SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 50
As Amended by Senate Committee on Federal
and State Affairs

Brief*
SB 50, as amended, would create a crime concerning
instances of social media websites entering into contracts
with Kansas residents through terms of service that allow the
website to censor certain speech.

Terms of Service
The bill would prohibit any interactive computer service
from entering into a contract with a person residing in Kansas
that contains the terms of service for use of a social media
website operated by such service that includes any provisions
that authorize the service to restrict, censor, or suppress
information, including political information and political
expression, unless such information pertains to obscene,
lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or other
objectionable subject matter.
The bill would allow an interactive computer service to
limit content on a social media website to certain subject
matters as explicitly provided in the website’s terms of
service.

Contemporary Community Standards
The bill would clarify that information pertains to
obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy subject matter if the
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
average person applying contemporary community standards
would find that the information:
● Appeals to the prurient interest; or
● Has patently offensive representations or
descriptions of sexual acts, whether normal or
perverted, actual or simulated, including sexual
intercourse, sodomy, masturbation, excretory
functions, sadomasochistic abuse, or exhibition of
the genitals; and
● Taken as a whole lacks serious literary,
educational, artistic, political, or scientific value.
The bill would clarify that information pertains to
excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable
subject matter if the average person applying contemporary
community standards would find that the information:
● Represents or depicts the extreme use of physical
violence with the intention to hurt, maim, or kill a
person or animal; or
● Is of a persistent harassing nature directed toward
a specific individual or group of individuals
identified by race, religion, sex, color, disability,
nationality, or ethnicity; and
● Taken as a whole, lacks serious literary,
educational, artistic, political, or scientific value.
Criminal Penalty
The bill would make violation of the provisions of the bill
an unclassified misdemeanor that would be punishable by a
fine between $500 and $10,000.


2- 50
 Furthermore, the bill would make each instance in which
an interactive computer service enters into a contract in
violation of the bill a separate violation.
Such violations could, under the provisions of the bill, be
prosecuted by the Attorney General, any county attorney, or
any district attorney.
The bill would also clarify that the provisions of the bill
do not apply to Kansas residents who enter into a contract
with an interactive computer service.

Definitions
The bill would define the term “interactive computer
service” to mean any information service, system, or access
software that provides or enables computer access by
multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a
service or system that provides access to the internet and
such systems operated or services offered by libraries or
educational institutions.
The bill would define “social media website” to mean a
website through which users are able to share and generate
content and find and connect with other users of common
interests.

Effective Date
The bill would be in effect upon publication in the
Kansas Register.

Background
The bill was introduced by Senators Steffen, Straub, and
Thompson on January 18, 2023.

3- 50
Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs
In the Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs
hearing on February 1, 2023, Senator Steffen and six private
citizens provided proponent testimony, generally indicating
their personal experiences with having content removed from
social media websites. Written-only proponent testimony was
provided by 21 private citizens.
Opponent testimony was provided by representatives of
the Central U.S. Chamber of Progress and the Computer &
Communications Industry Association, who expressed their
concerns about being required to post objectionable content
and the potential for lawsuits. A representative of TechNet
and a private citizen provided written-only opponent
testimony.
No other testimony was provided.
The Senate Committee amended the bill on February 9,
2023, to remove provisions that would have given Kansas
residents a civil cause of action and set civil penalties for
violation of the bill’s provisions. Provisions setting a criminal
penalty for violations of the bill were inserted by the Senate
Committee.

Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the Office of Judicial
Administration indicates enactment of the bill could increase
the number of cases filed in district court, which would result
in an increase in time spent by court staff in processing,
researching, and hearing cases. The bill could also result in
the collection of additional docket fees that would be
deposited into the State General Fund (SGF). However, a
fiscal effect could not be estimated.


4- 50
 The Office of Attorney General states enactment of the
bill could generate between 5 and 10 complaints per week,
which would require an additional 0.50 FTE Investigator
position at a cost of $38,500 for salaries and wages, and an
additional $22,681 for equipment and other operating
expenditures for FY 2024. The Office also states the
constitutionality of the bill could be challenged, which could
take between 2 and 4 years to get a definitive ruling as a
result of the appellate process. The defense could be handled
through the agency’s existing resources, but specialized
outside counsel could be necessary. If the challenge is
successful, the state could be ordered to pay the plaintiff’s
attorney fees.
The Kansas Association of Counties indicates the bill
wold not have a fiscal effect on counties.
Any fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected
in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
Social media; censor; interactive computer service; contemporary community
standards


5- 50