NOTE - this thread was started on another thread and a few key posts from there moved to this thread (see below).
The original thread which prompted these posts below was about California's Democratic Senator, Dr. Richard Pan introducing a bill which would REQUIRE that social media sites, websites, blogs, etc. anyone based (assumed hosting) out of California or have companies with an office in California, have TRUTH IN POSTING/REPORTING - that FAKE NEWS or spin or manipulation of data for "agendas" not be allowed to continue as "truth" and that steps will be taken to identify 'fakes' and be "tagged" by the companies as "FAKE" data, or fake news (see below).
Clearing up the DEFINITION of a Social Media Internet web site - a social media site that lets you connect with others who have similar interests and enables you to post and share content with others. That definition is important to understand as an accepted definition across the web. In the Bill (see below) the additional clarification adds in:
[..] an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to,
- videos,
- still photographs,
- blogs,
- video blogs,
- podcasts,
- instant and text messages,
- email,
- online services or accounts, or
- Internet Web site profiles or locations.
What are "online services"
- A business that provides its subscribers with a wide variety of data transmitted over telecommunications lines. Online services provide an infrastructure in which subscribers can communicate with one another, either by exchanging e-mail messages or by participating in online conferences (forums).
There are plenty of internet articles or blogs pointing out views about how people are reacting to the monitoring of FAKE NEWS and SPIN or outright "Lies or manipulation" ...
One would be able to assume that the 'right to publish fake news' under the "guise of free speech' then is OK. It is not to cop out using 'free speech' to allow spin or lies to become 'created truths' devoid of actuality, but allowed by manipulators (or possibly the confused or truly 'unenlightened') trying to use the Constitution as a way to allow lies to be considered fact. Yellow Journalism is how the old newspaper tycoons were able to manipulate whole societies and industries. That is fact.
Fake news/spin and manipulation for 'agenda' is like yelling FIRE in a crowded room when there is no fire there.. (see * reference below)
The emotional triggers are very present with the topics of free speech verses publishing or spin.
The 'Bill' in question highlights this point with these emphasis:
"any statement concerning real or personal property or services that is untrue or misleading -
(b) The strategic plan shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) A plan to mitigate the spread of false information through news stories.
(2) The utilization of fact-checkers to verify news stories.
(3) Providing outreach to social media users regarding news stories containing false information.
(4) Placing a warning on a news story containing false information." (see below for the full Bill)
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To see what highly emotional triggers are being used to drive readers along a certain viewpoint is important to watch for.
If there are no driving points, then one may be seeing objectivity.. Possibly a good test to see if one is about to get into spin/manipulation or objectivity - is there emotion being used over and over? If so, why?
The questioning action then starts as follows - IDENTIFY the author of the "Bill" in question. Who is Senator Richard Pan, what has he done in the past, where does he stand on points. What is his motivation for a 'protection bill' ?
And probably MOST importantly, which two Social media and Data/News information/search engine companies are located in California?
That says a lot, doesn't it, about who the target is... Google (all services offered) and Facebook, all services offered.
People posting "fake news" on Google + (plus) accounts would similarly being doing an unjust action and subject to criminal penalties. Or making up fake YouTubes.. publishing fake/spining/manipulation to promote a false truth for some 'agenda'.
The stuff that google brings forth in search is quite encompassing... They are providing that SERVICE bringing forth pages for searches (besides their own NEWS section)..
So they fall under the BILL - they would HAVE to then do the FAKE NEWS checking dance;
- "mitigate the spread of false information through news stories.
- "The utilization of fact-checkers to verify news stories."
Will Google STOP bringing up webpage searches from any of the web which contains FAKE NEWS? false reports, manipulation and/or spin? Will they determine such are that and then post a warning before the webpage is presented to the searcher using the service?
What a quagmire is being opened, I suppose 'draining the swamp' means a LOT of work is going to be needed, not just the local DC swamp - but all across the board..
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How about some background on Sen Richard Pan? (see the OP post 1) - it always helps to understand whom one is dealing with..
Richard Pan is an American politician currently serving in the California State Senate.
He is a Democrat representing the 6th Senate District, which encompasses parts of Sacramento and Yolo counties.
Born: October 28, 1965 (age 52), United States of America
Nationality: American
Residence: Sacramento, CA
Succeeded by: Jim Cooper
Political party: California Democratic Party
Education: Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Pittsburgh
Pan is a member of the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. Prior to being elected to the State Senate in 2014, he was a member of the California State Assembly representing the 5th Assembly District, and after the 2010 redistricting, the 9th Assembly District.
A pediatrician by training, he continues to practice during his service as a state senator.
Pan was born in New York City to immigrant parents from Taiwan.
Pan introduced California Senate Bill 277 in 2015, which requires vaccinations for California school children. After the bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, opponents of the bill tried to force a recall election on Pan but failed to submit the required signatures.
Prior to serving in the state senate, he was a member of the California State Assembly. Pan was Chair of the California Assembly Committee on Health, and is a member on the Committee on Agriculture, Committee on Appropriations, and Committee on Revenue and Taxation.
Previously, Pan was Vice-Chair of the California Assembly Veteran's Affairs Committee and served on the committees on Aging and Long-Term Care, and Accountability and Administrative Review.
He was also the Chair of the Select Committee on Healthcare Workforce and Access to Care. He continues to practice at Wellspace Health's Oak Park Community Clinic, where he established the pediatric clinic while at UC Davis Children's Hospital.
