Florida Senate - 2021                                    SB 7072
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       
       
       
       
       
       585-03840-21                                          20217072__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to social media platforms; creating s.
    3         106.072, F.S.; defining terms; prohibiting a social
    4         media platform from knowingly deplatforming a
    5         candidate; providing fines for violations; authorizing
    6         social media platforms to provide free advertising for
    7         candidates under specified conditions; providing
    8         enforcement authority consistent with federal and
    9         state law; creating s. 287.137, F.S.; defining terms;
   10         providing requirements for public contracts and
   11         economic incentives related to entities that have been
   12         convicted or held civilly liable for antitrust
   13         violations; prohibiting a public entity from entering
   14         into any type of contract with a person or an
   15         affiliate on the antitrust violator vendor list;
   16         providing applicability; requiring certain contract
   17         documents to contain a specified statement; requiring
   18         the Department of Management Services to maintain a
   19         list of people or affiliates disqualified from the
   20         public contracting and purchasing process; specifying
   21         requirements for publishing such list; providing
   22         procedures for placing a person or an affiliate on the
   23         list; providing procedural and legal rights for a
   24         person or affiliate to challenge placement on the
   25         list; providing a procedure for temporarily placing a
   26         person on an antitrust violator vendor list; providing
   27         procedural and legal rights for a person to challenge
   28         temporary placement on the list; specifying conditions
   29         for removing certain entities and affiliates from the
   30         list; authorizing a person, under specified
   31         conditions, to retain rights or obligations under
   32         existing contracts or binding agreements; prohibiting
   33         a person who has been placed on the antitrust violator
   34         vendor list from receiving certain economic
   35         incentives; providing exceptions; providing
   36         enforcement authority consistent with federal and
   37         state law; creating s. 501.2041, F.S.; defining terms;
   38         providing that social media platforms that fail to
   39         comply with specified requirements and prohibitions
   40         commit an unfair or deceptive act or practice;
   41         requiring a notification given by a social media
   42         platform for censoring content or deplatforming a user
   43         to contain certain information; providing an exception
   44         to the notification requirements; authorizing the
   45         Department of Legal Affairs to investigate suspected
   46         violations under the Deceptive and Unfair Trade
   47         Practices Act and bring specified actions for such
   48         violations; specifying circumstances under which a
   49         private cause of action may be brought; specifying how
   50         damages are to be calculated; providing construction
   51         for violations of certain provisions of this act;
   52         granting the department specified subpoena powers;
   53         providing enforcement authority consistent with
   54         federal and state law; amending s. 501.212, F.S.;
   55         conforming a provision to changes made by the act;
   56         providing for severability; providing an effective
   57         date.
   58          
   59  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   60  
   61         Section 1. Section 106.072, Florida Statutes, is created to
   62  read:
   63         106.072Social media deplatforming of political
   64  candidates.—
   65         (1)As used in this section, the term:
   66         (a)“Candidate” has the same meaning as in s.
   67  106.011(3)(e).
   68         (b)“Deplatform” has the same meaning as in s. 501.2041.
   69         (c)“Social media platform” has the same meaning as in s.
   70  501.2041.
   71         (2)A social media platform may not knowingly deplatform a
   72  candidate. Upon a finding of a violation of this section by the
   73  Elections Commission, in addition to the remedies provided in
   74  ss. 106.265 and 106.27, the social media platform may be fined
   75  $100,000 per day for statewide candidates and $10,000 per day
   76  for other candidates.
   77         (3)A social media platform that knowingly provides free
   78  advertising for a candidate must inform the candidate of such
   79  in-kind contribution. Posts, content, material, and comments by
   80  candidates which are shown on the platform in the same or
   81  similar way as other users’ posts, content, material, and
   82  comments are not considered free advertising.
   83         (4)This section may only be enforced to the extent not
   84  inconsistent with federal law and 47 U.S.C. s. 230(e)(3), and
   85  notwithstanding any other provision of state law.
   86         Section 2. Section 287.137, Florida Statutes, is created to
   87  read:
   88         287.137Antitrust violations; denial or revocation of the
   89  right to transact business with public entities; denial of
   90  economic benefits.—
   91         (1)As used in this section, the term:
   92         (a)“Affiliate” means:
   93         1.A predecessor or successor of a person convicted of or
   94  held civilly liable for an antitrust violation; or
   95         2.An entity under the control of any natural person who is
   96  active in the management of the entity and who has been
   97  convicted of or held civilly liable for an antitrust violation.
