103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3510

 

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Sen. Laura Fine

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Minor User of Social Media Protection Act. Provides that a social media company that has Illinois account holders shall develop a written policy, made available to the public, that complies with the procedures set forth in the Act and establish a reporting function that permits account holders to report that an Illinois account holder is a minor. Provides that a social media company that receives a report that an Illinois account holder is a minor shall verify the age of that account holder and, if a reasonable age verification reveals that the reported account holder is a minor, the social media company shall take down the reported account holder's account. Sets forth provisions concerning liability for social media companies and liability for commercial entities or third-party vendors.


LRB103 37990 SPS 68122 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3510LRB103 37990 SPS 68122 b

1    AN ACT concerning business.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Minor
5User of Social Media Protection Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Account holder" means an individual who creates an
8account or a profile to use a social media platform.
9    "Account holder age report" means a report to a social
10media company from another account holder that a specified
11Illinois account holder is a minor.
12    "Commercial entity" means a corporation, limited liability
13company, partnership, limited partnership, sole
14proprietorship, or other legally recognized entity.
15"Commercial entity" includes a third-party vendor.
16    "Credible" means the data collected for targeted
17advertising purposes indicates, to a reasonable person, that
18the account holder is, more likely than not, a minor under the
19age of 13 from the user's digital footprint and data from the
20user's conduct on the social media platform to curate
21advertisements based on the user's demographics.
22    "Digital footprint" means the body of data or information
23that a particular person creates through the person's actions

 

 

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1online or exists as a result of the person's online activity.
2    "Infinite scroll" means a design feature with the hallmark
3of displaying additional content at the bottom of the user's
4screen, such that the user is typically unable to look at a
5single social media post.
6    "Minor" means an individual under the age of 13.
7    "Preference amplification" means using algorithms and
8recommender systems to increase the user's engagement by
9recommending content based on how the user interacts with the
10social media platform.
11    "Push notifications" means the delivery of information
12from a social media platform to a computing device without a
13specific request from the client.
14    "Reasonable age verification" means to confirm that a
15person seeking to access a social media platform is at least 13
16years old.
17    "Reported account holder" means an Illinois account holder
18who is the subject of an account holder age report.
19    "Reported presumed minor account holder" means an Illinois
20account holder who is the subject account holder age report
21that is determined to be credible based on the data the social
22media company collects for targeted advertising purposes.
23    "Social media company" means a media company that designs
24an online forum for an account holder to:
25        (1) create a public profile, establish an account, or
26    register as a user for the primary purpose of interacting

 

 

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1    socially with other profiles and accounts;
2        (2) upload or create posts or content;
3        (3) view posts or content of other account holders;
4    and
5        (4) interact with other account holders or users,
6    including, without limitation, establishing mutual
7    connections through request and acceptance.
8    "Social media company" does not include:
9        (1) a media company that exclusively offers
10    subscription content to which users follow or subscribe
11    unilaterally and whose platforms' primary purpose is not
12    social interaction, unless that media company allows a
13    user to generate short video clips of dancing, voice
14    overs, or other acts of entertainment in which the primary
15    purpose is not educational or informative;
16        (2) a media company that exclusively offers
17    interacting gaming, virtual gaming, or an online service,
18    that allows the creation and uploading of content for the
19    purpose of interacting gaming, entertainment, or
20    associated entertainment, and the communication related to
21    that content;
22        (3) a company that:
23            (A) offers cloud storage services, enterprise
24        cybersecurity services, educational devices, or
25        enterprise collaboration tools for K-12 schools; and
26            (B) derives less than 25% of the company's revenue

 

 

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1        from operating a social media platform, including
2        games and advertising; or
3        (4) a company that provides career development
4    opportunities, including professional networking, job
5    skills, learning certifications, and job posting and
6    application services.
7    "Social media platform" means a public or semi-public
8Internet-based service or application that has users in
9Illinois and on which a substantial function of the service or
10application is to connect users in order to allow users to
11interact socially with each other within the service or
12application. A service or application that provides email or
13direct messaging shall not be considered to a "social media
14platform" on the basis of that function alone.
15    "Social media platform" does not include an online
16service, a website, or an application if the predominant or
17exclusive function is:
18        (1) email;
19        (2) direct messaging consisting of messages, photos,
20    or videos that are sent between devices by electronic
21    means if messages are:
22            (A) shared between the sender and the recipient or
23        recipients;
24            (B) only visible to the sender and the recipient
25        or recipients; and
26            (C) are not posted publicly;

