N.Y. Senate Panel Supports Better Social Media Disclosure

A New York Senate panel quickly cleared a social media bill and three others by voice vote at a livestreamed meeting Tuesday. The Internet and Technology Committee sent to the Finance Committee a bill (S-895) that would require social platforms to clearly post terms of service for users, including a description on how to flag content, in English and in New York state’s 12 most common non-English languages. Also, it would require companies to report to the attorney general on service terms, including how they define “hate speech or racism, extremism or radicalization, disinformation or misinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference,” how companies enforce policies and what steps they have taken. “Social media platforms have not taken appropriate steps to manage the spread of hate speech, racism and misinformation,” says the bill by Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D). “Most do not even [provide] clear policies around enforcement, let alone clear reports on their enforcement process.” The committee sent to the floor S-6323 by Chair Kristen Gonzalez (D), which would allow identity theft victims to provide photo ID at retail stores in-person to recover their online accounts. Also, the panel sent to the floor S-2659 by Sen. Leroy Comrie (D), which would amend the state data breach law to require credit reporting agencies to disclose a breach within 15 days. And the committee cleared for floor vote S-5410 by Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (D) to require state agencies to maintain mobile friendly websites. Also Tuesday, the Senate Transportation Committee cleared a broadband bill (S-3133) by Sen. John Mannion (D). It would stop the New York transportation department from requiring surveys for proposed fiber deployments that use the state’s right of way.