Cal. BPC § 22589 — California Code / Code bpc / Division 8 / Chapter 22.2.9 / Section 22589
Section 22589
Status: in_force

For purposes of this chapter:

(a) (1) “Content” means statements or comments made by users and media that are created, posted, shared, or otherwise interacted with by users on an internet-based service or application.

(2) “Content” does not include media put on a service or application exclusively for the purpose of cloud storage, transmitting files, or file collaboration.

(b) “Cyberbullying” means any severe or pervasive conduct made by an electronic act, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (r) of Section 48900 of the Education Code, committed by a person or group of people directed toward one or more minors that has, or can be reasonably predicted to have, the effect of any of the following:

(1) Placing a reasonable minor in fear of harm to that minor’s person or property.

(2) Causing a reasonable minor to experience a substantially detrimental effect on the minor’s physical or mental health.

(3) Causing a reasonable minor to experience substantial interference with the minor’s academic performance.

(4) Causing a reasonable minor to experience substantial interference with the minor’s ability to participate in, or benefit from, the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school.

(c) (1) “Severe or pervasive conduct” includes only content that has, or can be reasonably predicted to have, the harmful, detrimental, or substantially interfering effects described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (b).

(2) “Severe conduct” includes conduct that has, or can be reasonably predicted to have, the harmful, detrimental, or substantially interfering effects described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (b). Severe conduct may also include content that does any of the following:

(A) Calls for self-injury or suicide of a minor or a specific person or of a group of individuals related to a minor.

(B) Attacks a minor based on the minor’s experience of sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, or domestic abuse.

(C) Includes statements of intent to engage in a sexual activity or advocating to engage in a sexual activity with a minor.

(D) Threatens to release a minor’s telephone number, residential address, images, or email address.

(E) Calls for, or statements of intent to engage in, threats of violence, humiliation, or criminal activity against a minor.

(F) Degrades, or expresses disgust toward, a minor who is depicted in the process of, or right after, menstruating, urinating, vomiting, or defecating.

(G) The identification in this paragraph of particular bases of severe conduct is illustrative rather than restrictive.

(d) “Social media platform” has the same meaning as defined in Section 22675.

(e) “Public or semipublic internet-based service or application” excludes a service or application used to facilitate communication within a business or enterprise among employees or affiliates of the business or enterprise, provided that access to the service or application is restricted to employees or affiliates of the business or enterprise using the service or application.

(f) “Terms of service” means a public-facing policy or set of policies adopted by a social media platform that specifies, at least, the user behavior and activities that are permitted on the social media platform and the user behavior and activities that may result in the social media platform taking action against the user or content.