Media Advisory: Press Conference on Social Media Safety Legislation - SB 1504 (Cyberbullying) & SB 1444 (Sammy’s Law)
Media Advisory- Social Media Safety Press Conference
Cyberbullying SB 1504 & Sammy’s Law SB 1444
SACRAMENTO, CA — Senator Stern will hold a press conference for SB 1444 (dubbed Sammy’s Law), and SB 1504, which collectively aim to revolutionize how we approach digital citizenship and online safety for our youth. Joining the Senator and other legislators will be families of kids who were victims of online dealers and cyberbullying.
Details: Tuesday, May 14 at 10:00 a.m.
Location: Southside lawn on the corner of N and 10th streets
Senator Stern acknowledges California's proactive stance on online safety while emphasizing the need for further action. "We must do everything in our power to protect our children from the dangers of social media," said Senator Stern. "By establishing a mandatory process for removing and blocking cyberbullying material and providing transparency to survivors and parents, we aim to create a safer online environment for all."
SB 1504, co-authored by Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, supports the bill to safeguard our youngest Californians. “Social media platforms play an influential role in our children's lives, but with this influence comes the responsibility to protect them,” said Senator Ochoa Bogh. “I’m happy to co-author SB 1504 to help safeguard our youth and empower families to pursue legal action against platforms that fail to remove cyberbullying content, providing much-needed recourse in the face of online harassment.”
"When I was 11, a group of boys who had known me in elementary school began harassing me through a social media app called Discord. When I reported the users harassing me, I got no response or acknowledgement of my report and I still haven't. The risk that not having an accessible, timely, and effective cyber bullying reporting process poses to minors is extreme. If I was in an even worse place than I was when I was told to kill myself, I may have listened to them and done it, and that scares me. This legislation is crucial—it's essentially customer service for children," victim of cyberbullying, Amelie Serang, Freshman at Ruth Asawa High School in San Francisco.
SB 1444, or Sammy’s Law, addresses the growing concerns surrounding social media usage among children and adolescents.
SB 1504 seeks to combat cyberbullying by holding social media platforms accountable.