Bill Text: MI HB5973 | 2021-2022 | 101st Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Consumer protection: other; technology companies from deplatforming users; prohibit. Creates new act.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-04-12 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 03/24/2022 [HB5973 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2021-HB5973-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 5973
A bill to prohibit certain censorship by certain social media platforms; to designate certain social media platforms as common carriers; to prescribe civil sanctions; to provide remedies; and to provide for the powers and duties of certain state and local governmental officers and entities.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "social media censorship prevention act".
(a) "Censor" means to block, ban, remove, deplatform, demonetize, de-boost, restrict, deny equal access or visibility to, or otherwise discriminate against expression.
(b) "Common carrier" means a social media platform described in section 5.
(c) "Expression" means any word, music, sound, still or moving image, number, or other perceivable communication.
(d) "Receive", with respect to an expression, means to read, hear, look at, access, or gain access to the expression.
(e) "Social media platform" means an internet website or application that is open to the public, allows a user to create an account, and enables users to communicate with other users for the primary purpose of posting information, comments, messages, or images. Social media platform does not include any of the following:
(i) An internet service provider. As used in this subparagraph, "internet service provider" means a person providing connectivity to the internet or another wide area network.
(ii) Email.
(iii) An online service, application, or website if both of the following requirements are met:
(A) The online service, application, or website consists primarily of news, sports, entertainment, or other information or content that is not user generated but is preselected by the provider.
(B) Any chat, comments, or interactive functionality for the online service, application, or website is incidental to, directly related to, or dependent upon the provision of the content described in sub-subparagraph (A).
(f) "Unlawful expression" means an expression that is unlawful under the United States Constitution, federal law, the state constitution of 1963, or the laws of this state, including expression that constitutes a tort under the laws of this state or the United States.
(g) "User" means a person who posts, uploads, transmits, shares, or otherwise publishes or receives expression, through a social media platform. User includes a person that has a social media platform account that the social media platform has disabled or locked.
Sec. 5. A social media platform that meets both of the following requirements is a common carrier as at common law and shall not unjustly or unlawfully discriminate against expression on its internet website or platform:
(a) Has more than 50,000,000 active users in the United States in a calendar month.
(b) Has 1 or more of the following:
(i) A user described in section 11(1).
(ii) Expression described in section 11(2).
Sec. 7. (1) Subject to section 11, a common carrier shall not censor a user, a user's expression, or a user's ability to receive the expression of another person based on any of the following:
(a) The viewpoint of the user or another person.
(b) The viewpoint represented in the user's expression or another person's expression.
(c) A user's geographic location in this state or any part of this state.
(2) This section applies regardless of whether the viewpoint is expressed on a social media platform or through any other medium.
Sec. 9. (1) A waiver or purported waiver of the protections provided by this act is void as unlawful and against public policy, and a court or arbitrator shall not enforce or give effect to the waiver, notwithstanding any contract or choice-of-law provision in a contract.
(2) The legislature finds that subsection (1) is necessary for the public good and the general welfare of the people of this state.
Sec. 11. (1) This act applies only to a user that meets 1 of the following requirements:
(a) Resides in this state.
(b) Does business in this state.
(c) Shares or receives expression in this state.
(2) This act applies only to expression that is shared or received in this state.
(3) This act applies to the maximum extent permitted by the United States Constitution and federal law, but no further than the maximum extent permitted by the United States Constitution and federal law.
Sec. 13. (1) This act does not prohibit a common carrier from censoring expression that meets any of the following conditions:
(a) Directly incites criminal activity or consists of specific threats of violence targeted against an individual or group because of their race, color, disability, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, sex, or status as a peace officer or judge.
(b) Is the subject of a referral or request from an organization with the purpose of preventing the sexual exploitation of children and protecting survivors of sexual abuse from ongoing harassment.
(c) Is unlawful expression.
(2) This act does not prohibit or restrict a common carrier from authorizing or facilitating a user's ability to censor specific expression on the user's platform or page at the request of that user.
(3) This act does not limit or expand intellectual property law.
Sec. 15. (1) A user may bring an action against a common carrier that violates this act with respect to the user.
(2) If the user proves that the common carrier violated this act with respect to the user, the user is entitled to 1 or more of the following:
(a) Declaratory relief.
(b) Injunctive relief.
(c) Costs and reasonable and necessary attorney fees.
(3) Failure of a common carrier to promptly comply with a court order in an action brought under this section may be punished as contempt of court, and the court may use all lawful measures to secure immediate compliance with the order, including daily penalties sufficient to secure immediate compliance.
(4) A user may bring an action under this section regardless of whether another court has enjoined the attorney general from enforcing this act or declared any provision of this act unconstitutional, unless that court decision is binding on the court in which the action is brought.
(5) Nonmutual issue preclusion and nonmutual claim preclusion are not defenses to an action brought under this section.
Sec. 16. (1) A person may notify the attorney general of a violation or potential violation of this act by a common carrier.
(2) The attorney general may bring an action to enjoin a violation or potential violation of this act. If the injunction is granted, the attorney general may recover costs and reasonable attorney fees incurred in bringing the action and reasonable investigative costs incurred in relation to the action.
