Plain English Breakdown
The effective date is unknown as it depends on future executive action or statutory timing not included in the provided text.
AB-1137: New Rules for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse Material
This law changes how social media platforms must handle reports of child sexual abuse material by allowing anyone to report it, requiring human review when computers cannot identify the content, and mandating public audits.
What This Bill Does
- Removes the rule that only people shown in an image can report child sexual abuse material.
- Requires social media platforms to make their reporting tools clear and conspicuous for users.
- Mandates that reports be checked by a hash matching process first, then reviewed by a real person if no known match is found and the content is not otherwise blocked.
- Allows public attorneys like the Attorney General to collect civil penalties from companies that do not follow these rules.
- Changes audit requirements so platforms must submit to third-party audits and release those reports to the public.
Who It Names or Affects
- Social media platforms operating in California
- California residents who use social media reporting tools
- Individuals depicted as minors in reported material
- Public attorneys, including the Attorney General
Terms To Know
- Hash matching process
- A computer method that compares digital files to a list of known illegal images to identify them automatically.
- Third-party audits
- Safety checks performed by an outside company rather than the social media platform itself, with reports released to the public.
Limits and Unknowns
- The text does not state a specific date when these new rules will take effect.
- The bill defines 'depicted individual' but does not list every detail of that definition in this summary.
- The exact amount of civil penalties is described as specified by law, but the numbers are not listed here.