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Minutes for SB50 - Committee on Federal and State Affairs
Short Title
Prohibiting internet social media terms of service that permit censorship of speech.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 1, 2023
Jason Long, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, gave an overview of the bill. He explained SB50 primarily deals terms of service agreements between an interactive computer service and a user, prohibiting the service from restricting, censoring, or suppressing information published by a user to a social media website. (Attachment 1)
After a period of question and answers, the Chairman called for proponent testimony.
Oral Proponent Testimony
Senator Mark Steffen spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated censorship in social media is a bipartisan issue and SB50 is a bipartisan bill. He explained Section 230 of the Federal Code was passed in 1996 to provide legal immunity to fledgling social media companies, and gave them authority to moderate problematic content. These companies then grew to mega companies, who began "moderating whimsically" beyond the intent of section 230. "SB50 artfully navigates Section 230. SB50 protects the social media's First Amendment rights. And, it protects the Kansas citizens' rights to be heard regardless of political affiliation via our consumer protection act." (Attachment 2) The Senator stood for a period of questions and answers.
Lauren Shiffman, private citizen, spoke as a proponent of the bill. She stated it is imperative we take steps in Kansas to preserve our first amendment right; the freedom of speech. She explained she only posts on social media about getting people to the Capitol or to county meetings, to let their voices be heard on bills and issues. This past January 10th, a notice she posted in a private group encouraging them to attend a Board of County Commissioners meeting was covered by a "content unavailable" shield, to keep members from seeing her message. (Attachment 3)
Debbie Detmer, private citizen, spoke as a proponent of the bill. She stated the Johnson County Board of Commissioners and the Shawnee Mission School District are no longer allowing the public comment portion of meetings to be broadcast, under the threat of YouTube taking down their platform. She stated they are doing this in order to silence people, by controlling and restricting the "peoples voice". (Attachment 4)
Carol Daunis, private citizen, spoke as a proponent of the bill. She stated the social media companies "will stop at nothing to censor opinions different from their own", and "their tactics are to control the narrative". She commented that no one wants to watch the news anymore because they don't know who to trust. She then gave six examples of social media censorship she had personally witnessed. (Attachment 5)
Vicki Kline, private citizen, spoke as a proponent of the bill. She mentioned several observations she had over biased reporting of news events such as election integrity and coverage of school board meetings, and discussed concern over government contracts with public sector entities. Her testimony questioned whether the bill could be used to protect citizens in those instances. (Attachment 6)
Adam Peters, private citizen, and Ellis County GOP Chairman, spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated he and his wife created a conservative website called Right Edge Magazine, building a Facebook page with over 14,000 followers. After posting several viral articles, they were banned from Twitter and MailChimp, and Google barred them from running ads. He stated, "In short, discriminating practices by major tech companies have sabotaged what they believe would have been a viable business opportunity, and have thrown up roadblocks to political organizing". (Attachment 7)
Peggy Springer, private citizen, spoke as a proponent of the bill. Mrs. Springer's husband, John, died on December 2, 2021 after becoming ill with COVID that November. She stated "the censorship of doctors who were trying to share important life-saving medication and early treatment information" and "censorship of the deadly effects of Remdesivir" led to her husband losing his life. "Censorship has damaged trust in our health care system. Had we known then what we know now, my husband would still be here." (Attachment 8)
The Chairman opened for a period of questions and answers after each proponent testimony.
Proponents providing written testimony:
Mary Blake, private citizen (Attachment 9)
K. Brohn, private citizen (Attachment 10)
April Cromer, private citizen (Attachment 11)
Sherri Denton, private citizen (Attachment 12)
Will Hoerl, private citizen (Attachment 13)
Rita Hoffman, private citizen (Attachment 14)
Benee Hudson, private citizen (Attachment 15)
Diane Levin, private citizen (Attachment 16)
Jeff Levine, private citizen (Attachment 17)
Lyn Levine, private citizen (Attachment 18) (Attachment 19) (Attachment 20) (Attachment 21)
David Losey, private citizen (Attachment 22)
Jim Mansfield, private citizen (Attachment 23)
Larry and Peggy McMillin, private citizens (Attachment 24)
Debbie Mize, private citizen (Attachment 25)
William Mize, private citizen (Attachment 26)
Deborah Nash, private citizen (Attachment 27)
Jill O'Connor, private citizen (Attachment 28)
Jessica Pereira, private citizen (Attachment 29)
Thad Snider, private citizen (Attachment 30) (Attachment 31) (Attachment 32) (Attachment 33) (Attachment 34) (Attachment 35)
Stephen Snitz, private citizen (Attachment 36)
Clara Sweeten, private citizen (Attachment 37)
Mei Upsdell, private citizen (Attachment 38)
In Person Oral Opponents
None
Remote Opponent Testimony
Kouri Marshall, Director of State and Local Government Relations, Central US, Chamber of Progress, spoke remotely from Chicago, IL as an opponent of the bill. He stated language in the bill lacks a clear standard, is subjective in terminology, and would allow users to organize political insurrection and spread health "misinformation". The bill, he stated, would "turn social media into a wasteland of hate, hoaxes, and conspiracy theories". (Attachment 39)
Jordan Rodell, State Policy Manager, Computer and Communications Industry Association, spoke remotely from Washington, D.C. as an opponent of the bill, listing three main points:
- Kansas cannot and should not attempt to force private online businesses to publish dangerous or otherwise objectionable content.
- Businesses operating online depend on clear regulatory certainty across jurisdictions nationwide.
- The private right of action would result in the proliferation of frivolous lawsuits. (Attachment 40)
Opponents providing written testimony:
Ruthie Barko, Executive Director, Colorado and the Central U.S., TechNet (Attachment 41)
Kellie Cooley, Private Citizen (Attachment 42)
Following oral testimony, the Chairman called for a period of questions and answers.
Seeing no more questions, the Chairman closed the hearing on SB50.
The Chairman adjourned the meeting at 11:36 am.