Pan has received many awards for his community and professional leadership including the UC Davis Chancellor’s Award for Diversity and Community, the Medical Board of California Physician Humanitarian Award, the American Academy of Pediatrics Abraham Jacobi Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in pediatrics, the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society Medical Honor Award, the California School Nurses Organization Lydia Smiley Award, the United Way California Capitol Region Clarence La Rue Outstanding Volunteer Award, and the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Sacramento Hearts and Hands Award.
Pan received a B.A. in Biophysics at The Johns Hopkins University, a M.D. at the University of Pittsburgh entering into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and a M.P.H. at Harvard University. He completed his pediatric residency at Massachusetts General Hospital also serving as Chief Resident in Pediatrics and was a Primary Care Research Fellow and Anne Dyson Pediatric Advocacy Fellow at Children's Hospital Boston. He also was a California HealthCare Foundation Health Care Leadership Fellow.
Pan is a nationally recognized university educator. In addition to teaching as a faculty member at UC Davis, he has published numerous papers on medical education and physician workforce. He served on the American Medical Association Council on Medical Education and on the board of the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education, which oversees physician residency education in the United States. He also was an Ambulatory Pediatric Association National Pediatric Faculty Development Scholar.
This is his official webpage: http://sd06.senate.ca.gov/
In 2017 he was responsible for focusing on these Bills:
- SB 18 would establish a comprehensive framework that governs the rights of all children and youth in California by outlining the research-based essential needs of California’s children. SB 18 establishes standards relating to the health, safety, well-being, early childhood and educational opportunities, and familial supports necessary for all children to succeed.
- SB 28 provides for the legislative ratification of the six memoranda of understanding (MOUs) for the State of California.
- SB 220 ensures that there are strong representatives dedicated to children’s health on the Medical Children's Advisory Panel, a stakeholder group that provides feedback on topics that impact children in Medi-Cal.
- SB 267 brings transparency to local election processes by allowing the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to contract with the City of Sacramento for purposes of enforcing city's campaign finance ordinance.
- SB 293 would bring pay parity for law enforcement by assuring that supervisors of peace officers are being adequately compensated in comparison to their subordinates.
- SB 311 would allow licensed cannabis operators to offer their testing lab services to other licensed cannabis operators who do not have testing labs of their own.
- SB 382 would create the California Mosquito Surveillance and Research Program Account (Account) to be administered by the State Department of Public Health (CDPH.)
- SB 401 improves childcare facilities and the wellbeing of children by repealing an outdated provision of state law, which currently restricts California from building a childcare facility larger than 2,100 square feet.
- SB 426 will help reduce child abuse and neglect while strengthening families, lifting them out of poverty and reducing the indirect costs child abuse and neglect has on other parts of the state budget.
- SB 432 assures that we notify firefighters and other emergency medical personnel in a timely manner if they have been exposed to a reportable disease or condition while performing the duties of the job and rendering emergency medical aid to a patient.
- SB 456 assures that we can continue to use health homes as a way of delivering primary care that helps people stay healthy by managing chronic conditions and keeping up with preventive care.
- SB 536 directs the California Department of Justice to provide information on gun violence restraining orders to researchers affiliated with the University of California’s Firearm Violence Research Center.
- SB 550 protects workers, by establishing that if a union prevails in a lawsuit that proves an employer failed to provide wages or benefits, than the employer shall pay the union's attorney's fees and expenses.
- SB 580 ensures that there will be enough money allotted to maintain the health of the American and Sacramento River watersheds.
- SB 643 adds Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the list of medical conditions eligible for coverage under the Genetically Handicapped Persons Program.
- SB 730 assures that school meals in California are being sourced from local farms within the United States, and not from other countries like China.
The Senate Bill 1424 -
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/f...01720180SB1424
Date Published: 03/22/2018 09:00 PM
BILL START
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 22, 2018
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL No. 1424
Introduced by Senator Pan
February 16, 2018
StatusSB 1424, as amended, Pan.
Internet: social media: false information: strategic plan.
Existing law prohibits a person, among others, from making or disseminating in any advertising device, or in any manner or means whatever, including over the Internet, any statement concerning real or personal property or services that is untrue or misleading, as specified.
This bill would require any person who operates a social media, as defined, Internet Web site with a physical presence in California to develop a strategic plan to verify news stories shared on its Web site.
The bill would require the plan to include, among other things, a plan to mitigate the spread of false information through news stories, the utilization of fact-checkers to verify news stories, providing outreach to social media users, and placing a warning on a news story containing false information.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal Committee: no Local Program: no
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Title 14.5 (commencing with Section 3085) is added to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, to read:
TITLE 14.5. False Information Strategic Plans
3085. (a) Any person who operates a social media Internet Web site with physical presence in California shall develop a strategic plan to verify news stories shared on its Internet Web site.
(b) The strategic plan shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) A plan to mitigate the spread of false information through news stories.
(2) The utilization of fact-checkers to verify news stories.
(3) Providing outreach to social media users regarding news stories containing false information.
(4) Placing a warning on a news story containing false information.
(c) As used in this section, “social media” means an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or Internet Web site profiles or locations.
Date Action
04/04/18 Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
03/22/18 From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
03/08/18 Referred to Com. on RLS.
02/20/18 From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.
02/16/18 Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
*reference: People often argue some speech is protected by analogizing to shouting fire in a crowded theater. ... And in fact the line from Justice Holmes in Schenck v. United States is “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.” May 11, 2015 (Fake news creating a panic would not be protected speech for instance.)