On Tuesday, California lawmakers gave Gov. Gavin Newsom two innovative measures aimed at limiting the negative effects of social media, while criticizing Congress for failing to address the issue.
A first-of-its-kind bill would require social media companies to disclose their procedures for removing troubling content and offer details about when and how they remove it.
The second bill would mandate that providers of child-friendly online services adhere to age-appropriate design code principles aimed at ensuring the safety of children. This includes not creating a profile of a child or using the child’s personal information in a way that could be detrimental to their physical or mental health or well-being.
According to the Pew Research Center, the proportion of parents of children aged 11 or younger whose children have used or interacted with a tablet computer has increased in recent years. According to a recent survey by Common Sense Media, 81 percent of adolescents aged 13 to 17 use social media, with approximately 70 percent using the platforms multiple times per day.
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The first bill’s author, Democratic Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, stated, “The online world has created incredible opportunities, but also real and immediate threats to children, vulnerable communities, and American democracy as we know it.”
“We believe that California has a unique responsibility and opportunity to take the lead on these issues,” Gabriel said at a news conference on Tuesday. “We’re proud of our technological economy, and we know that many of the companies that would be regulated by these bills are California-based. However, given the dysfunction in Washington, D.C., we believe California must assume leadership.”
Policy transparency
The legislation proposed by Gabriel would require businesses to disclose how they regulate their own content within their social media terms of service. It stalled last year due to free speech concerns before passing the Senate 33-3 and the House 48-0. It states that it is “the intent of the Legislature” for the state attorney general or a city attorney to bring civil action against those who violate the law.
Despite the measure’s bipartisan support, Republican Senator Melissa Melendez was concerned that it could be used to punish legal but unpopular information, especially given that Attorney General Rob Bonta is a progressive Democrat.
During a discussion on Monday night, she stated, “I can’t help but question if this isn’t an attempt by the attorney general to harass Californians, particularly those with opposing views, and I don’t believe it is right for the state attorney general to be involved in any attempt to suppress expression.”
However, Democratic Senator Thomas Umberg, who carried the law, stated that the provision was ineffective “does not control content… If there is no policy, there is nothing to report. If they do have a policy, they must report on how it is being implemented.”
Given the pervasive anti-Semitism on social media, the bill requested by the Anti-Defamation League is especially vital to the Jewish Caucus, according to Democratic Senator Scott Wiener.
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The California Chamber of Commerce, the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the Consumer Technology Association, the Internet Coalition, Netchoice, and TechNet are among the opponents.
A coalition of opponents stated that companies are already required to disclose their content moderation policies and that the bill goes too far by requiring them to disclose “sensitive information about how we implement policies, detect activity, train employees, and use technology to detect content requiring moderation” to the attorney general.
In May, a federal appeals court upheld a Texas statute that limits how social media firms can censor their platforms. The rule makes it illegal for social media platforms with 50 million or more monthly users in the United States to “block, ban, delete, deplatform, demonetize, de-boost, limit, deny equal access or exposure, or otherwise discriminate against expression.”
Texas residents can now sue Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube if they believe that their content was banned.
Congressional vote to safeguard children
The second bill, designed expressly to safeguard children from inappropriate online information, passed the Senate with unanimous support from both parties, but seven Republicans abstained from voting. It was approved 60-0 by the Assembly.
The procedure “This will be a significant positive step towards establishing a universal norm for the protection of children online. This is a goal on which I believe we can all agree “Senator Josh Newman, a Democrat, passed the bill through the Senate.
It resembles a comparable measure in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the Chamber of Commerce and several tech industry organisations oppose it. A consortium comprising the Entertainment Software Association has stated that the measure contains a “overinclusive standard” that would encompass far more websites and platforms than required.
A third bill making its way through the California legislature would, beginning in the middle of 2023, require large social media platforms to report statistics on content that broke their policies and was suggested or otherwise boosted by the platform’s algorithms.
This month’s failure of a second, more controversial bill in the Senate Appropriations Committee was precipitated by the prominent tech industry’s opposition. It would have imposed fines on popular social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok for using child-endangering features.
03:12 A researcher claims that TikTok’s in-app browser monitors user activities.
In addition to content concerns, the manner in which user data is acquired has sparked significant public concern and indignation among parents and government leaders. Federal officials are considering the writing of laws to prohibit “harmful commercial spying.”
The Federal Trade Commission announced a public comment initiative on the effects of companies’ data collection and the potential benefits of new privacy regulations on August 11.
Other states are also proposing legislation to mitigate the negative impacts of social media.
A bill gaining bipartisan support in the Minnesota legislature would bar social media corporations from using algorithms to target children under the age of 18, a move that proponents say will lessen the negative impact of some content on children.
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