On Tuesday, Sept. 13, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new bill into law that will force social media companies to be transparent about hate speeches, harassment, and discrimination on their platforms.
California's New Law
According to Fox, the new law, AB 587, proposed by Assembly member Jesse Gabriel, requires social media companies to post their terms of service on their platforms.
They are also required to accept user behavior and activities and those which go against the social media's policies.
Newsome said in a statement that Californians deserve to know how the platforms are impacting the public discourse, and the action brings much-needed transparency and accountability to the policies that shape the platform's content that is consumed daily.
The new law also requires social media companies to submit reports to California's Attorney General no later than January 2024 that includes their current terms of service, its guidelines to address said content on their platforms, specified content categories, and data relating to content violations.
California's Attorney General would be subject to making all terms of service reports submitted pursuant to the provisions available to the public through the internet site, according to The Washington Post.
Gabriel said in a statement that social media had created real and proximate threats to children, vulnerable communities, and to the US democracy.
Gabriel added that the new law will finally pull back the curtain and require tech companies to provide meaningful transparency into how they are shaping the public discourse, as well as the role of social media in promoting disinformation, hate speech, conspiracy theories, and other dangerous content.
Newsom's social media bill is one of several recent efforts by lawmakers over the past couple of months to hold social media companies accountable through legislation.
In May, the California State Assembly signed a bill that would allow parents the ability to sue social media companies for up to $250,000 in the scenario their child's excessive use of social media platforms resulted in self-harm.
New Legislation Targeting Social Media Companies
In July, Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Brian Fitzpatrick have introduced new legislation targeting TikTok, Snapchat, and other social media platforms that the legislators say present dangers to children.
The legislators explained the Combating Harmful Actions with Transparency on Social Act or CHATS Act would modify the FBI's uniform crime reporting program to include information about which offenses were connected to which social media app.
According to Politico, the bill was backed by the National Fraternal Order of Police support and has three goals.
The first is to protect children from data-sharing dangers of TikTok, the second is to put pressure on TikTok for tracking user data, and third is to hold other social media apps accountable for their ties to criminal activities like drug dealing.
Dr. Laura Berman, who lost her son to fentanyl poisoning in 2021 after purchasing them on Snapchat, called the social media apps as the Wild West and the children are the natives of the social media landscape.
Fitzpatrick said the bill will combat privacy and security issues that social media platforms present to both minors and adult users.
Related Article : California Lawmakers Pass AB 2773 Bill for Kids Under 18 Focusing on Social Media Protection
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Written by Sophie Webster
