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To: Judiciary, Division A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) Williams
SENATE BILL NO. 2693
AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI SOCIAL MEDIA FRAUD 1
ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 2
77-3-805, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT NO PERSON OR 3
BUSINESS SHALL TAKE ANY ACTION WHICH ORIGINATES, FACILITATES THE 4
TRANSMISSION OF, OR DELIVERS TO A RECIPIENT A CALL THAT FALSELY 5
IDENTIFIES THE CALLER'S NAME OR TELEPHONE NUMBER WHEN THE 6
EQUIPMENT OR SERVICE USED BY THE PERSON OR BUSINESS IS CAPABLE OF 7
TRANSMITTING THE CALLER'S TRUE NAME OR TELEPHONE NUMBER; TO 8
PROVIDE THAT IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL TO BLOCK, SPOOF, OR OTHERWISE 9
CIRCUMVENT CALLER IDENTIFICATION SERVICES OR CALL SCREENING 10
PRODUCTS IN CONNECTION WITH ANY ELECTRONIC ADVERTISEMENT OR 11
ELECTRONIC SOLICITATION; TO AMEND SECTION 81-29-3, MISSISSIPPI 12
CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT NO PERSON OR ENTITY SHALL USE THE 13
NAME, TRADE NAME, TRADEMARK, LOGO, PHONE NUMBER, OR INTERNET 14
ADDRESS OF ANY BANK IN ANY ELECTRONIC ADVERTISEMENT OR 15
SOLICITATION WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE BANK; TO PROVIDE FOR 16
ENFORCEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; TO PROVIDE A CIVIL ACTION IN 17
A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION FOR ANY PERSON ADVERSELY 18
AFFECTED BY ANY PATTERN OR PRACTICE WHICH VIOLATES THIS ACT; TO 19
AMEND SECTION 75-24-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A 20
VIOLATION OF THIS ACT SHALL BE AN UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE TRADE 21
PRACTICE IN OR AFFECTING COMMERCE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 22
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 23
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 24
"Mississippi Social Media Fraud Accountability and Consumer 25
Protection Act." 26
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SECTION 2. For the purposes of this act, the following words 27
shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly 28
requires otherwise: 29
(a) "Social media platform" means any interactive 30
computer service that enables users to create, share, or view 31
content, and which accepts payment or compensation for 32
advertising. 33
(b) "Fraudulent advertisement" means any paid or 34
promoted content disseminated through a social media platform that 35
misrepresents material facts, including the identity of the 36
advertiser or the nature of the goods or services, to induce a 37
transaction. 38
SECTION 3. (1) A social media platform operating in this 39
state shall exercise reasonable care to prevent the dissemination 40
of fraudulent advertisements. To fulfill this duty, any social 41
media platform that accepts payment, or any other form of 42
compensation, for advertising, shall establish and implement 43
procedures to provide and require: 44
(a) Robust identity verification protocols for all 45
advertisers prior to the publication of any paid content; 46
(b) An active impersonation detection and mitigation 47
program designed to identify and block accounts or advertisements 48
that impersonate legitimate individuals or entities; 49
(c) Automated and manual fraud detection systems 50
capable of flagging suspicious commercial activity; and 51
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(d) A clear, conspicuous, and user-friendly tool for 52
users to report suspected fraud. 53
(2) (a) Upon receiving a report of suspected fraud from a 54
user, financial institution, or the Attorney General, a social 55
media platform must, within seventy-two (72) hours investigate and 56
make a determination whether such reported activity violates this 57
act. 58
(b) If the advertisement is determined to be 59
fraudulent, the social media platform must immediately remove the 60
reported fraudulent advertisement from its platform. 61
(c) Regardless of the outcome of its investigation and 62
the action taken, the social media platform must notify the 63
submitter of the status and result of their report upon the 64
conclusion of its investigation. 65
(3) Each social media platform shall publish a comprehensive 66
quarterly public report on its website containing, at a minimum, 67
the following data elements: 68
(a) The percentage of total number of advertisements 69
reported by users for fraud; 70
(b) The percentage of advertisements reported as 71
fraudulent that were removed, and the average time between receipt 72
of report and removal; 73
(c) Trend data comparing changes in the total number 74
of reported advertisements and the total advertisements removed 75
from quarter to quarter and year to year; 76
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(d) The total dollar value of compensation received by 77
the platform for advertisements that were reported and for 78
advertisements that were removed each quarter; and 79
(e) The total number of impersonation reports received 80
each quarter and the average time taken to resolve them. 81
SECTION 4. (1) A social media platform shall be liable for 82
actual damages caused by a fraudulent advertisement if the 83
platform: 84
(a) Violates the duty of care established in Section 85
3(1) of this act; 86
(b) Fails to investigate and remove a reported 87
Fraudulent Advertisement within the seventy-two-hour period 88
mandated by Section 3(2) of this act; or 89
(c) Knowingly permits fraudulent advertisements on its 90
platform or ignores credible reports of such fraud. 91
(2) A social media platform that maintains a certified 92
fraud-prevention program that is consistent with the provisions of 93
this act and approved by the Mississippi Attorney General's Office 94
of Consumer Protection shall be presumed to be in compliance with 95
the duty of care requirements of Section 3(1) of this act, 96
provided it has not acted with gross negligence or willful 97
