加州萨克拉门托加州议员周二向州长加文·纽瑟姆提交了两项旨在限制社交媒体负面影响的开创性法案，因为他们指责国会未能在这个问题上采取行动。
首个此类措施将要求社交媒体公司公开其删除令人不安的内容的政策，并提供如何以及何时删除这些内容的细节。
第二项法案将要求提供对儿童有吸引力的在线服务的公司遵循旨在保护儿童安全的适龄设计准则。这包括不以可能损害儿童身心健康或福祉的方式对儿童进行描述或使用儿童的个人信息。
第一项法案的作者、民主党议员杰西·加布里埃尔(Jesse Gabriel)说:“网络世界创造了巨大的机会，但也给孩子们、弱势群体和我们所知的美国民主带来了真实而直接的威胁。”
加布里埃尔在周二的新闻发布会上补充说:“我们认为，加州有特殊的义务和特殊的机会在这些问题上发挥领导作用。”“我们为我们的科技经济感到自豪，我们知道这些法案将监管的许多公司都是本土的加州公司。但由于华盛顿特区的功能失调，我们认为加州必须站出来领导。”
他的措施将要求公司说明他们如何根据社交媒体服务条款监管自己的内容。它去年因言论自由问题而停滞不前，随后在参议院以33-3的投票和议会以48-0的投票获得通过。它说这是“立法机关的意图”,州检察长或市检察官对违法者采取民事诉讼。
虽然这项措施得到了两党的支持，但共和党参议员梅丽莎·玛兰德兹担心它可能被用来惩罚合法但不受欢迎的内容，特别是因为司法部长罗布·邦塔是一名进步的民主党人。
她在周一晚上的辩论中说，“我不禁想知道，这实际上是不是司法部长试图骚扰加州公民，特别是那些持反对观点的人，我认为州司法部长参与任何审查言论的尝试都是不合适的。”
但支持该法案的民主党参议员托马斯·翁伯格表示，该措施“基本上没有审查内容...如果他们没有政策，他们就没有什么可报告的。如果他们确实有政策，那么他们需要报告他们是如何实施该政策的。”
民主党参议员斯科特·维纳(Scott Wiener)表示，“鉴于社交媒体上猖獗的反犹太主义”，反诽谤联盟寻求的法案对立法机构的犹太人核心小组尤为重要。
反对者包括加州商会、计算机和通信行业协会、消费者技术协会、互联网联盟、Netchoice和TechNet。
反对者联盟表示，公司已经必须公开他们的内容审核政策，该法案要求他们向司法部长披露“关于我们如何实施政策、检测活动、培训员工以及使用技术检测需要审核的内容的敏感信息”，这太过分了。
第二项专门旨在保护儿童免受不当网络内容影响的法案也在两党支持下以33票对0票通过了参议院，尽管有7名共和党人没有投票。它以60比0的比分通过了大会。
这项措施“将代表着为保护青少年网络安全建立一个全球标准的一个重要的积极步骤。我认为我们都同意这一愿望，”在参议院通过该法案的民主党参议员乔希·纽曼说。
它是仿照联合王国。这也遭到了商会和一些科技行业协会的反对。包括娱乐软件协会(Entertainment Software Association)在内的一个联盟表示，该法案包括“一个过度包容的标准，将捕获远远超过必要数量的网站和平台。”
正在立法机构审议的第三项措施将要求大型社交媒体平台从2023年年中开始向公众披露违反其政策的内容统计数据，这些政策是由平台的算法推荐或放大的。
本月早些时候，另一项更具争议的措施在参议院拨款委员会失败，因为它遭到了有影响力的科技行业的强烈反对。它将使Instagram和抖音等一些流行的社交媒体平台因使用他们知道会伤害儿童的功能而受到罚款。
California lawmakers OK bills aimed at social media content
SACRAMENTO, Calif. --California lawmakers on Tuesday sent Gov. Gavin Newsom two groundbreaking bills intended to limit the downside of social media, as they faulted Congress for failing to act on the problem.
A first-of-its kind measure would require social media companies to make public their policies for removing disturbing content and provide details on how and when they remove it.
The second bill would require companies that provide online services attractive to children to follow age-appropriate design code principles aimed at keeping children safe. That includes not profiling a child or using the child's personal information in a way that could harm the child's physical or mental health or well-being.
“The online world has created tremendous opportunities, but also real and proximate threats to kids, to vulnerable communities and to American democracy as we know it,” said Democratic Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, author of the first bill.
“We believe that California has a special obligation and a special opportunity to lead on these issues," Gabriel added during a news conference Tuesday. "We’re proud of our technology economy, and we know that many of the companies that these bills would regulate are homegrown California companies. But with dysfunction in Washington, D.C., we believe that California must step up and lead.”
His measure would require companies to say how they regulate their own content under their social media terms of service. It stalled last year over free speech issues before clearing the Senate on a 33-3 vote and the Assembly, 48-0. It says it is “the intent of the Legislature” that the state attorney general or a city attorney take civil action against violators.
While the measure had bipartisan support, Republican Sen. Melissa Melendez in opposition worried that it could be used to punish legitimate but unpopular content, particularly as Attorney General Rob Bonta is a progressive Democrat.
“I can't help but wonder if this is not in fact an attempt for the attorney general to perhaps harass the citizens of California, particularly those who have an opposing viewpoint, and I don't think it is appropriate that the state attorney general get involved in any attempt to censor speech," she said during debate Monday night.
But Democratic Sen. Thomas Umberg, who carried the bill, said the measure “does not basically censor content ... If they have no policy, they have nothing to report. If they do have a policy then they need to report how they’re implementing that policy.”
Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener said the bill sought by the Anti-Defamation League is particularly important to the Legislature's Jewish Caucus, "given the rampant anti-Semitism on social media.”
Opponents include the California Chamber of Commerce, Computer and Communications Industry Association, Consumer Technology Association, Internet Coalition, Netchoice and TechNet.
A coalition of the opponents said companies already must make public their content moderation policies, and the bill goes too far by requiring them to disclose to the attorney general “sensitive information about how we implement policies, detect activity, train employees, and use technology to detect content in need of moderation.”
The second bill intended specifically to protect children from inappropriate online content cleared the Senate 33-0 also with bipartisan support, though seven Republicans did not vote. It cleared the Assembly, 60-0.
The measure “will represent a major positive step toward creating a global standard for the protection of youth online. That’s an aspiration about which I think we can all agree," said Democratic Sen. Josh Newman, who carried the bill in the Senate.
It is modeled after a similar measure in theUnited Kingdom. It also is opposed by the Chamber of Commerce and some of the tech industry associations. A coalition including the Entertainment Software Association said the bill includes “an over-inclusive standard and would capture far more websites and platforms than necessary.”
A third measure working its way through the Legislature would require large social media platforms to disclose to the public starting in mid-2023 statistics on content that violated its policies that were recommended or otherwise amplified by the platform's algorithms.
Another more controversial measure failed in the gatekeeper Senate Appropriations Committee earlier this month after it was heavily opposed by the influential tech industry. It would have subjected some popular social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to fines for using features they know can harm children.
