PRINTER'S NO. 869
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
22
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, PHILLIPS-HILL, DILLON, PENNYCUICK,
FONTANA, HAYWOOD, AUMENT, COSTA, CULVER, BREWSTER,
CAPPELLETTI, KANE, SCHWANK AND COLLETT, JUNE 14, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY, JUNE 14, 2023
AN ACT
Amending Title 50 (Mental Health) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, providing for protection of minors on
social media; and imposing penalties.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 50 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding parts to read:
Part
I. Preliminary Provisions (Reserved)
II. Minors
PART I. PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
(Reserved).
PART II. MINORS
Chapter
10. Preliminary Provisions (Reserved)
11. Protecting Minors on Social Media
CHAPTER 10
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
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(Reserved)
CHAPTER 11
PROTECTING MINORS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Subchapter
A. General Provisions
B. Cause of Action
C. Consent to Open an Account
D. Data
SUBCHAPTER A
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec.
1101. Scope of chapter.
1102. Legislative intent.
1103. Definitions.
§ 1101. Scope of chapter.
This chapter relates to protecting minors on social media.
§ 1102. Legislative intent.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Social media use among American teenagers is nearly
universal. According to the Pew Research Center, 95% of teens
report using YouTube and 67% of teens have used TikTok, with
16% using it almost constantly.
(2) Social media platforms are designed to be addictive,
with teenagers at particular risk of excessive use. According
to the Pew Research Center, 54% of teens say it would be
difficult to give up social media entirely.
(3) Social media use is linked to negative feelings
among teens. A growing body of research, described in the
International Journal of Adolescence and Youth and elsewhere,
has found that increased social media use is associated with
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greater rates of depression and anxiety in teens. Additional
research published in the Children and Youth Services Review
describe a trend in which social media use can trigger and
accelerate offline violence.
(4) Rates of suicide and self-harm among American
teenagers have grown dramatically in recent years. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that,
in 2021, three in five girls felt persistently sad and
hopeless, while more than one in four girls reported
seriously considering attempting suicide. These rates have
increased significantly since 2011.
(5) Federal and State policymakers are beginning to
recognize the risks that social media use place on American
youth. A number of recent policy proposals provide parents
and guardians of teenagers with greater oversight over their
children's social media use.
(6) In May 2023, the United States Surgeon General
released a health advisory finding that social media can
"have a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-
being of children and adolescents." The advisory recommends
policies that limit access to social media and require
greater protection of data relating to children and
adolescents.
(7) In addition to empowering parents and guardians to
protect children against these risks, policymakers are
establishing mechanisms to hold social media companies
accountable for harms to children and youth.
(8) Greater oversight of social media platforms will
enable families in this Commonwealth to use online tools in a
more productive and healthy fashion.
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§ 1103. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Account." Any means of registration by which an individual
may engage in one or more functions of a social media platform.
"Algorithmic recommendation." A fully or partially automated
system that suggests, promotes or ranks information for, or
presents advertising to, an individual.
"Delete." To remove personal information such that the
information is not retrievable by anyone and cannot be retrieved
in the normal course of business.
"Mine." The activity or process of searching through large
amounts of information for specific data or patterns.
"Minor." Except as provided in section 1131 (relating to
definitions), an individual who is less than 16 years of age.
"Personal information." As defined in 15 U.S.C. § 6501
(relating to definitions).
"School entity." A school district, intermediate unit, area
career and technical school, charter school or private
residential rehabilitative institution.
"Social media company." A person that owns or operates one
or more social media platforms.
"Social media platform." A public or semi-public Internet-
based service or application that has users in this Commonwealth
and that meets all of the following:
(1) A substantial function of the service or application
is to connect users in order to allow users to interact
socially with each other within the service or application.
(2) The service or application allows users to do one or
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more of the following:
(i) Construct a public or semi-public profile for
purposes of signing into and using the service or
application.
(ii) Populate a list of other users with whom an
individual shares a social connection within the system.
(iii) Create or post content viewable by other
users, including on message boards, in chat rooms or
through a landing page or main feed that presents the
user with content generated by other users.
SUBCHAPTER B
CAUSE OF ACTION
Sec.
1110. Cause of action.
§ 1110. Cause of action.
(a) Establishment.--A parent or legal guardian of a minor
may bring a civil cause of action against a social media company
that intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or negligently causes
or encourages a minor to access content which subjects the minor
to a risk of emotional or physical harm, which adversely affects
the mental health or dignity of the minor or that creates a
reasonable likelihood of bodily injury or death to the minor.
Prohibited activity under this subsection may include:
(1) Causing or encouraging access to content that
encourages eating disorders, violence, substance abuse,
sexual exploitation and suicide or discusses means of
suicide.
(2) The use of features that attempt to maximize time,
attention and engagement of a minor on social media.
