media company provides to the department a written statement that the violation has been cured and that no further violation will occur.

AB373,,81 3. Notwithstanding subd. 2., the department, the department of justice, or a district attorney may initiate an action under par. (a) if the social media company does not cure a violation of this section or provide a written statement as provided in subd. 2., or, if after curing a noticed violation of this section and providing a written statement in accordance with subd. 2., the social media company commits another violation of the same provision of this section.

AB373,,82 (8) Penalties. A social media company that violates this section is subject to all of the following:

AB373,,83 (a) A forfeiture of $100 for each violation. Each account affected by a violation constitutes a separate offense. Each day of continued violation constitutes a separate offense.

AB373,,84 (b) An order to pay an award of damages to an injured account holder.

AB373,,85 (c) Disgorgement of the money the social media company received in the course of violating this section’s requirements and payout of the disgorged money to all injured account holders.

AB373,,86 (d) Notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), a court-ordered award to the department and the department of justice, as appropriate, for the reasonable and necessary costs of investigation and expenses of prosecution, including court costs and attorney fees.

AB373,,87 (e) Any other relief or course of action the court deems reasonable and necessary.

AB373,,88 (9) Rule making. The department shall promulgate rules establishing all of the following:

AB373,,89 (a) Processes by which a social media company may meet the requirements of this section.

AB373,,90 (b) Acceptable forms or methods of age verification that are not limited to a valid identification card issued by a government entity.

AB373,,91 (c) Requirements for providing confirmation of the receipt of any information provided by a person seeking to verify age under this section.

AB373,,92 (d) Processes to confirm the identity of a person claiming to be a minor account holder’s parent or guardian.

AB373,,93 (e) Requirements for social media companies regarding the retaining, protecting, and securely disposing of any information obtained by a social media company or one of its agents as a result of compliance with the requirements of this section.

AB373,,94 (f) Processes by which the department ensures that it appropriately retains, protects, and securely disposes of any forms of identification or documents it obtains in the course of enforcing this section.

AB373,,95 (g) Such rules as are necessary to effectively enforce this section.

AB373,,96 (10) Department report. (a) The department shall, on July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, submit a report to the governor and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature under s. 13.172 (3) that includes all of the following information:

AB373,,97 1. An evaluation of the liability and enforcement provisions of this section, including the effectiveness of the department’s efforts to enforce this section and any recommendations for changes to this section.

AB373,,98 2. A summary of the consumer interactions that are protected and not protected by this section, including a list of alleged violations of this section that the department has received.

AB373,,99 3. An accounting for the year of all penalties assessed and all forfeitures collected.

AB373,,100 (b) The department may update or correct the report submitted under par. (a) as new information becomes available.

AB373,2 Section 2. Effective dates. This act takes effect on August 1, 2024, except as follows:

AB373,,102 (1) The treatment of s. 100.75 (9) takes effect on the day after publication.

AB373,,103 (end)