The bill introduces several measures to enhance user protection on social media platforms:
User Engagement Information for Minors: Social media platforms are required to provide minor users with information about their engagement on the platform, as previously mandated by House Bill 24-1136 in 2024.
Policy Publication and Updates: Social media companies must publish and regularly update policies for each platform they own or operate, detailing mandatory contents as specified in the bill.
Annual Reporting to the Department of Law: Companies are obligated to submit annual reports to the Department of Law, including information on published policies and any violations for each platform they manage.
Public Annual Reports on Minor User Data: An annual public report must be made available, detailing data on minor users' activities, including descriptions of product experiments conducted on 1,000 or more minor users.
Response to Policy Violations: Upon notification of a user's alleged policy violation or legal infraction, the company must determine within 72 hours whether a violation occurred and, if so, remove the user within 24 hours after the determination.
Law Enforcement Cooperation: Platforms with at least one million users must provide a streamlined process for Colorado law enforcement agencies to contact the company and comply with a search warrant within 72 hours of receipt.
Enforcement and Penalties: Violations of these requirements are classified as unfair or deceptive trade practices under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, subject to appropriate penalties.
Rulemaking Authority: The Attorney General is authorized to adopt rules to implement these new requirements.
These provisions aim to enhance transparency, accountability, and user safety on social media platforms operating within Colorado.
Summary
The bill establishes certain requirements for social media
companies and social media platforms in order to protect users. Specifically, the bill:
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Relocates, with amendments, certain language requiring a social media platform to include a function that provides minor users information about their engagement in social media, which language was enacted in 2024 by House Bill 24-1136;
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Requires a social media company to publish and update policies for each social media platform owned or operated by the social media company (published policies) and establishes mandatory contents for the published policies;
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Requires a social media company to submit to the department of law an annual report that includes, for each social media platform owned or operated by the social media company, information concerning the published policies and violations of the published policies;
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Requires a social media company to annually make publicly available a report that includes, for each social media platform owned or operated by the social media company, certain data concerning how minor users used the social media platform, including a description of all product experiments that were conducted on 1,000 or more minor users;
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Requires a social media company, upon the notification of a user's alleged violation of the published policies or of state or federal law, to determine within 72 hours whether the violation occurred and, if so, to remove the user from the applicable social media platform within 24 hours after the determination is made;
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Requires a social media platform with at least one million users to provide a streamlined process to allow Colorado law enforcement agencies to contact the social media company that operates the social media platform and to comply with a search warrant within 72 hours after receiving the search warrant;
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Makes a violation of the new requirements an unfair or deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, to be punished accordingly; and
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Authorizes the attorney general to adopt rules to carry out the new requirements.
