SENATE RULES COMMITTEE SB 1424

Office of Senate Floor Analyses

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UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Bill No: SB 1424

Author: Pan (D)
Amended: 8/23/18
Vote: 21

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 5-1, 5/8/18

AYES: Jackson, Hertzberg, Monning, Stern, Wieckowski
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Moorlach

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/25/18

AYES: Lara, Beall, Bradford, Hill, Wiener
NOES: Bates, Nielsen

SENATE FLOOR: 25-11, 5/30/18

AYES: Allen, Atkins, Beall, Bradford, Dodd, Galgiani, Glazer, Hernandez,
Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leyva, McGuire, Mitchell, Monning,
Newman, Pan, Portantino, Roth, Skinner, Stern, Wieckowski, Wiener
NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Gaines, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen,
Stone, Vidak, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cannella, De León, Fuller

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 53-23, 8/23/18 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Internet: social media: false information

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill directs the Attorney General to establish an advisory group to
study the problem of the spread of false information through Internet-based social
media platforms and draft a model strategic plan for such platforms to mitigate the
spread of false information through their platforms.
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Assembly Amendments make the establishment of the advisory group contingent

upon the provision of private funding to underwrite it, and establish the necessary
accounts for receipt of such funds.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law prohibits Congress from enacting any law
abridging the freedom of speech and association. (U.S. Const., amend. I.)
Existing state law:
1) Provides that every person may freely speak, write and publish his or her
sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of this right. A law
may not restrain or abridge liberty of speech or press. (Cal. Const., art. I, Sec.
2(a).)
2) Mandates that an operator of a commercial Web site or online service that
collects personally identifiable information through the Internet about
individual consumers residing in California who use or visit its commercial
Web site or online service conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Web site.
(Bus. & Prof. Code Sec. 225759(a).)
This bill:
1) Directs the Attorney General to establish an advisory group consisting of at
least one member of the Department of Justice, Internet-based social media
providers, civil liberties advocates, and First Amendment scholars to:
a) Study the problem of the spread of false information through Internet-based
social media platforms; and
b) Draft a model strategic plan for Internet-based social media platforms to sue
to mitigate the spread of false information through their platforms
2) Makes formation of the advisory group and instigation of its work contingent
on receipt of sufficient private funding, as determined by the Department of
Finance, to complete them. Provides for the creation of financial accounts for
the purpose of collecting such funds. Directs the Attorney General to publish
notice upon a determination that sufficient funds have been received. Provides
for repeal of the law on December 31, 2021 if sufficient funds have not been
received.
3) Directs the Attorney General to present the results of the study and the model
strategic plan to the Legislature and to the Assembly and Senate Committees on
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Judiciary, by no later than one year after publication of the notice that there are
sufficient funds to pay for completion of the advisory group’s tasks.
Background
The problem of “fake news” has been around at least as long as the printing press.
Publishers have produced “fake news,” readers have believed “fake news,” and, as
a result, “fake news” has repeatedly altered the course of history. Nonetheless, the
advent of social media brings renewed attention to the issue.
Social media is nearly ubiquitous in modern California life. It delivers content to
users in a rapid, relentless stream to devices many Californians carry everywhere
and check often. Perhaps most significantly, social media comes with the power to
target content to the particular users who may be most susceptible to seeing or
hearing it.
There is evidence to suggest that the dissemination of “fake news” through social
media influenced the outcome of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. On the other
hand, the Electoral College winner of that election regularly insists, on social
media, that such evidence is itself “fake news.” The only clear takeaway is that
what constitutes “fake news” is in the mind of the beholder.
This bill seeks to rein in the spread of false information through social media.
Putting the government in the position of determining what is or is not “false
information,” could raise significant constitutional concerns around censorship,
however. The bill therefore directs the Attorney General, contingent on the
collection of sufficient private financial underwriting, to form an advisory group to
study the problem of the spread of false information through Internet-based social
media platforms and to come up with a model strategic plan for how those
platforms can mitigate the spread of false information.
Comments
There is broad consensus that the spread of “false information” through social
media is a significant concern. There are tremendous practical and constitutional
complexities to addressing the problem, however. The author is fully aware of
these concerns and, at the same time, determined to find a solution. The size,
importance, and complexity of the issue may lend itself most appropriately to
stepping back and consulting with stakeholders and experts at greater length, so as
to be able to craft a careful and effective remedy to this important problem.
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Related/Prior Legislation
AB 155 (Gomez, 2017) would have required the development and adoption of a
media literacy curriculum in public schools with the goal, among other things, of
training pupils to distinguish between “real news” and “fake news.” AB 155 died
in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor one-time costs,
likely no more than tens of thousands of dollars (General Fund) in staff time and
resources, to the Department Of Justice to establish the advisory group, participate
in its activities, and prepare a report to the Legislature.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/27/18)
None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/27/18)

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Department of Finance

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: ---

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Electronic Frontier Foundation writes:
Established case law prevents the government from positioning
itself as the arbiter of which statements are fictional and which
are truthful. Indeed, false statements are often constitutionally
protected speech. In United States v. Alvarez, 132 S. Ct. 2537
(2012), the Supreme Court struck down the Stolen Valor Act,
which banned the unauthorized use of military medals. Even
where the government had a strong interest in preventing false
statements, and the defendant admitted that his claim to have
been awarded the Medal of Honor was “an intended, undoubted
lie,” the Court held that “some false statements are inevitable if
there is to be an open and vigorous expression of views in
public and private conversation, expression the First
Amendment seeks to guarantee.” Id. at 2554.
The study group that SB 1424 creates may invite private parties
to increase online censorship. Government-sponsored
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recommendations about how to discriminate among Internet

speakers are harmful in and of themselves.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 52-26, 8/27/18

AYES: Aguiar-Curry, Arambula, Berman, Bloom, Bonta, Burke, Calderon,
Carrillo, Cervantes, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Daly, Eggman, Flora, Frazier,
Friedman, Gabriel, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gipson, Gloria, Gonzalez
Fletcher, Gray, Grayson, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Levine, Limón,
Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk-Silva,
Reyes, Rivas, Rodriguez, Rubio, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Weber, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Acosta, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Caballero, Chávez, Chen,
Choi, Cunningham, Dahle, Fong, Gallagher, Harper, Kiley, Lackey,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson, Quirk, Steinorth,
Voepel, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cooley, Kamlager-Dove

Prepared by: Timothy Griffiths / JUD. / (916) 651-4113

8/28/18 13:06:11
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