2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 8 - SPECIAL BUSINESS REGULATIONS › CHAPTER 31.5 - Drug Safety Policies on Social Media Platforms › Section 22945.

22945. (a) For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1) (A) “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.
(B) “Content” does not include media put on a service or application exclusively for the purpose of cloud storage, transmitting files, or file collaboration.
(2) “Controlled substance” has the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 11007 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) “Social media platform” means a public or semipublic internet-based service or application that has users in California and that meets both of the following criteria:
(A) (i) A substantial function of the service or application is to connect users in order to allow users to interact socially with each other within the service or application.
(ii) A service or application that provides email or direct messaging services shall not be considered to meet this criterion on the basis of that function alone.
(B) The service or application allows users to do all of the following:
(i) Construct a public or semipublic profile for purposes of signing into and using the service.
(ii) Populate a list of other users with whom an individual shares a social connection within the system.
(iii) Create or post content viewable by other users, including, but not limited to, on message boards, in chat rooms, or through a landing page or main feed that presents the user with content generated by other users.
(4) “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.
(b) A social media platform that operates in the state shall create, and publicly post on the social media platform’s internet website, a policy statement that includes all of the following:
(1) The social media platform’s policy on the use of the social media platform to illegally distribute a controlled substance.
(2) A general description of the social media platform’s moderation practices that are employed to prevent users from posting or sharing electronic content pertaining to the illegal distribution of a controlled substance. The description shall not include any information that the social media platform believes might compromise operational efforts to identify prohibited content or user activity, or otherwise endanger user safety.
(3) A link to mental health and drug education resources provided by governmental public health authorities.
(4) A link to the social media platform’s reporting mechanism for illegal or harmful content or behavior on the social media platform, if one exists.
(5) A general description of the social media platform’s policies and procedures for responding to law enforcement inquiries, including warrants, subpoenas, and other court orders compelling the production of or access to electronic communication information, as defined in Section 1546 of the Penal Code.
(6) A general description of the social media platform’s policy on the retention of electronic communication information, as defined in Section 1546 of the Penal Code, including how long the platform retains that information.
(7) A general description of the social media platform’s policies and procedures governing when a platform proactively shares relevant information pertaining to the illegal distribution of a controlled substance.
(c) The disclosures required by this section may be posted separately or incorporated within another document or post, including, but not limited to, the terms of service or the community guidelines.
(d) A person or entity operating a social media platform in the state shall do all of the following:
(1) Update the policy statement created pursuant to subdivision (b) as necessary.
(2) Consider consulting with nonprofits, safety advocates, and survivors to assist in developing and supporting the policy statement created pursuant to subdivision (b).
(3) (A) A social media platform shall retain data on content it has taken action to take down or remove for a violation of a policy prohibiting the unlawful sale, distribution, amplification, or otherwise proliferation of controlled substances and related paraphernalia. A social media platform shall retain the content that violated a policy and the username of the violating account at issue for a period of 90 days.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a social media platform is not required to retain content removed in violation of the policy if there is a good faith belief that the content is related to the offering, seeking, or receiving of gender-affirming health care, gender-affirming mental health care, or reproductive health care that is lawful under California law.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 824, Sec. 3. (AB 1027) Effective January 1, 2024. Repealed as of January 1, 2028, pursuant to Section 22945.9.)