Calif. Senate Approves Bill Creating Civil Penalty for Social Media Hate Crimes
The California Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would establish civil action against a social media platform that violates hate crime and civil rights laws. SB-771 passed on a 29-4 vote and now heads to the Assembly.
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Sen. Henry Stern (D) introduced the bill, which aims at getting larger social media platforms to moderate at least some posted content, specifically when it targets or violates users' rights based on characteristics such as race, religion, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability or other similar vulnerable populations.
Under the bill, each willful violation carries a penalty of up to $1 million; reckless violations have penalties as high as $500,000; and if the social media platform knew or should have known the plaintiff was a minor, courts can double the penalties.
A social media platform must generate more than $100 million per year in gross revenue for SB-771 to cover it.
According to a May 23 bill analysis, supporters, including the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said SB-771 is a necessary update to pre-Internet laws prohibiting hate crimes, harassment and intimidation to better reflect the modern world. However, the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) and two other tech industry groups claim it violates the First Amendment and has a chilling effect on speech.