(3) The use of tools that adversely affect the health,
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emotional and physical development of a minor.
(b) Damages.--A court of competent jurisdiction may award
damages as provided under this subsection. In determining the
extent of injury, the court shall consider the damage caused to
the minor due to utilization of a social media platform by the
minor. The court may award:
(1) Actual costs incurred as a result of the damage,
including costs associated with counseling services, doctors
visits, treatment and co-pays.
(2) Reasonable attorney fees and court costs.
(3) Punitive damages determined by the court.
(4) Consequential damages, if harm to reputation
occurred, as determined by the court.
(c) Remedies preserved.--Nothing under this section shall be
construed to limit the ability of a person to receive a civil
penalty under this chapter.
(d) Good faith.--It shall be a defense to a cause of action
under subsection (a) if a social media company takes good faith
actions, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, to
protect a minor from harm while using the social media company's
platform.
SUBCHAPTER C
CONSENT TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT
Sec.
1121. Applicability.
1122. Approval prohibited.
1123. Duties.
1124. Revocation of consent.
1125. Violations.
§ 1121. Applicability.
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This subchapter shall apply to accounts opened on or after
the effective date of this section.
§ 1122. Approval prohibited.
A social media company may not approve the creation of an
account for a minor or allow a minor to open or operate an
account without affirmative written consent of the minor's
parent or legal guardian.
§ 1123. Duties.
(a) Attorney General.--The Office of Attorney General shall
develop and make available on their publicly accessible Internet
website a form that may be used by a parent or legal guardian to
provide consent for a minor to open a social media account. The
Attorney General shall transmit a copy of the form to each
social media company.
(b) Social media company.--Each social media company shall
post in a conspicuous place on each of their social media
platforms notice that written consent by the minor's parent or
legal guardian shall be required prior to opening an account.
The social media platform shall allow for a parent or legal
guardian to submit, electronically or via mail service, a
completed consent notification form developed by the Attorney
General under subsection (a). A social media platform may
include a method for a parent or legal guardian to provide
written consent as required by this chapter via electronic
means. Any electronic consent included in a social media
platform must include the same information as required by the
form developed by the Attorney General's office under subsection
(a).
(c) Failure to obtain consent.--To the extent possible, if a
minor opens a social media account without written consent by
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their parent or legal guardian, the social media company shall,
within 24 hours of discovery of the failure to obtain the
consent:
(1) suspend the social media account; and
(2) notify the parent or legal guardian that the minor
has attempted to open a social media account without their
consent.
(d) Social media account access.--If a parent or legal
guardian provides written consent to a minor to open a social
media account under this section, the social media company shall
ensure a parent or legal guardian has the same access to the
minor's account as if they were the account holder.
(e) Notice of alleged violation.--A social media company
shall develop and post notice on its website of the methods,
such as electronic and telephonic means, by which a minor's
parent or legal guardian may notify the social media company
that the minor has opened a social media account on its social
media platform without the required written consent.
§ 1124. Revocation of consent.
(a) Time.--A parent or legal guardian of a minor who has
provided written consent under this subchapter may revoke the
consent at any time.
(b) Social media company.--A social media company shall take
reasonable steps to provide a parent or legal guardian who has
provided written consent for a minor to open a social media
account with the ability to revoke the consent.
(c) Effect of revocation.--A social media company that
receives a revocation of consent under subsection (a) shall, to
the extent possible, within 24 hours of receipt of the
revocation, suspend, delete or disable the account of the minor
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for whom consent was revoked.
§ 1125. Violations.
(a) Action.--The Attorney General, a district attorney of
the county in which the minor or minor's parent or legal
guardian resides, a unit of government in the municipality in
which the minor or minor's parent or legal guardian resides or a
lawyer acting on behalf of a parent or legal guardian of a minor
may bring an action against a social media company that
knowingly, intentionally or negligently allows for a minor to
open a social media account without written consent of the
minor's parent or legal guardian. The Attorney General or
district attorney may bring multiple cases at one time against a
social media company for violations of this chapter.
(b) Penalty.--
(1) For a first offense for an action brought on behalf
of a single minor, a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500.
(2) For a second offense for an action brought on behalf
of the same single minor under paragraph (1), a civil penalty
not to exceed $5,000.
(3) For a third or subsequent offense for an action
brought on behalf of the same single minor under paragraph
(1), a civil penalty not to exceed $50,000.
(4) For a first offense for an action brought by the
Attorney General or a district attorney on behalf of multiple
minors, a civil penalty not to exceed the greater of
$5,000,000 or the total number of violations multiplied by
the maximum civil penalty under paragraph (1).
(5) If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that
there have been repeated intentional violations of this
chapter by a social media company, the court may enter an
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order enjoining the social media company from operating in
this Commonwealth.
