PRINTER'S NO. 3546
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2523
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY M. BROWN, MALONEY, KUZMA, SCIALABBA, BERNSTINE AND
KAUFFMAN, JULY 30, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER PROTECTION, TECHNOLOGY AND
UTILITIES, JULY 30, 2024
AN ACT
Providing for social media platforms and for limiting
censorship.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Social Media
Anti-Censorship Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Acceptable use policy." The acceptable use policy required
under section 4(a).
"Journalist." A person regularly engaged in collecting,
photographing, recording, writing, editing, reporting or
publishing news, for gain or livelihood, while working as a
salaried employee of, or independent contractor for, a
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newspaper, news journal, news agency, press association, wire
service, radio or television station, network or news magazine.
"Post." To share, display, provide, upload, transmit,
publish, distribute, communicate or circulate content on a
social media platform.
"Social media platform" or "platform." A public or
semipublic Internet-based service or application that has users
in this Commonwealth and that meets all of the following
criteria:
(1) A substantial function of the platform, service or
application is to connect users in order to allow users to
interact socially with each other within the service or
application, provided that a platform, service or application
that provides email or direct messaging services or cloud
computing shall not be considered to meet this criterion
solely on the basis of that function.
(2) The platform, service or application allows users to
do the following:
(i) Construct a public or semipublic profile for
purposes of signing into and using the platform, service
or application.
(ii) Populate a list of other users with whom an
individual shares a social connection within the system.
(iii) Create or post content viewable by other
users, including, but not limited to, on message boards,
in chat rooms or through a landing page or main feed that
presents the user with content generated by other users.
(3) The platform, service or application has more than
50,000,000 active users in the United States in a calendar
month.
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"User." A person who posts content on a social media
platform.
Section 3. Applicability.
This act shall apply to a user who:
(1) resides in this Commonwealth;
(2) does business in this Commonwealth; or
(3) posts or receives content on a social media platform
in this Commonwealth.
Section 4. Acceptable use policy.
(a) Policy required.--Each social media platform shall
develop and institute an acceptable use policy in accordance
with this act.
(b) Publication of policy.--A social media platform shall
publish the platform's acceptable use policy in a location that
is easily accessible to a user.
(c) Requirements of policy.--A social media platform's
acceptable use policy shall, at a minimum:
(1) reasonably inform a user about the type of content
that the platform deems violative of its acceptable use
policy;
(2) explain the steps the social media platform will
take to ensure that content complies with the acceptable use
policy;
(3) explain the means by which a user can notify the
social media platform of content that potentially violates
the acceptable use policy, illegal content or illegal
activity; and
(4) reasonably inform a user about the user's right to
appeal the platform's removal of content that allegedly
violates the platform's acceptable use policy in accordance
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with section 6.
Section 5. Removal of content.
(a) Notification and appeal.--Except as provided under
subsection (b), if a social media platform removes content based
on an alleged violation of the platform's acceptable use policy,
the social media platform shall:
(1) immediately notify the user who posted the content
of the removal and explain the reason for the removal of the
content from the platform; and
(2) allow the user to appeal the decision to remove the
content from the platform in accordance with section 6.
(b) Exception.--A social media platform is not required to
provide a user with notice or an opportunity to appeal under
section 6 if the social media platform knows or reasonably
believes that the alleged policy-violating content relates to an
ongoing law enforcement investigation.
Section 6. Appeal of content removal.
(a) Appeal system.--A social media platform shall provide an
easily accessible appeal system to enable a user to submit an
appeal regarding the social media platform's decision to remove
alleged policy-violating content posted by the user on the
platform.
(b) Appeal process.--Upon receiving an appeal regarding the
social media platform's removal of content that the user asserts
did not violate the platform's acceptable use policy, the social
media platform shall, no later than 14 days after receiving the
appeal:
(1) review the content;
(2) determine whether the content adheres to the
platform's acceptable use policy;
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(3) take appropriate steps based on the determination
under paragraph (2); and
(4) notify the user regarding the determination made
under paragraph (2) and the steps taken under paragraph (3).
Section 7. Biannual public transparency report.
(a) Report required.--A social media platform shall publish
a report every six months that includes, with respect to the
preceding six-month period, the following information:
(1) The total number of instances in which the social
media platform was alerted to alleged illegal content,
illegal activity or content that violates the platform's
acceptable use policy by:
(i) a user complaint;
(ii) an employee of or person contracting with the
social media platform; or
(iii) an internal automated detection tool.
(2) Subject to subsection (b), the number of instances
in which the social media platform took any of the following
adverse actions after determining that content was illegal,
depicted illegal activity or violated the platform's
acceptable use policy:
(i) Content removal.
(ii) Content demonetization.
(iii) Content deprioritization.
(iv) The addition of an assessment to content.
(v) Account suspension.
(vi) Account removal.
(vii) Any other action taken in accordance with the
platform's acceptable use policy.
(3) The country of residence of the user who created or
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posted the content for each instance described under
paragraph (2).
(4) The number of instances in which a user appealed the
decision to remove the user's content that allegedly violated
the platform's acceptable use policy under section 6.
(5) Of the appeals identified under paragraph (4), the
percentage of appeals that resulted in the restoration of
content.
(6) To the platform's knowledge or belief, the number of
instances in which an adverse action identified under
paragraph (2) was directed at a user who, at the time of
posting the content for which the platform took the adverse
action, was employed or engaged as a:
(i) Federal, state or local politician;
(ii) Federal, state or local political candidate;
(iii) Federal, state or local public official;
(iv) Federal, state or local political organization;
(v) public institution as that term is defined in
section 102 of the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333,
No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code; or
(vi) journalist.
(b) Categorization of adverse actions.--The information
described under subsection (a)(2) shall be categorized by the:
(1) rule the user violated; and
(2) source for the alert of illegal content, illegal
activity or content that violated the platform's acceptable
use policy, including:
(i) a governmental entity;
(ii) a user;
(iii) an internal automated detection tool; or
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(iv) persons employed by or contracting with the
platform.
(c) Governmental entity.--If the source for the alert of
illegal content, illegal activity or alleged policy-violating
content under subsection (b)(2) was a governmental entity, the
social media platform shall identify the name of the entity with
as much specificity as possible.
(d) Publication of report.--A social media platform shall
publish the report required under subsection (a) with an open
license, in a readable and open format and in a location that is
easily accessible to users.
Section 8. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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