This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
Less than a week after a California jury held Meta and Google liable in a social media addiction trial, Colorado is asking those platforms to work faster when it comes to warrants.
It's another straw on the back of these platforms as states and grieving parents try to hold them accountable for their outsized impact on children and teens.
“Social media has some really great things about it. It brings people together who ordinarily wouldn't know about the other person. It can create senses of community, but it can also create really huge issues,” said Colorado Sen. Lisa Frizell.
She is one of the sponsors of the bill that was signed into law on Monday, which will require certain platforms to respond faster to warrants from Colorado law enforcement.
“This bill is just all about helping social media companies understand that they have a responsibility to the people who use their platforms. They have a responsibility to provide an environment that is legal and hopefully safe. That hasn't been happening,” she said.
The law, which goes into effect in August, penalizes social media companies by up to $5,000 for each violation if they don’t comply with the warrant within 72 hours and meet other criteria.
It used to be that companies had at least a month or more to respond, but after the shooting at Evergreen High School and stories of teens who die by suicide after an addiction to social media, the platforms and what they can be held responsible for are feeling the heat of the spotlight.
Holding to account
Colorado families who’ve lost loved ones were thankful there’s now a law to help keep those companies accountable. But they said the $5,000 penalty is really nothing for technology companies.
“I think it should be 30 times that. You can't replace our children with a monetary value. We can't protect kids unless we really hit big tech where it counts,” said Lori Schott, whose daughter died by suicide. “We're here today to celebrate Colorado, but all of us mamas are headed back to Capitol Hill to demand change and laws with teeth, not just laws that say Big Tech on there.”
Schott attended the California trial in the case that accused social media companies of intentionally creating products to addict children.
The Los Angeles jury recently found Google and Meta both liable. The companies are required to pay $6 million in damages. Other companies, including Snap Inc. and TikTok, settled in January before the trial began. That case was one of 2,000 consolidated cases brought by parents, school district and state officials. The verdict effectively opened the door to other similar cases to be brought to trial.
In New Mexico, a jury found Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed information about sexual exploitation.
Years in the making
Frizell’s been working on this legislation for three years.
“When you have social media companies that literally ignore search warrants that could save somebody else's life, and the bare minimum bring closure to families who have already just experienced such tragedy. I mean, that's why we're here in this building,” said Frizell.
The bill only goes so far, but that needs to be done in light of the lack of federal legislation addressing these issues, she said. If each state passes similar laws, Frizell said the impact can be large.
“This bill is a drop in the bucket compared to what we're talking about, but this is what we could pass. This is what we could get the governor to sign,” she said. “Five thousand dollars for a financial penalty to Meta is nothing. But you compound that by 50 states doing something similar. That's when you really get to see some significant changes in behavior of the companies.”
The enforcement of the new law will fall to the state attorney general and district attorneys. And in addition to the fine, if a company doesn’t comply, they will be held in contempt of court.
Supporters of the bill
People were happy the bill was signed, especially those who lost their family members years ago and have been waiting for accountability. Last year, a broader package that addressed this issue was vetoed by the governor over concerns about its impacts on freedom, innovation and privacy.
“It was just ridiculous to learn that these companies could just basically ignore warrants. I didn't even know that was possible. I think this is a really good step, especially since you don't want to lose the evidence that is online,” said Hillary Hamilton, whose 19-year-old daughter died by suicide.
Hamilton said that by seeing her daughter’s social media accounts, she got a better understanding of her daughter’s deteriorating mental health.
“The things that I saw, it all clicked for me, like what happened to my child, why she did a complete 180 and was depressed and hurting herself and why she ultimately took her life,” she said.
What companies does this include?
The platforms include websites, online services, online applications, and mobile applications that meet certain criteria, including having at least 1 million monthly users and allowing public or semipublic profiles where users can post content that others can view.
TikTok, Meta, YouTube and other companies fall under the new law. It will require the companies to list their contact information on qualifying platforms and to have a process for law enforcement agencies to get in touch with the company.
That process, the law states, must be available at all times and include a staffed hotline where the company receives and responds to questions about search warrants, acknowledges receipt of a search warrant within eight hours and provides updates on search warrant compliance.
Extensions will be possible if granted by a court.
What this means for the families
Lawmakers admired the selflessness of the families who fought for this change in law, even though it won’t change their family’s loss.
“When this bill is signed today, it's not going to bring their lost loved ones back,” said House minority leader Jarvis Caldwell. “But the selflessness of these parents is that they're doing it for our kids … They're doing it for other people's kids going forward in the future.”
This law is the beginning, said Kimberly Osterman, whose son died after he took a fentanyl-laced pill he purchased through a dealer on Snapchat.
“There's a lot of changes we need to make. It's a great start. If this bill had been in place, Snapchat would've had to respond. It took them a month with the first response, and then again, they dragged their feet and they made excuses,” she said. “ It would've been a game changer for Max's case, I believe.”
Why now?
This policy is much narrower than the bill brought forward last session. It strictly creates penalties for companies that don’t respond to warrants under the 72-hour timeframe and creates avenues for other forms of relief, like giving away profits obtained as a result of the violation.
“As many of you know, last year it was part of a bill that I didn't like other parts of the bill, but this year, great bill … thanks for your persistence. This will make a big change,” Polis said.
Supporters, many of whom carried photos of the people who have died, stood aside Polis on Monday as he signed the bill.
Different approaches
This legislation is different from the bill brought forward by Rep. Tammy Story and Sen. Lisa Cutter, which requires a warrant response time of 24 hours and for companies to report concerning users to law enforcement.
Story’s bill emerged directly from the Evergreen High School shooting, where Jefferson County officials learned that the shooter had posted disturbing and credible warning signs on TikTok months before the attack.
She said the required response time should be shorter.
“If posts are identified in a timely fashion or when they're identified, if you have a shorter turnaround time for those search warrants, if there's an imminent threat to life, hours can matter and there's no reason not to have a 24-hour response time,” Story said.
That bill, which has the support of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, cleared its first committee and is awaiting a hearing from the House. The sheriff’s office said Monday that it also supports the bill that the governor signed.
Editor's Note: This story contains mention of self-harm. If you or someone you know is considering suicide or other acts of self-harm, please visit 988Colorado.com or call or text 988 from your cell phone for free, confidential, and immediate support.