misconduct. 98
SECTION 5. Section 77-3-805, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 99
amended as follows: 100
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77-3-805. (1) Except as provided in Section 77-3-807, a 101
person shall not, in connection with any telecommunications 102
service or interconnected VoIP service, knowingly and with the 103
intent to defraud or cause harm to another person or to wrongfully 104
obtain anything of value, cause any caller identification service 105
to transmit misleading or inaccurate caller identification 106
information * * *. 107
(2) No person or business shall take any action which 108
originates, facilitates the transmission of, or delivers to a 109
recipient a call that falsely identifies the caller's name or 110
telephone number when the equipment or service used by the person 111
or business is capable of transmitting the caller's true name or 112
telephone number. 113
(3) It shall be unlawful to block, spoof, or otherwise 114
circumvent caller identification services or call screening 115
products in connection with any electronic advertisement or 116
electronic solicitation. 117
SECTION 6. Section 81-29-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 118
amended as follows: 119
81-29-3. (1) A person other than the owner of the trade 120
name or trademark may not use a trade name or trademark of a 121
lender or a trade name or trademark confusingly similar to that of 122
a lender in a solicitation for the offering of services or 123
products without the written consent of the lender, unless the 124
solicitation clearly and conspicuously states in boldfaced type on 125
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the front page of the correspondence containing the solicitation 126
all of the following: 127
(a) The name, address and telephone number of the 128
person making the solicitation. 129
(b) That the person making the solicitation is not 130
affiliated with the lender. 131
(c) That the solicitation is not authorized or 132
sponsored by the lender. 133
(d) That the loan information referenced was not 134
provided by the lender. 135
(2) A person may not use a loan number, loan amount or other 136
specific loan information that is not publicly available in a 137
solicitation for the purchase of services or products. However, 138
the prohibition does not apply to the use by a lender or its 139
affiliates in communications with a current or former customer of 140
the lender of a loan number, loan amount or other specific loan 141
information derived from the business relationship between the 142
lender and the current or former customer. 143
(3) (a) A person other than the lender may not use a loan 144
number, loan amount or other specific loan information that is 145
publicly available in a solicitation for the purchase of services 146
or products unless the solicitation clearly and conspicuously 147
states in boldfaced type on the front page of the correspondence 148
containing the solicitation all of the following: 149
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(i) The name, address and telephone number of the 150
person making the solicitation. 151
(ii) That the person making the solicitation is 152
not affiliated with the lender. 153
(iii) That the solicitation is not authorized or 154
sponsored by the lender. 155
(iv) That the loan information referenced was not 156
provided by the lender. 157
(b) The prohibition in paragraph (a) does not apply to 158
the use by a lender or its affiliates in communications with a 159
current or former customer of the lender of a loan number, loan 160
amount or other specific loan information derived from the 161
business relationship between the lender and the current or former 162
customer. 163
(4) Any reference to a lender without consent of the lender 164
as required by this chapter and any reference to a loan number, 165
loan amount or other specific loan information appearing on the 166
outside of an envelope, visible through the envelope window, or on 167
a postcard, in connection with any written communication that 168
includes or contains a solicitation for services or products is 169
prohibited. 170
(5) It is not a violation of this chapter for a person to 171
use the trade name of another lender in an advertisement for 172
services or products to compare the services or products offered 173
by the other lender. 174
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(6) A lender or owner of a trade name or trademark may seek 175
an injunction against a person who violates this section to stop 176
the unlawful use of the trade name, trademark or loan information. 177
The person seeking the injunction shall not be required to prove 178
actual damage as a result of the violation. Irreparable harm to 179
the lender or owner shall be presumed. The lender or owner 180
seeking the injunction may seek to recover actual damages and any 181
profits the defendant has accrued as a result of the violation. 182
The prevailing party in any action brought under this subsection 183
is entitled to recover costs associated with the action and 184
reasonable * * * attorney's fees from the other party. 185
(7) No person or entity shall use the name, trade name, 186
trademark, logo, phone number, or internet address of any bank, 187
credit union, trust company, or financial institution, or any 188
subsidiary thereof, in any electronic advertisement or electronic 189
solicitation without express written consent. A violation of this 190
subsection constitutes a "fraudulent advertisement" under the 191
Mississippi Social Media Fraud Accountability and Consumer 192
Protection Act. 193
SECTION 7. (1) A violation of this act shall be subject to 194
all the remedies available under Sections 75-24-1 through 75-24-29 195
to the extent that such remedies are in addition to or provide 196
greater protections for consumers than are provided in subsections 197
(2), (3), and (4) of this section. 198
