FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2024

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Creates New Monetary Penalties for Injuries To Minors
Caused by Certain Social Media Companies. Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on February 21, 2024.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

CREATES NEW MONETARY PENALTIES FOR INJURIES TO MINORS CAUSED BY CERTAIN SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Under current law, individuals may sue to recover their actual monetary damages for injuries caused by a company’s negligence (failure to act with ordinary care). This measure would make social media companies with annual revenues exceeding $100,000,000 liable for additional monetary penalties for injuries (such as addiction or self-harm) caused by the platform’s negligence to persons under 18 years old. Penalties would be either: (1) $5,000 per violation, up to $1,000,000 per minor, or (2) three times the minor’s actual damages. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Increased state court costs likely in the millions of dollars depending on the type and volume of additional civil cases filed in state courts and how they are resolved. Uncertain impact on state and local tax revenue that would depend primarily on how social media platforms respond to the measure. (23-0035A1)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1976 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 23-0035A1.

The proponent of the measure, James P. Steyer, must collect signatures of 546,651 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than August 19, 2024. The address for the proponent is 699 8^th Street, Suite C150, San Francisco, CA 94103. The proponent may also be contacted c/o Robbie Torney at (505) 310-9160 and rtorney@commonsense.org.

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Contact: SOS Press Office
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