   98  The term includes those officers, directors, executives,
   99  partners, shareholders, employees, members, and agents who are
  100  active in the management of an affiliate. The ownership by one
  101  person of shares constituting a controlling interest in another
  102  person, or a pooling of equipment or income among persons when
  103  not for fair market value under an arm’s length agreement, is a
  104  prima facie case that one person controls another person. The
  105  term also includes a person who knowingly enters into a joint
  106  venture with a person who has violated an antitrust law during
  107  the preceding 36 months.
  108         (b)“Antitrust violation” means any state or federal
  109  antitrust law as determined in a civil or criminal proceeding
  110  brought by the Attorney General, a state attorney, a similar
  111  body or agency of another state, the Federal Trade Commission,
  112  or the United States Department of Justice.
  113         (c)“Antitrust violator vendor list” means the list
  114  required to be kept by the department pursuant to paragraph
  115  (3)(b).
  116         (d)“Conviction or being held civilly liable” or “convicted
  117  or held civilly liable” means a criminal finding of guilt or
  118  conviction, with or without an adjudication of guilt, being held
  119  civilly liable, or having a judgment levied for an antitrust
  120  violation in any federal or state trial court of record relating
  121  to charges brought by indictment, information, or complaint on
  122  or after July 1, 2021, as a result of a jury verdict, nonjury
  123  trial, or entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or other
  124  order finding of liability.
  125         (e)“Economic incentives” means state grants, cash grants,
  126  tax exemptions, tax refunds, tax credits, state funds, and other
  127  state incentives under chapter 288 or administered by Enterprise
  128  Florida, Inc.
  129         (f)“Person” means a natural person or an entity organized
  130  under the laws of any state or of the United States which
  131  operates as a social media platform, as defined in s. 501.2041,
  132  with the legal power to enter into a binding contract and which
  133  bids or applies to bid on contracts let by a public entity, or
  134  which otherwise transacts or applies to transact business with a
  135  public entity. The term includes those officers, directors,
  136  executives, partners, shareholders, employees, members, and
  137  agents who are active in the management of an entity.
  138         (g)“Public entity” means the state and any of its
  139  departments or agencies.
  140         (2)(a)A person or an affiliate who has been placed on the
  141  antitrust violator vendor list following a conviction or being
  142  held civilly liable for an antitrust violation may not submit a
  143  bid, proposal, or reply for any new contract to provide any
  144  goods or services to a public entity; may not submit a bid,
  145  proposal, or reply for a new contract with a public entity for
  146  the construction or repair of a public building or public work;
  147  may not submit a bid, proposal, or reply on new leases of real
  148  property to a public entity; may not be awarded or perform work
  149  as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a
  150  new contract with a public entity; and may not transact new
  151  business with a public entity.
  152         (b)A public entity may not accept a bid, proposal, or
  153  reply from, award a new contract to, or transact new business
  154  with any person or affiliate on the antitrust violator vendor
  155  list unless that person or affiliate has been removed from the
  156  list pursuant to paragraph (3)(e).
  157         (c)This subsection does not apply to contracts that were
  158  awarded or business transactions that began before a person or
  159  an affiliate was placed on the antitrust violator vendor list or
  160  before July 1, 2021.
  161         (3)(a)Beginning July 1, 2021, all invitations to bid,
  162  requests for proposals, and invitations to negotiate, as those
  163  terms are defined in s. 287.012, and any contract document
  164  described in s. 287.058 must contain a statement informing
  165  persons of the provisions of paragraph (2)(a).
  166         (b)The department shall maintain an antitrust violator
  167  vendor list of the names and addresses of the people or
  168  affiliates who have been disqualified from the public
  169  contracting and purchasing process under this section. The
  170  department shall electronically publish the initial antitrust
  171  violator vendor list on January 1, 2022, and shall update and
  172  electronically publish the list quarterly thereafter.
  173  Notwithstanding this paragraph, a person or an affiliate
  174  disqualified from the public contracting and purchasing process
  175  pursuant to this section is disqualified as of the date the
  176  final order is entered.
  177         (c)1.Upon receiving reasonable information from any source
  178  that a person was convicted or held civilly liable, the
  179  department shall investigate the information and determine
  180  whether good cause exists to place that person or an affiliate
  181  of that person on the antitrust violator vendor list. If good
  182  cause exists, the department shall notify the person or
  183  affiliate in writing of its intent to place the name of that
  184  person or affiliate on the antitrust violator vendor list and of
  185  the person’s or affiliate’s right to a hearing, the procedure
  186  that must be followed, and the applicable time requirements. If
  187  the person or affiliate does not request a hearing, the
  188  department shall enter a final order placing the name of the
  189  person or affiliate on the antitrust violator vendor list. A
  190  person or an affiliate may not be placed on the antitrust
  191  violator vendor list without receiving an individual notice of
  192  intent from the department.
  193         2.Within 21 days after receipt of the notice of intent,
  194  the person or affiliate may file a petition for a formal hearing
  195  under ss. 120.569 and 120.57(1) to determine whether it is in
  196  the public interest for the person or affiliate to be placed on
  197  the antitrust violator vendor list. A person or an affiliate may
  198  not file a petition for an informal hearing under s. 120.57(2).
  199  The procedures of chapter 120 shall apply to any formal hearing
  200  under this paragraph except, within 30 days after the formal
  201  hearing or receipt of the hearing transcript, whichever is
  202  later, the administrative law judge shall enter a final order
  203  that shall consist of findings of fact, conclusions of law,
  204  interpretation of agency rules, and any other information
  205  required by law or rule to be contained in the final order. The
  206  final order shall direct the department to place or not place
  207  the person or affiliate on the antitrust violator vendor list.
  208  The final order of the administrative law judge is final agency
  209  action for purposes of s. 120.68.
  210         3.In determining whether it is in the public interest to
  211  place a person or an affiliate on the antitrust violator vendor
  212  list under this paragraph, the administrative law judge shall
  213  consider the following factors:
  214         a.Whether the person or affiliate committed an antitrust
  215  violation.
  216         b.The nature and details of the antitrust violation.
  217         c.The degree of culpability of the person or affiliate
  218  proposed to be placed on the antitrust violator vendor list.
  219         d.Reinstatement or clemency in any jurisdiction in
  220  relation to the antitrust violation at issue in the proceeding.
  221         e.The needs of public entities for additional competition
  222  in the procurement of goods and services in their respective
  223  markets.
  224         4.In any proceeding under this paragraph, the department
  225  must prove that it is in the public interest for the person or
  226  affiliate to whom it has given notice under this paragraph to be
  227  placed on the antitrust violator vendor list. Proof that a
  228  person was convicted or was held civilly liable or that an
  229  entity is an affiliate of such person constitutes a prima facie
  230  case that it is in the public interest for the person or
  231  affiliate to whom the department has given notice to be put on
  232  the antitrust violator vendor list. Status as an affiliate must
  233  be proven by clear and convincing evidence. If the
  234  administrative law judge determines that the person was not
  235  convicted or that the person was not civilly liable or is not an
  236  affiliate of such person, that person or affiliate may not be
  237  placed on the antitrust violator vendor list.
  238         5.Any person or affiliate who has been notified by the
  239  department of its intent to place his or her name on the
  240  antitrust violator vendor list may offer evidence on any
  241  relevant issue. An affidavit alone does not constitute competent
  242  substantial evidence that the person has not been convicted or
  243  is not an affiliate of a person convicted or held civilly
  244  liable. Upon establishment of a prima facie case that it is in
  245  the public interest for the person or affiliate to whom the
  246  department has given notice to be put on the antitrust violator
  247  vendor list, the person or affiliate may prove by a
  248  preponderance of the evidence that it would not be in the public
  249  interest to put him or her on the antitrust violator vendor
  250  list, based upon evidence addressing the factors in subparagraph
  251  3.
  252         (d)1.If a person has been charged or accused of any state
  253  or federal antitrust law in a civil or criminal proceeding
  254  brought by the Attorney General, a state attorney, the Federal
  255  Trade Commission, or the United States Department of Justice on
  256  or after July 1, 2021, the Attorney General may, by a finding of
  257  probable cause that a person has likely violated the underlying
  258  antitrust laws, temporarily place such person on the antitrust
  259  violator vendor list until such proceeding has concluded.
