Assembly Bill 893
Prohibiting social media website 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
Jan 4, 2024
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Senate vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Apr 15, 2024: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection. 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
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 website 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 websites 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.
Read the full summary Show less
Under the bill, a social media website 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.
The bill also allows a journalistic enterprise to bring a private cause of action against a social media website if the website 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
6 representatives are its . All 6 are Republicans.
See all 6 names Hide the names
Authors (6)
- Elijah Behnke · Republican, Assembly
- Joy Goeben · Republican, Assembly
- Dave Murphy · Republican, Assembly
- Peter Schmidt · Republican, Assembly
- Michael Schraa · Republican, Assembly
- Shae Sortwell · Republican, Assembly
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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Apr 15, 2024
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Feb 6, 2024
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Jan 4, 2024
Sent to the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection.
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Jan 4, 2024
Introduced in the Assembly.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Jan 4, 2024 · Assembly
Introduced by Representatives Sortwell, Behnke, Goeben, Murphy, Schmidt and Schraa
- Jan 4, 2024 · Assembly
Read first time and referred to Committee on Consumer Protection
- Feb 6, 2024 · Assembly
Fiscal estimate received
- Apr 15, 2024 · Assembly
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
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
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate