Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law. 1 State of Arkansas 2 92nd General Assembly 3 Regular Session, 2019 A Bill HOUSE BILL 1028 4 5 By: Representative Rye 6 For An Act To Be Entitled 7 8 AN ACT TO BE ENTITLED THE "STOP SOCIAL MEDIA 9 CENSORSHIP ACT"; CONCERNING SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES; 10 ESTABLISHING A CAUSE OF ACTION; AND FOR OTHER 11 PURPOSES. 12 13 Subtitle 14 15 TO BE ENTITLED THE "STOP SOCIAL MEDIA 16 CENSORSHIP ACT"; CONCERNING SOCIAL MEDIA 17 WEBSITES; AND ESTABLISHING A CAUSE OF 18 ACTION. 19 20 21 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 22 23 24 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 16, Chapter 118, is amended to add an additional section to read as follows: 25 16-118-116. 26 (a) 27 28 Civil action against a social media website. As used in this section: (1) “Algorithm” means a set of instructions designed to perform a specific task; 29 (2) “Hate speech” means a phrase concerning content that an 30 individual arbitrarily finds offensive based on his or her personal moral 31 code; 32 (3) “Obscene” means that to the average person, applying 33 contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as 34 a whole appeals to prurient interest; 35 (4)(A) 36 “Political speech” means speech relating to: (i) *BPG009* The state; 12/5/2018 2:17:47 PM BPG009 HB1028 1 (ii) 2 (iii) 3 (iv) 4 (v) 5 6 (B) The government; The body politic; Public administration; or Government policy making. "Political speech" includes speech by the government or candidates for office and any discussion of social issues. 7 (C) "Political speech" does not include speech concerning 8 the administration or the law of or relating to the civil aspects of 9 government; 10 11 (5) “Public utility” means a business organization performing a public service and subject to special governmental regulation; 12 (6) “Religious speech” means a set of unproven answers, truth 13 claims, faith-based assumptions, and naked assertions that attempt to explain 14 the greater questions like how things were created, what humans should or 15 should not be doing, and what happens after death; and 16 (7) “Social media website” means a website or application that 17 enables users to communicate with each other by posting information, 18 comments, messages, or images and: 19 (A) Is open to the public; 20 (B) Has more than seventy-five million (75,000,000) (C) Has not been specifically affiliated with any one (1) 21 subscribers; and 22 23 24 25 26 religion or political party from its inception. (b) A social media website is considered a public utility under this section. (c)(1)(A) The owner or operator of a social media website who resides 27 in this state is subject to a private right of action by a social media 28 website user if the social media website purposely: 29 (i) 30 religious speech or political speech; or 31 32 33 34 35 36 Deletes or censors a social media website user’s (ii) Uses an algorithm to suppress political speech or religious speech. (B) Damages available to a social media website user under this section include without limitation: (i) A minimum of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) per purposeful deletion or censoring of the social media website 2 12/5/2018 2:17:47 PM BPG009 HB1028 1 user's speech; 2 (ii) 3 (iii) 4 (iv) 6 (2) 10 11 Other forms of equitable relief. The prevailing party in a cause of action under this section may be awarded costs and reasonable attorney's fees. 8 9 Punitive damages if aggravating factors are present; and 5 7 Actual damages; (3) 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. (d) A social media website may not use the social media website user's 12 alleged hate speech as a basis for justification or defense to the social 13 media website's actions at trial. 14 (e)(1) A social media website is immune from liability under this 15 section if it deletes or censors a social media website user's speech or uses 16 an algorithm to disfavor or censure speech that calls for immediate acts of 17 violence, is obscene, or is pornographic in nature. 18 (2) A social media website is not liable under this section for 19 a social media website user's censoring of another social media website 20 user’s speech. 21 (f) 22 23 A social media website that is paid by a social media website user to promote religious speech or political speech may do so. (g) The Attorney General may bring a civil cause of action under this 24 section on behalf of social media website users who reside in this state 25 whose religious speech or political speech has been censored by a social 26 media website. 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 3 12/5/2018 2:17:47 PM BPG009