HB3841 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 30321 SPS 56749 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB3841

Introduced 2/17/2023, by Rep. Brad Halbrook

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Stop Social Media Censorship Act. Provides that the owner or operator of a social media website that censors or deletes a user's religious or political speech is subject to a private right of action by certain social media website users in this State. Authorizes the recovery of actual damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages. Provides for the award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Prohibits a social media website from using alleged hate speech as a defense. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring an action on behalf of social media website users. Defines terms. Effective July 1, 2023.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Stop Social Media Censorship Act.

Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:

"Algorithm" means a set of instructions designed to perform a specific task.

"Hate speech" means a phrase concerning content that an individual finds offensive based on his or her personal moral code.

"Obscene" means that an average person applying contemporary community standards would find that, taken as a whole, the dominant theme of the material appeals to prurient interests.

"Political speech" means speech relating to the State, government, body politic, or public administration as it relates to governmental policymaking. "Political speech" includes speech by the government or a candidate for office and any discussion of social issues. "Political speech" does not include speech concerning the administration, law, or civil aspects of government.

"Religious speech" means a set of unproven answers, truth claims, faith-based assumptions, and naked assertions that attempt to explain such greater questions as how the world was created, what constitutes right and wrong actions by humans, and what happens after death.

"Social media website" means 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 75,000,000 subscribers; and

(3) from its inception, has not been specifically affiliated with any one religion or political party.

Section 10. Social media censorship; private right of action; damages.

(a) The owner or operator of a social media website that contracts with a social media website user in this State is subject to a private right of action by such user if the social media website purposely:

(1) deletes or censors the user's religious speech or political speech; or

(2) uses an algorithm to disfavor or censor the user's religious speech or political speech.

(b) A social media website user may be awarded all of the following damages under this Act:

(1) a minimum of $75,000 in statutory damages per purposeful deletion or censorship of the social media website user's speech;

(2) actual damages;

(3) if aggravating factors are present, punitive damages; and

(4) other forms of equitable relief.

(c) The prevailing party in an action under this Act may be awarded costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

(d) 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) 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) Only users who are 18 years of age or older have standing to seek enforcement of this Act.

Section 15. Action by Attorney General. The Attorney General may bring a civil action under this Act on behalf of a social media website user who resides in this State and whose religious speech or political speech has been censored by a social media website.

Section 20. Inapplicability of Act.

(a) This Act does not apply to a social media website that deletes or censors a social media website user's speech or that uses an algorithm to disfavor or censor speech that:

(1) calls for immediate acts of violence;

(2) is obscene or pornographic in nature;

(3) is the result of operational error;

(4) is the result of a court order;

(5) comes from an inauthentic source or involves false personation;

(6) entices criminal conduct; or

(7) involves minors bullying minors.

(b) This Act does not apply to a social media website user's censoring of another social media website user's speech.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2023.