PRINTER'S NO. 757
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
604
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY MASTRIANO, HUTCHINSON, PITTMAN, SCAVELLO AND
STEFANO, MAY 13, 2021
REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE,
MAY 13, 2021
AN ACT
Providing for stopping social media censorship, for cause of
action and for penalties.
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 Stop Social
Media Censorship Act.
Section 2. Findings.
The General Assembly finds and declares that this act is
intended to comply with the state law exemption under 47 U.S.C.
§ 230(e)(3) (relating to protection for private blocking and
screening of offensive material) to prohibit social media
websites from banning certain users by creating a civil right of
action to deter the following practices:
(1) Deceptive trade practices.
(2) False advertising.
(3) Breach of contract.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
(4) Bad faith dealing.
(5) Unfair dealing.
(6) Fraudulent inducement.
(7) Stifling political and religious speech in the
modern-day digital public square cultivated by social media
websites that have achieved critical mass through fraud.
Section 3. 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:
"Algorithm." A set of instructions designed to perform a
specific task.
"Deplatforming." The action or practice of preventing a user
who holds views regarded as unacceptable or offensive from
contributing to a forum or debate by blocking the user on a
social media website.
"Hate speech." A phrase that an individual finds offensive
based on the individual's personal moral code.
"Obscene." As defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 5903(b) (relating to
obscene and other sexual materials and performances).
"Political speech." Speech relating to government or public
administration as it relates to governmental policy making. The
term includes speech by a government official or candidate for
office and any discussion of social issues.
"Religious speech." A set of unproven answers, truth claims,
faith-based assumptions and naked assertions that attempt to
explain greater questions such as how the world was created,
what constitutes right and wrong actions by humans and what
happens after death.
"Shadowban" or "shadowbanning." The act of blocking or
20210SB0604PN0757 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
partially blocking a user or the user's content from an online
community so that the content will not be readily apparent to
the user that the user has been banned.
"Social media website." An Internet website or application
that enables users to communicate with each other by posting
information, comments, messages or images and that meets all of
the following requirements:
(1) Is open to the public.
(2) Has more than 75 million subscribers.
(3) Has not been specifically affiliated with any one
religion or political party.
(4) Provides a means for the website's users to report
obscene materials and has in place procedures for evaluating
those reports and removing obscene material.
Section 4. Civil action to stop social media censorship,
deceptive trade practice and exceptions.
(a) Private right of action.--The owner or operator of a
social media website who contracts with a social media website
user in this Commonwealth is subject to a private right of
action by the user if the social media website purposely:
(1) deletes or censors the user's religious speech or
political speech; and
(2) uses an algorithm to disfavor, shadowban or censure
the user's religious speech or political speech.
(b) Damages.--A social media website user may be awarded the
following damages for a violation of this section:
(1) Up to $75,000 in statutory damages.
(2) Actual damages.
(3) If aggravating factors are present, punitive
damages.
20210SB0604PN0757 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(4) Other forms of equitable relief.
(c) Costs and fees awarded.--The prevailing party in a cause
of action under this section shall be awarded costs and
reasonable attorney fees.
(d) Mitigation of damages.--A social media website that
restores from deletion or removes the censoring of a social
media website user's speech in a reasonable amount of time may
use that fact to mitigate any damages.
(e) Hate speech not a justification.--A social media website
may not use the social media website user's alleged hate speech
as a basis for justification or defense of the social media
website's actions at trial.
(f) Attorney General.--The Attorney General may bring a
civil cause of action under this section on behalf of a social
media website user who resides in this Commonwealth and whose
religious speech or political speech has been censored by a
social media website.
(g) Secretary of State.--The Secretary of State shall:
(1) issue a fine in one of the following amounts if the
Secretary of State finds that the social media website has
engaged in deplatforming or shadowbanning a political
candidate seeking office in Pennsylvania in violation of this
act:
(i) if the candidate is seeking Statewide office,
$100,000 per day of the violation;
(ii) for all other candidates, $10,000 per day of
the violation; and
(2) disclose a social media company's algorithmic bias
for or against a political candidate seeking Statewide office
under paragraph (1) as a campaign contribution.
20210SB0604PN0757 - 4 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(h) Requirements for social media companies.--A social media
company who operates in or has users who reside in this
Commonwealth shall perform the following:
(1) Inform a user in writing why the user's account has
been banned or disabled within 30 days of the action and
offer the user recourse to restore the user's account.
(2) Publish and consistently apply standards for user
censoring, shadowbanning and deplatforming.
(i) Penalty.--An owner or operator of a social media website
that has engaged in practices described in subsection (a) has
committed an unlawful act or practice under the act of December
17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices
and Consumer Protection Law, and shall be subject to applicable
penalties under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer
Protection Law.
(j) Application.--This section shall not apply to any of the
following:
(1) A social media website that deletes or censors a
social media website user's speech or that uses an algorithm
to disfavor or censure speech that:
(i) calls for immediate acts of violence;
(ii) calls for a user to self-harm;
(iii) is obscene, lewd, filthy or lascivious
material or material harmful to minors;
(iv) is the result of operational error;
(v) is the result of a court order;
(vi) comes from an inauthentic source or involves
false impersonation;
(vii) entices criminal conduct;
(viii) involves minors bullying other minors;
20210SB0604PN0757 - 5 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
(ix) constitutes trademark or copyright
infringement;
(x) is excessively violent; or
(xi) constitutes harassing spam that is commercial,
not religious or political, in nature.
(2) A social media website user's censoring of another
social media website user's speech.
(k) Standing.--Only users who are 18 years of age or older
have standing to seek enforcement of this section.
(l) Venue.--A civil action brought under this section shall
be filed in this Commonwealth.
Section 5. Effective date.
This act shall take effect immediately.
20210SB0604PN0757 - 6 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13