  260         2.If probable cause exists, the Attorney General shall
  261  notify the person in writing of its intent to temporarily place
  262  the name of that person on the antitrust violator vendor list,
  263  and of the person’s right to a hearing, the procedure that must
  264  be followed, and the applicable time requirements. If the person
  265  does not request a hearing, the Attorney General shall enter a
  266  final order temporarily placing the name of the person on the
  267  antitrust violator vendor list. A person may not be placed on
  268  the antitrust violator vendor list without receiving an
  269  individual notice of intent from the Attorney General.
  270         3.Within 21 days after receipt of the notice of intent,
  271  the person may file a petition for a formal hearing pursuant to
  272  ss. 120.569 and 120.57(1) to determine whether it is in the
  273  public interest for the person to be temporarily placed on the
  274  antitrust violator vendor list. A person may not file a petition
  275  for an informal hearing under s. 120.57(2). The procedures of
  276  chapter 120 shall apply to any formal hearing under this
  277  paragraph.
  278         4.In determining whether it is in the public interest to
  279  place a person on the antitrust violator vendor list under this
  280  paragraph, the administrative law judge shall consider the
  281  following factors:
  282         a.The likelihood the person committed the antitrust
  283  violation.
  284         b.The nature and details of the antitrust violation.
  285         c.The degree of culpability of the person proposed to be
  286  placed on the antitrust violator vendor list.
  287         d.The needs of public entities for additional competition
  288  in the procurement of goods and services in their respective
  289  markets.
  290         5.This paragraph does not apply to affiliates.
  291         (e)1.A person or an affiliate may be removed from the
  292  antitrust violator vendor list subject to such terms and
  293  conditions as may be prescribed by the administrative law judge
  294  upon a determination that removal is in the public interest. In
  295  determining whether removal would be in the public interest, the
  296  administrative law judge must consider any relevant factors,
  297  including, but not limited to, the factors identified in
  298  subparagraph (c)3. Upon proof that a person was found not guilty
  299  or not civilly liable, the antitrust violation case was
  300  dismissed, the court entered a finding in the person’s favor,
  301  the person’s conviction or determination of liability has been
  302  reversed on appeal, or the person has been pardoned, the
  303  administrative law judge shall determine that removal of the
  304  person or an affiliate of that person from the antitrust
  305  violator vendor list is in the public interest. A person or an
  306  affiliate on the antitrust violator vendor list may petition for
  307  removal from the list no sooner than 6 months after the date a
  308  final order is entered pursuant to this section but may petition
  309  for removal at any time if the petition is based upon a reversal
  310  of the conviction or liability on appellate review or pardon.
  311  The petition must be filed with the department, and the
  312  proceeding must be conducted pursuant to the procedures and
  313  requirements of this subsection.
  314         2.If the petition for removal is denied, the person or
  315  affiliate may not petition for another hearing on removal for a
  316  period of 9 months after the date of denial unless the petition
  317  is based upon a reversal of the conviction on appellate review
  318  or a pardon. The department may petition for removal before the
  319  expiration of such period if, in its discretion, it determines
  320  that removal would be in the public interest.
  321         (4)The conviction of a person or a person held civilly
  322  liable for an antitrust violation, or placement on the antitrust
  323  violator vendor list, does not affect any rights or obligations
  324  under any contract, franchise, or other binding agreement that
  325  predates such conviction or placement on the antitrust violator
  326  vendor list.
  327         (5)A person who has been placed on the antitrust violator
  328  vendor list is not a qualified applicant for economic incentives
  329  under chapter 288, and such entity shall not be qualified to
  330  receive such economic incentives.
  331         (6)This section does not apply to any activities regulated
  332  by the Public Service Commission or to the purchase of goods or
  333  services made by any public entity from the Department of
  334  Corrections, from the nonprofit corporation organized under
  335  chapter 946, or from any qualified nonprofit agency for the
  336  blind or any qualified nonprofit agency for other severely
  337  handicapped persons under ss. 413.032-413.037.
  338         (7)This section may only be enforced to the extent not
  339  inconsistent with federal law and notwithstanding any other
  340  provision of state law.