(c) Attorney General use of recovered fees.--For an action
brought by the Attorney General, civil fees collected under
subsection (b)(4) shall be deposited into the School Safety and
Security Fund to be used exclusively for mental health-related
services for school entities .
(d) District attorney or unit of government use of received
fees.--For an action brought by a district attorney or a unit of
government, civil fees collected under this section shall be
used by the county or unit of government to provide mental
health-related services for school entities in the county.
(e) Good faith.--It shall be a defense to a cause of action
under subsection (a) if a social media company takes good faith
actions, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, to
protect a minor from harm while using the social media company's
platform.
SUBCHAPTER D
DATA
Sec.
1131. Definitions.
1132. Prohibitions.
1133. Violations.
1134. Removal.
§ 1131. Definitions.
As used in this subchapter, the following words and phrases
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Minor." An individual who is under 18 years of age.
"Qualified individual." Any of the following:
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(1) A parent or guardian of a minor.
(2) An adult individual from whom data was collected
when the individual was a minor.
§ 1132. Prohibitions.
(a) Mining.--A social media company may not mine data
related to a minor who has opened a social media account,
notwithstanding if the account was opened with the written
consent of a parent or legal guardian of the minor.
(b) Sale of data.--A social media company may not sell or
profit from data related to a minor who has opened a social
media account, notwithstanding if the account was opened with
the written consent of a parent or legal guardian of the minor.
(c) Algorithmic recommendations.--A social media platform
may not use the personal data of a minor in an algorithmic
recommendation system.
§ 1133. Violations.
(a) Actions.--The Attorney General, a district attorney in
the county in which the minor or minor's parent or legal
guardian reside, a unit of government in which the minor or
minor's parent or legal guardian or a lawyer acting on behalf of
a parent or legal guardian of a minor may bring an action
against a social media company that knowingly, intentionally or
negligently violates a prohibition under section 1132 (relating
to prohibitions).
(b) Penalty.--
(1) For a first offense for an action brought on behalf
of a single minor, a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000.
(2) For a second offense for an action brought on behalf
of the same single minor under paragraph (1), a civil penalty
not to exceed $50,000.
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(3) For a third or subsequent offense for an action
brought on behalf of the same single minor under paragraph
(1), a civil penalty not to exceed $500,000.
(4) For a first offense for an action brought by the
Attorney General, district attorney or unit of government on
behalf of multiple minors, a civil penalty not to exceed the
greater of $50,000,000 or the total number of violations
multiplied by the maximum civil penalty under paragraph (1).
(5) For a violation of paragraphs (1), (2), (3) and (4),
a court of competent jurisdiction may order data collected as
a result of a violation of a prohibition under section 1132
to be scrubbed and removed from the Internet. The cost of
removal shall be paid by the social media company.
(6) If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that
there has been repeated intentional violations of a
prohibition under section 1132 by a social media company, the
court may prohibit the social media company from operating in
this Commonwealth.
(c) Attorney General use of recovered fees.--For an action
brought by the Attorney General, civil fees collected under this
section shall be deposited into the School Safety and Security
Fund to be used for mental health-related services for school
entities.
(d) District attorney or unit of government use of received
fees.--For an action brought by a district attorney or unit of
government, civil fees collected under this section shall be
used by the county or unit of government to provide mental
health-related services for school entities in the county or
unit of government.
(e) Good faith.--It shall be a defense to a cause of action
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under subsection (a) if a social media company takes good faith
actions, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction.
§ 1134. Removal.
(a) Process.--A social media company shall implement a
process for a qualified individual to have data mined or
collected from an individual when the individual was a minor
deleted and removed from websites and platforms operated by the
social media company.
(b) Notice.--A social media company that has mined or
collected personal information from a minor or retains personal
information about a minor shall prominently display notice on
the website of how a qualified individual can request that the
social media company delete personal information in the
possession of the social media company that was collected from
or about the individual when the individual was a minor.
(c) Deletion.--Upon a request of a qualified individual, a
social media company shall, no later than 30 days after the
request, delete personal information in the possession of the
social media company that was mined or collected from or about
the individual when the individual was a minor.
(d) Confirmation.--Within five business days of personal
information being deleted by the social media company, the
social media company shall provide, by written communication,
notice to the qualified individual that personal information has
been deleted.
(e) Violations.--A social media company that intentionally,
knowingly or negligently failed to delete personal information
when a request to delete personal information is made by a
qualified individual shall be strictly liable for a civil
penalty of $10,000 per day per website until the personal
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information has been removed. If a social media company has
received consent from a parent or guardian to collect personal
information of a minor, the consent shall be an absolute defense
to a violation of this section.
Section 2. This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) Except for 50 Pa.C.S. § 1123(a), 50 Pa.C.S. Ch. 11,
Subch. C. shall take effect in one year.
(2) The remainder of this act shall take effect
immediately.
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