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(2) Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that 199
any person or social media platform is using or intends to use any 200
method, act or practice declared by this act to be unlawful, the 201
Attorney General may bring an action in a court of competent 202
jurisdiction, to enjoin such act or practice, to enforce 203
compliance with this act, to obtain damages, restitution, or other 204
compensation on behalf of the residents of the jurisdiction, or to 205
obtain civil or criminal penalties. 206
(3) In addition to other remedies, any person or platform 207
found to be in violation of this act shall be subject to a civil 208
or criminal penalty of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars 209
($10,000.00) for each violation. 210
SECTION 8. (1) Any person adversely affected by any pattern 211
or practice which violates this act may bring a civil action in a 212
court of competent jurisdiction against a person who has engaged 213
or is engaging in such pattern or practice if the amount in 214
controversy exceeds the sum or value of Five Hundred Dollars 215
($500.00) in actual damages for each person adversely affected by 216
such pattern or practice. 217
(2) The action authorized under this section: 218
(a) Shall be commenced within three (3) years after the 219
discovery of the violation; and 220
(b) May be brought to enjoin such violation, to enforce 221
compliance with this act, to obtain damages, or to obtain such 222
further and other relief as the court may deem appropriate. 223
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SECTION 9. Section 75-24-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 224
amended as follows: 225
75-24-5. (1) Unfair methods of competition affecting 226
commerce and unfair or deceptive trade practices in or affecting 227
commerce are prohibited. Action may be brought under Section 228
75-24-5(1) only under the provisions of Section 75-24-9 or Section 229
7 of this act. 230
(2) Without limiting the scope of subsection (1) of this 231
section, the following unfair methods of competition and unfair or 232
deceptive trade practices or acts in the conduct of any trade or 233
commerce are hereby prohibited: 234
(a) Passing off goods or services as those of another; 235
(b) Misrepresentation of the source, sponsorship, 236
approval, or certification of goods or services; 237
(c) Misrepresentation of affiliation, connection, or 238
association with, or certification by another; 239
(d) Misrepresentation of designations of geographic 240
origin in connection with goods or services; 241
(e) Representing that goods or services have 242
sponsorship, approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, 243
benefits, or quantities that they do not have or that a person has 244
a sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection that 245
he does not have; 246
(f) Representing that goods are original or new if they 247
are reconditioned, reclaimed, used, or secondhand; 248
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(g) Representing that goods or services are of a 249
particular standard, quality, or grade, or that goods are of a 250
particular style or model, if they are of another; 251
(h) Disparaging the goods, services, or business of 252
another by false or misleading representation of fact; 253
(i) Advertising goods or services with intent not to 254
sell them as advertised; 255
(j) Advertising goods or services with intent not to 256
supply reasonably expectable public demand, unless the 257
advertisement discloses a limitation of quantity; 258
(k) Misrepresentations of fact concerning the reasons 259
for, existence of, or amounts of price reductions; 260
(l) Advertising by or on behalf of any licensed or 261
regulated health care professional which does not specifically 262
describe the license or qualifications of the licensed or 263
regulated health care professional; 264
(m) Charging an increased premium for reinstating a 265
motor vehicle insurance policy that was cancelled or suspended by 266
the insured solely for the reason that he was transferred out of 267
this state while serving in the United States Armed Forces or on 268
active duty in the National Guard or United States Armed Forces 269
Reserve. It is also an unfair practice for an insurer to charge 270
an increased premium for a new motor vehicle insurance policy if 271
the applicant for coverage or his covered dependents were 272
previously insured with a different insurer and canceled that 273
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ST: Mississippi Social Media Fraud
Accountability and Consumer Protection Act;
enact.
policy solely for the reason that he was transferred out of this 274
state while serving in the United States Armed Forces or on active 275
duty in the National Guard or United States Armed Forces Reserve. 276
For purposes of determining premiums, an insurer shall consider 277
such persons as having maintained continuous coverage. The 278
provisions of this paragraph (m) shall apply only to such 279
instances when the insured does not drive the vehicle during the 280
period of cancellation or suspension of his policy; 281
(n) Violating the provisions of Section 75-24-8; 282
(o) Violating the provisions of Section 73-3-38; 283
(p) Violating any of the provisions of Title 41, 284
Chapter 149, Mississippi Code of 1972; * * * 285
(q) Violating any of the provisions of Title 45, 286
Chapter 38, Mississippi Code of 1972 * * *; 287
(r) Violating any of the provisions of Title 41, 288
Chapter 151, Mississippi Code of 1972 * * *; and 289
(s) Violating any of the provisions of this act. 290
SECTION 10. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, 291
phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be 292
unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the 293
validity of the remaining portions of this act. 294
SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from 295
and after July 1, 2026. 296