  341         Section 3. Section 501.2041, Florida Statutes, is created
  342  to read:
  343         501.2041Unlawful acts and practices by social media
  344  platforms.—
  345         (1)As used in this section, the term:
  346         (a)“Algorithm” means a mathematical set of rules that
  347  specifies how a group of data behaves and that will assist in
  348  ranking search results and maintaining order or that is used in
  349  sorting or ranking content or material based on relevancy or
  350  other factors instead of using published time or chronological
  351  order of such content or material.
  352         (b)“Censor” includes any action taken by a social media
  353  platform to delete, regulate, restrict, edit, alter, inhibit the
  354  publication or republication of, suspend a right to post,
  355  remove, or post an addendum to any content or material posted by
  356  a user. The term also includes actions to inhibit the ability of
  357  a user to be viewable by or to interact with another user of the
  358  social media platform.
  359         (c)“Deplatform” means the action or practice by a social
  360  media platform to permanently delete or ban a user or to
  361  temporarily delete or ban a user from the social media platform
  362  for more than 60 days.
  363         (d)“Journalistic enterprise” means an entity that:
  364         1.Publishes in excess of 100,000 words available online
  365  with at least 50,000 paid subscribers or 100,000 monthly active
  366  users;
  367         2.Publishes 100 hours of audio or video available online
  368  with at least 100 million viewers annually;
  369         3.Operates a cable channel that provides more than 40
  370  hours of content per week to more than 100,000 cable television
  371  subscribers; or
  372         4.Operates under a broadcast license issued by the Federal
  373  Communications Commission.
  374         (e)“Post-prioritization” means action by a social media
  375  platform to place, feature, or prioritize certain content or
  376  material ahead of, below, or in a more or less prominent
  377  position than others in a newsfeed, a feed, a view, or in search
  378  results. The term does not include post-prioritization of
  379  content and material based on payments by a third party,
  380  including other users, to the social media platform.
  381         (f)“Shadow ban” means action by a social media platform,
  382  through any means, whether the action is determined by a natural
  383  person or an algorithm, to limit or eliminate the exposure of a
  384  user or content or material posted by a user to other users of
  385  the social media platform. This term includes acts of shadow
  386  banning by a social media platform which are not readily
  387  apparent to a user.
  388         (g)“Social media platform” means any technology platform
  389  or access software provider that does business in the state and
  390  provides or enables computer access by multiple users in a
  391  public digital forum for the primary purpose of connecting with
  392  other users and creating and sharing user generated content over
  393  the Internet. The Internet platform or social media site may be
  394  a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company,
  395  corporation, association, or other legal entity that does
  396  business in this state and that satisfies at least one of the
  397  following thresholds:
  398         1.Has annual gross revenues in excess of $100 million, as
  399  adjusted in January of each odd-numbered year to reflect any
  400  increase in the Consumer Price Index.
  401         2.Has at least 100 million monthly individual platform
  402  participants globally.
  403         (h)“User” means a person who resides or is domiciled in
  404  this state and who has an account on a social media platform,
  405  regardless of whether the person posts or has posted content or
  406  material to the social media platform.
  407         (2)A social media platform that fails to comply with any
  408  of the provisions of this subsection commits an unfair or
  409  deceptive act or practice as specified in s. 501.204.
  410         (a)A social media platform must publish the standards,
  411  including detailed definitions, it uses or has used for
  412  determining how to censor, deplatform, and shadow ban.
  413         (b)A social media platform must apply censorship,
  414  deplatforming, and shadow banning standards in a consistent
  415  manner among its users on the platform.
  416         (c)A social media platform must inform each user about any
  417  changes to its user rules, terms, and agreements before
  418  implementing the changes and may not make changes more than once
  419  every 30 days.
  420         (d)A social media platform may not censor a user’s content
  421  or material or deplatform a user from the social media platform:
  422         1.Without notifying the user who posted or attempted to
  423  post the content or material; or
  424         2.In a way that violates this part.
  425         (e)A social media platform must:
  426         1.Provide a mechanism that allows a user to request the
  427  number of other individual platform participants who were
  428  provided or shown the user’s content or posts.
  429         2.Provide, upon request, a user with the number of other
  430  individual platform participants who were provided or shown
  431  content or posts.
  432         (f)A social media platform must:
  433         1.Categorize algorithms used for post-prioritization and
  434  shadow banning.
  435         2.Allow a user to opt out of post-prioritization and
  436  shadow banning algorithm categories to allow sequential or
  437  chronological posts and content.
