A bill for an act
relating to consumer protection; creating the Prohibiting Social Media Manipulation
Act; regulating social media platforms; providing a private right of action and
attorney general enforcement; proposing coding for new law as Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 325O.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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This chapter may be cited as the "Prohibiting Social Media Manipulation Act."
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(a) For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the meanings given.
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(b) "Accessible user interface" means a way for a user to input data, make a choice, or
take an action on a social media platform in two clicks or less.
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(c) "Account holder" means a natural person or legal person who holds an account or
profile with a social media platform.
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(d) "Algorithmic ranking system" means a computational process, including one derived
from algorithmic decision making, machine learning, statistical analysis, or other data
processing or artificial intelligence techniques, used to determine the selection, order, relative
prioritization, or relative prominence of content from a set of information that is provided
to a user on a social media platform, including search results ranking, content
recommendations, content display, or any other automated content selection method.
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(e) "Click" means an act of selecting an option on an electronic interface by pressing a
button, touching a screen, making a gesture, issuing a voice command, or other means.
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(f) "Content" means any media, including but not limited to written posts, images, visual
or audio recordings, notifications, and games, that a user views, reads, watches, listens to,
or otherwise interacts or engages with on a social media platform. Content includes other
account holders' accounts or profiles when recommended to a user by the social media
platform.
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(g) "Default" means a preselected option adopted by a social media platform for the
social media platform's service, product, or feature.
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(h) "Device operating system provider" means a business that manages or develops
operating system software for mobile or desktop devices, including but not limited to personal
computers, smartphones, and tablets, which manage device resources and are loaded by a
boot program.
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(i) "Engage" or "engagement" means a user's utilization of the social media platform.
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(j) "Existing extended network" means a user's existing network plus the set of account
holders on a social media platform who are all directly connected to the account holders
within that user's existing network.
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(k) "Existing network" means the set of account holders on a social media platform with
whom a user has consented to have a direct connection.
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(l) "Expressed preferences" means a freely given, considered, specific, and unambiguous
indication of a user's preferences regarding the user's engagement with a social media
platform. Expressed preferences cannot be based on the user's time spent engaging with
content on the social media platform, nor on the usage of features that do not indicate explicit
preference, such as comments made, posts reshared, or similar actions that may be taken
on content the user perceives to be of low quality. Expressed preferences may not be obtained
through a user interface designed or manipulated with the substantial effect of subverting
or impairing a user's decision making.
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(m) "Optimize" means promoted, prioritized, or maximized by a social media platform's
algorithmic ranking system.
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(n) "Relevant forms of engagement with users" includes but is not limited to:
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(1) sending invitations or messages to users;
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(2) commenting on, resharing, liking, voting, or otherwise reacting to users' user-generated
content; and
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(3) disseminating user-generated content to users.
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(o) "Social media platform" means an electronic medium, including a browser-based or
application-based interactive computer service, telephone network, or data network, that
allows an account holder to create, share, and view user-generated content. Social media
platform does not include: (1) Internet search providers, Internet service providers, email,
or short-message-service; (2) streaming video service or other Internet website where the
content is not user-generated but where interactive functions enable incidental chat,
comments, or reviews; or (3) a communication service, including audio and video
communication technology, provided by a business to the business's employees and clients
for use in the course of business activities and not for public distribution. Social media
platform includes a messaging service that is owned by a company that operates a social
media platform.
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(p) "Time sensitive" means content that is welcomed under a user's expressed preferences
and that would have significantly reduced value to the user with the passing of time.
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(q) "User" means a natural person who is located in Minnesota and who holds an account
or profile with a social media platform.
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(r) "User-generated content" means any content created by an account holder that is
uploaded, posted, shared, or disseminated on the social media platform.
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(s) "Varied set of account holders" means a set of account holders who have different
behaviors and histories.
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(a) A social media platform is subject to this chapter if the social media platform:
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(1) does business in Minnesota or provides products or services that are targeted to
residents of Minnesota; and
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(2) has more than 10,000 monthly active users.
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(b) For purposes of this chapter, a social media platform may determine whether an
account holder is located in Minnesota based on:
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(1) the account holder's own supplied address or location;
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(2) global positioning system-level latitude, longitude, or altitude coordinates;
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(3) cellular phone system coordinates;
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(4) Internet protocol device address; or
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(5) other mechanisms that can be used to identify an account holder's location.
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(a) A social media platform must provide an
accessible user interface that allows a user to clearly indicate whether a particular piece of
content:
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(1) is of high or low quality; and
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(2) complies with the user's expressed preferences.
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(b) A social media platform's algorithmic ranking system must optimize content for a