 

 

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1        (3) a streaming service that:
2            (A) provides only licensed media in a continuous
3        flow from the service, website, or application to the
4        end user; and
5            (B) does not obtain a license to the media from a
6        user or account holder by agreement of the streaming
7        service's terms of service;
8        (4) providing news, sports, entertainment, or other
9    content that is preselected by the provider and not user
10    generated, including, without limitation, if any chat,
11    comment, or interactive functionality that is provided is
12    incidental to, directly related to, or dependent upon
13    provision of the content;
14        (5) online shopping or e-commerce, if the interaction
15    with other users or account holders is generally limited
16    to:
17            (A) the ability to post and comment on reviews;
18            (B) the ability to display lists or collections of
19        goods for sale or wish lists; and
20            (C) other functions that are focused on online
21        shopping or e-commerce rather than interaction between
22        users or account holders;
23        (6) business-to-business software that is not
24    accessible to the general public;
25        (7) cloud storage;
26        (8) shared document collaboration;

 

 

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1        (9) providing access to or interacting with data
2    visualization platforms, libraries, or hubs;
3        (10) permitting comments on a digital news website, if
4    the news content is posted only by the provider of the
5    digital news website;
6        (11) providing or obtaining technical support for a
7    social media company's platform, products, or services;
8        (12) academic or scholarly research; and
9        (13) other research if the majority of the content is
10    posted or created by the provider of the online service,
11    website, or application and the ability to chat, comment,
12    or interact with other users is directly related to the
13    provider's content:
14            (A) that is a classified advertising service that
15        only permits the sale of goods and prohibits the
16        solicitation of personal services; or
17            (B) that is used by and under the direction of an
18        educational entity, including, without limitation:
19                (i) a learning management system;
20                (ii) a student engagement program; and
21                (iii) a subject-specific or skill-specific
22            program.
23    "Social media platform" does not include a social media
24platform that is controlled by a business entity that has
25generated less than $100,000,000 in annual gross revenue.
26    "Targeted advertising purposes" means behavior-based

 

 

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1advertising that takes into account data from a user's digital
2footprint and data from the user's conduct on the social media
3platform to curate advertisements based on a user's
4demographics, including, but not limited to, who the user is,
5what the user likes, and what the user is likely to purchase.
6    "User" means a person who has access to view all or some of
7the posts and content on a social media platform but is not an
8account holder.
 
9    Section 10. Requirements for social media companies.
10    (a) A social media company that has Illinois account
11holders shall develop a written policy, made available to the
12public, that complies with the procedures set forth in this
13Act and establish a reporting function that permits account
14holders to report that an Illinois account holder is a minor.
15    (b) A social media company that receives an account holder
16age report that an Illinois account holder is a minor shall
17determine whether the account holder age report is credible.
18An account holder age report is credible when a social media
19company has reason to believe the reported account holder is a
20minor under the age of 13 based on the data the social media
21company collects for targeted advertising purposes.
22    (c) If the social media company has reason to believe the
23reported account holder is under the age of 13 based on the
24data the social media company collects for targeted
25advertising purposes, the social media company shall verify

 

 

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1the age of the reported presumed minor account holder in
2accordance with Section 20.
3    (d) If the social media company does not have reason to
4believe the reported account holder is under the age of 13
5based on the data the social media company collects for
6targeted advertising purposes, the social media company is not
7required to take any additional action on the account holder
8age report.
 
