Senate Bill 581
Prohibiting social media Internet site censorship of journalistic enterprises. (FE)
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Sep 24, 2021
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Senate vote, not reached
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Mar 15, 2022: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Utilities, Technology and Telecommunications. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill prohibits a social media Internet site from censoring, deplatforming, or shadow banning a journalistic enterprise on the basis of the content of its publication or broadcast. The bill applies to social media Internet sites or applications that enable users to communicate with each other and that have more than 150 million users. The bill defines a “journalistic enterprise” as an entity that publishes more than 10,000 words online with at least 5,000 paid subscribers or 10,000 monthly active users; publishes more than 100 hours of audio or video online with at least 100 million viewers annually; operates a cable television channel that provides more than 40 hours of content per week to more than 100,000 cable television subscribers; or operates under a broadcast license issued by the Federal Communications Commission.
Under the bill, a social media Internet site must also provide a mechanism for a journalistic enterprise to request the number of other individual users who were provided or shown the journalistic enterprise's content or posts, and to provide that number to the journalistic enterprise upon request.
Read the full summary Show less
The bill also allows a journalistic enterprise to bring a private cause of action against a social media Internet site if the Internet site violates the bill's requirements. The bill provides that, in a private cause of action, a court may award statutory damages of up to $100,000 for each proven violation; actual damages;
punitive damages if aggravating factors exist; other forms of equitable relief; and costs and attorney fees.
Who's behind it
5 senators are its . All 5 are Republicans.
10 more lawmakers .
See all 15 names Hide the names
Authors (5)
- Alberta Darling · Republican, Senate
- Mary Felzkowski · Republican, Senate
- Steve Nass · Republican, Senate
- Roger Roth · Republican, Senate
- Duey Stroebel · Republican, Senate
Signed on in support (10)
- Scott Allen · Republican, Assembly
- Janel Brandtjen · Republican, Assembly
- Rachael Cabral-Guevara · Republican, Senate
- James Edming · Republican, Assembly
- Cody Horlacher · Republican, Assembly
- Dan Knodl · Republican, Assembly
- Mike Kuglitsch · Republican, Assembly
- Shae Sortwell · Republican, Assembly
- David Steffen · Republican, Assembly
- Chuck Wichgers · Republican, Assembly
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
Versions and amendments
Every text the Legislature printed for this bill, including proposed changes. Each opens on the Legislature's site.
What happened
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Mar 15, 2022
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Jan 5, 2022
1 more representative signed on in support.
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Oct 18, 2021
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Sep 27, 2021
1 more representative signed on in support.
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Sep 24, 2021
Sent to the Senate Committee on Utilities, Technology and Telecommunications.
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Sep 24, 2021
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Sep 24, 2021 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Roth, Stroebel, Felzkowski, Nass and Darling; cosponsored by Representatives Sortwell, Cabral-Guevara, Allen, Brandtjen, Edming, Horlacher, Knodl and Kuglitsch
- Sep 24, 2021 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Utilities, Technology and Telecommunications
- Sep 27, 2021 · Senate
Representative Wichgers added as a cosponsor
- Oct 18, 2021 · Senate
Fiscal estimate received
- Jan 5, 2022 · Senate
Representative Steffen added as a cosponsor
- Feb 8, 2022 · Senate
Senate Amendment 1 offered by Senator Roth
- Mar 15, 2022 · Senate
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary
From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate