Bill Text: NY A00927 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Prevents interactive computer service providers from knowingly or negligently promoting developed content that is dangerous or otherwise injurious to minors; assesses a civil penalty to social media networks that knowingly or negligently promote such content.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to consumer affairs and protection [A00927 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00927-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           927

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. VANEL -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Consumer Affairs and Protection

        AN ACT to amend the general business  law,  in  relation  to  preventing
          interactive  computer  service providers from knowingly or negligently
          promoting developed content that is dangerous or  otherwise  injurious
          to minors

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
     2  394-cccc to read as follows:
     3    § 394-cccc. Interactive computer service providers; developing injuri-
     4  ous content; minors. 1. As used in this  section,  the  following  terms
     5  shall have the following meanings:
     6    (a)  "interactive  computer  service  providers"  shall mean a service
     7  provider who operates in the state of New York, which, for profit-making
     8  purposes, operates an internet platform that is designed to  disseminate
     9  public content generated by third parties;
    10    (b) "content" shall mean the textual, visual or aural information that
    11  is generated by a third party or an interactive computer service provid-
    12  er;
    13    (c)  "promote"  shall  mean  to  present,  or  otherwise convey, third
    14  party-generated  or  interactive  computer  service   provider-generated
    15  content to a targeted minor;
    16    (d)  "minor"  shall  mean  any person under the age of eighteen who is
    17  located in the state of New York;
    18    (e) "platform" means an application or website that serves as  a  base
    19  from which the interactive computer service is provided;
    20    (f)  "targeted  minor" means a minor who uses the interactive computer
    21  service, and who the interactive computer service provider  targets  for
    22  the purpose of sending a developed message;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03783-01-3

        A. 927                              2

     1    (g)  "target,  targets,  targeted,  or targeting" shall mean conveying
     2  content to a targeted minor solely on the basis of their  personal  data
     3  which includes, but is not limited to, the targeted minor's:
     4    (i) location data, whether general or precise, including:
     5    (A)  the  time  of  day  in  the  minor's  current or predicted future
     6  location;
     7    (B) the weather in the minor's current or predicted future location;
     8    (C) the local businesses in the minor's current  or  future  predicted
     9  location;
    10    (D) the natural, artificial, or planned events in the users current or
    11  future predicated location;
    12    (E)  political  preferences in the minor's current or future predicted
    13  location; and/or
    14    (F) landmarks in the minor's current or future predicted location.
    15    (ii) income related activities, including the minor's:
    16    (A) income level;
    17    (B) profession;
    18    (C) employment status;
    19    (D) source of income; and/or
    20    (E) investments.
    21    (iii) relationship status, including whether the user is:
    22    (A) single;
    23    (B) married;
    24    (C) divorced;
    25    (D) engaging in an affair;
    26    (E) in a domestic partnership;
    27    (F) engaged;
    28    (G) in a romantic or intimate social relationship; and/or
    29    (H) is contemplating or is in the process of terminating  a  relation-
    30  ship.
    31    (iv) social status, including whether the user:
    32    (A) is a public official;
    33    (B) is a public figure;
    34    (C) is a limited purpose public figure;
    35    (D) is involuntarily thrust into the public domain;
    36    (E)  receives  a  significant amount of engagements on the interactive
    37  computer service provider's platform; and/or
    38    (F) receives an insignificant amount of engagements  or  is  within  a
    39  specific  threshold  of  engagements  on an interactive computer service
    40  provider's platform.
    41    (v) psychological profile, whether generated  based  on  psychological
    42  conditions  set  by the interactive computer service provider, or unique
    43  or generally accepted psychological conditions;
    44    (vi) veteran status, including whether the user:
    45    (A) has served in the armed forces of the  United  States  or  another
    46  country;
    47    (B)  is  currently serving in the armed forces of the United States or
    48  another country;
    49    (C) has been discharged, whether honorably,  for  medical  reasons  or
    50  otherwise; and/or
    51    (D)  is  not  a veteran nor a member of the armed forces of the United
    52  States or another country.
    53    (vii) medical condition or status, including the minor's:
    54    (A) mental state;
    55    (B) physical state;
    56    (C) emotional state; and/or

        A. 927                              3

     1    (D) frequency of their receipt of medical care.
     2    (viii) sex;
     3    (ix) gender;
     4    (x) national origin;
     5    (xi) age;
     6    (xii) race;
     7    (xiii) religion; and
     8    (xiv) familial demographics, including:
     9    (A) whether the user is pregnant or expecting a child;
    10    (B) the demographic makeup of the minor's family;
    11    (C) the number of people in the minor's family;
    12    (D) the emotional relationship between family members; and/or
    13    (E)  an  immediate or distant relative's personal data as described in
    14  subparagraphs (i)-(xiii) of this paragraph or their familial  demograph-
    15  ics status as described in clauses(A)-(D) of this subparagraph; and
    16    (h) "developed or developing" shall mean:
    17    (i)  the  interactive computer service provider generating or altering
    18  visible portions of content or a group of content; or
    19    (ii) the interactive computer service provider  sufficiently  altering
    20  the  meaning of content or a group of content generated by third parties
    21  through the calculated targeting of the specific minor such that  a  new
    22  message  is  deemed  to  be  created by the interactive computer service
    23  provider.
    24    2. An interactive computer service provider that conducts business  in
    25  the  state  shall  not  knowingly or negligently injure a targeted minor
    26  with promoted content that the  interactive  computer  service  provider
    27  developed.
    28    The  interactive  computer  service  provider  shall  be liable to the
    29  targeted minor in a civil action for any actual, physical, and emotional
    30  harm incurred from a violation of this  section,  as  well  as  punitive
    31  damages. Such interactive computer services provider shall incur a civil
    32  penalty of up to one hundred thousand dollars per offense.
    33    3.  It  is not a defense to this section that the interactive computer
    34  service provider incorrectly determined the targeted minor's data.
    35    4. Nothing in this section shall be construed as:
    36    (a) an obligation imposed on an interactive computer service  provider
    37  that  adversely  affects  the rights or freedoms of any persons, such as
    38  exercising the right of free speech pursuant to the first  amendment  to
    39  the United States Constitution;
    40    (b)  an  additional  or increased liability of an interactive computer
    41  service provider  for  anything  other  than  knowingly  or  negligently
    42  promoting content that is detrimental to minors who use such interactive
    43  computer service provider promoting content to non-targeted minors based
    44  solely on their location and/or time data;
    45    (c) creating any liability for an interactive computer service provid-
    46  er for promoting content that is not sufficiently developed to be deemed
    47  a violation of the provisions of subdivision two of this section; or
    48    (d) creating any liability for an interactive computer service provid-
    49  er  for  promoting dangerous or otherwise injurious developed content in
    50  another state.
    51    5. In determination of any such violation, the attorney general  shall
    52  be  authorized  to  take  proof and make a determination of the relevant
    53  facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil  practice  law
    54  and rules.
    55    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    56  it shall have become a law.
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