  438         (g)A social media platform must provide users with an
  439  annual notice on the use of algorithms for post-prioritization
  440  and shadow banning and reoffer annually the opt-out opportunity
  441  in subparagraph (f)2.
  442         (h)A social media platform may not apply or use post
  443  prioritization or shadow banning algorithms for content and
  444  material posted by or about a user who is known by the social
  445  media platform to be a candidate as defined in s. 106.011(3)(e),
  446  beginning from the date of qualification and ending on the date
  447  of the election or the date such candidate for office ceases to
  448  be a candidate before the date of election. Post-prioritization
  449  of certain content or material from or about a candidate for
  450  office based on payments to the social media platform by such
  451  candidate for office or a third party is not a violation of this
  452  paragraph. Social media platforms must provide users with a
  453  method to identify themselves as qualified candidates and may
  454  confirm such qualification by reviewing the website of the
  455  Division of Elections of the Department of State.
  456         (i)A social media platform must allow a user who has been
  457  deplatformed to access or retrieve all of the user’s
  458  information, content, material, and data for at least 60 days
  459  after being deplatformed.
  460         (j)A social media platform may not take any action to
  461  censor, deplatform, or shadow ban a journalistic enterprise
  462  based on the content of its publication or broadcast. Post
  463  prioritization of certain journalistic enterprise content based
  464  on payments to the social media platform by such journalistic
  465  enterprise is not a violation of this paragraph.
  466         (3)For purposes of subparagraph (2)(d)1., a notification
  467  must:
  468         (a)Be in writing.
  469         (b)Be delivered via electronic mail or direct electronic
  470  notification to the user within 30 days after the censoring
  471  action.
  472         (c)Include a thorough rationale explaining the reason that
  473  the social media platform censored the user.
  474         (d)Include a precise and thorough explanation of how the
  475  social media platform became aware of the censored content or
  476  material, including a thorough explanation of the algorithms
  477  used, if any, to identify or flag the user’s content or material
  478  as objectionable.
  479         (4)Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, a
  480  social media platform is not required to notify a user if the
  481  censored content or material is obscene as defined in s.
  482  847.001.
  483         (5)If the department, by its own inquiry or as a result of
  484  a complaint, suspects that a violation of this section is
  485  imminent, occurring, or has occurred, the department may
  486  investigate the suspected violation in accordance with this
  487  part. Based on its investigation, the department may bring a
  488  civil or administrative action under this part.
  489         (6)A user may only bring a private cause of action for
  490  violations of paragraph (2)(b) or subparagraph (2)(d)1. In a
  491  private cause of action brought under paragraph (2)(b) or
  492  subparagraph (2)(d)1., the court may award the following damages
  493  to the user:
  494         (a) Up to $100,000 in statutory damages per proven claim.
  495         (b) Actual damages.
  496         (c) If aggravating factors are present, punitive damages.
  497         (d) Other forms of equitable relief.
  498         (e) If the user was deplatformed in violation of paragraph
  499  (2)(b), costs and reasonable attorney fees.
  500         (7) For purposes of bringing an action under subsection (2)
  501  or subsection (6), each failure to comply with the individual
  502  provisions of subsection (2) shall be treated as a separate
  503  violation, act, or practice.
  504         (8) In an investigation by the department into alleged
  505  violations of this section, the department’s investigative
  506  powers include, but are not limited to, the ability to subpoena
  507  any algorithm used by a social media platform related to any
  508  alleged violation.
  509         (9) This section may only be enforced to the extent not
  510  inconsistent with federal law and 47 U.S.C. s. 230(e)(3), and
  511  notwithstanding any other provision of state law.
  512         Section 4. Subsection (2) of section 501.212, Florida
  513  Statutes, is amended to read:
  514         501.212 Application.—This part does not apply to:
  515         (2) Except as provided in s. 501.2041, a publisher,
  516  broadcaster, printer, or other person engaged in the
  517  dissemination of information or the reproduction of printed or
  518  pictorial matter, insofar as the information or matter has been
  519  disseminated or reproduced on behalf of others without actual
  520  knowledge that it violated this part.
  521         Section 5. If any provision of this act or the application
  522  thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
  523  invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of
  524  the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
  525  or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
  526  declared severable.
  527         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.
  528