9    Section 15. Age verification of reported presumed minor
10account holders.
11    (a) When a reported account holder is considered to be a
12reported presumed minor account holder as described in
13subsection (c) of Section 10, the social media company shall
14verify the age of the reported presumed minor account holder
15within 30 days after receiving the account holder age report.
16    (b) A social media company shall use a third-party vendor
17to perform reasonable age verification. Reasonable age
18verification methods under subsection (b) include providing:
19        (1) government-issued identification; or
20        (2) any commercially reasonable age verification
21    method.
22        (c) If, within 30 days after receiving the account
23holder age report, a reasonable age verification reveals that
24the reported account holder:
25            (1) is a minor, the social media company shall

 

 

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1    take down the reported account holder's account; or
2            (2) is not a minor, the social media company shall
3    leave the reported account holder's social media account
4    active and open and the social media company shall not be
5    required to take any additional action on the account
6    holder age report.
7    (d) If, within 30 days after receiving the account holder
8age report, a reasonable age verification is not conducted by
9a third party for any reason, the social media company shall
10restrict the following design features from the reported
11presumed minor account holder until reasonable age
12verification is performed:
13        (1) the ability of any other account holder to contact
14    or direct message with a presumed minor account holder;
15        (2) the ability of any other account holder to engage
16    with a presumed minor account holder, including, but not
17    limited to liking, commenting or sharing a presumed minor
18    account holder's content posted to the social media
19    platform;
20        (3) infinite scroll;
21        (4) push notifications;
22        (5) the ability for a presumed minor account holder to
23    see preference amplification on the presumed minor account
24    holder's social media content;
25        (6) the ability of the presumed minor account holder
26    to access the social media platform between the hours of

 

 

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1    10 p.m. to 6 a.m.; and
2        (7) face and body image manipulation filters.
 
3    Section 20. Liability for social media companies.
4    (a) A social media company that knowingly violates this
5Act is liable if the social media company fails to:
6        (1) perform a reasonable age verification for a
7    reported presumed minor account holder;
8        (2) restrict the design features from the reported
9    presumed minor account holder until reasonable age
10    verification is performed; or
11        (3) take down the account of a reported presumed minor
12    account holder if age verification reveals the reported
13    presumed minor account holder is a minor, unless parental
14    consent is provided.
15    (b) If a social media company performs a reasonable age
16verification, the social media company shall not retain any
17identifying information of the individual after access to the
18social media platform has been granted.
19    (c) The Attorney General may conduct an investigation of
20an alleged violation of this Act and initiate an enforcement
21action against a social media company on behalf of the State to
22assess civil penalties. Prior to asserting a cause of action,
23the Attorney General shall provide a social media company with
24a period of time of not less than 30 days to comply with this
25Act

 

 

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1    (d) A social media company that is found to have violated
2this Act shall be liable for a civil penalty, to be assessed by
3a court of competent jurisdiction, of not more than $2,500 per
4violation and court costs and reasonable attorney's fees as
5ordered by the court.
6    (e) This Section does not:
7        (1) apply to a news or public interest broadcast,
8    website video, report, or event;
9        (3) apply to cloud service providers; or
10        (2) affect the rights of a news-gathering
11    organization.
12    (f) An Internet service provider, or any of its affiliates
13or subsidiaries, or search engines, does not violate this Act
14solely by providing access, connection to or from a website,
15or other information or content on the Internet, or a
16facility, system, or network that is not under that Internet
17service provider's control, including transmission,
18downloading, intermediate storage, access software, or other
19service that provides access or connectivity, to the extent
20the Internet service provider is not responsible for the
21creation of the content or the communication on a social media
22platform.
 
23    Section 25. Liability for commercial entities or
24third-party vendors.
25    (a) A commercial entity or third-party vendor shall not

 

 

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1retain any identifying information of an individual after
2access to the social media platform has been granted.
3    (b) The Attorney General may conduct an investigation of
4an alleged violation of this Act and initiate an enforcement
5action on behalf of the State to assess civil penalties. Prior
6to asserting a cause of action, the Attorney General shall
7provide a commercial entity or third party vendor with a
8period of time of not less than 30 days to comply with this
9Act.
10    (c) A commercial entity or third-party vendor that is
11found to have knowingly retained identifying information of an
12individual after access to the material is granted shall be
13liable for a civil penalty, to be assessed by a court of
14competent jurisdiction, of not more than $2,500 per violation
15and court costs and reasonable attorney's fees as ordered by
16the court.