What SB 771 does
An act to add Title 23 (commencing with Section 3273.72) to Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, relating to social media platforms.
Existing law generally regulates social media platforms, including by requiring a social media company to post terms of service for each social media platform owned or operated by the company in a manner reasonably designed to inform all users of the social media platform of the existence and contents of the terms of service, as prescribed.
Existing law generally prohibits a person from using violence or intimidation to interfere with another person’s enjoyment of certain rights or because of certain attributes of that person, including the person’s political affiliation, race, or sexual orientation, and punishes violations of that law with certain civil penalties or as misdemeanors, as prescribed.
This bill would make a social media platform, as defined, that violates the above-referenced provisions of law relating to personal rights through its algorithms that relay content to users or aids, abets, acts in concert, or conspires in violation of those laws, or is a joint tortfeasor in an action alleging a violation of those laws, liable for specified civil penalties. The bill would declare its provisions to be severable and would declare attempted waiver of its provisions to be void and unenforceable.
This bill would become operative on January 1, 2027.
Summary from the Legislative Counsel's Digest of the enrolled text, September 16, 2025. Read the full text on leginfo.
How it got here
Senator Stern introduced SB 771 on February 21, 2025, with coauthors Assembly Members Bryan, Harabedian, Kalra, Lowenthal, Ortega, Pellerin, Stefani, and Zbur. The text was amended 5 times, 3 in the Assembly and 2 in the Senate, and heard in 7 committee hearings before its final floor votes.
- Senate Floor, June 4, 2025: 29 ayes, 4 noes.
- Assembly Floor, September 10, 2025: 51 ayes, 2 noes.
- Senate Floor, September 11, 2025: 30 ayes, 8 noes.
Committee votes along the way:
- Senate Judiciary, April 29, 2025: Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations], 10-0.
- Senate Appropriations, May 12, 2025: Placed on suspense file, 7-0.
- Senate Appropriations, May 23, 2025: Do pass as amended, 4-0.
- Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection, June 24, 2025: Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary], 11-1.
- Assembly Judiciary, July 8, 2025: Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations], 11-0.
- Assembly Appropriations, August 29, 2025: Do pass as amended., 11-1.
Who supports and opposes SB 771
The Senate Floor Analyses analysis dated October 14, 2025 lists 28 organizations in support and 60 in opposition. When Senate Judiciary first listed positions on April 25, 2025, the count was 8 in support and 3 opposed. By the Senate Floor Analyses analysis of October 14, 2025 it was 28 to 60.
In support: Stop the Cycle (sponsor); San Diego Democrats for Equality, Executive Board (sponsor); Rainbow Spaces (sponsor); Loma LGBTQA+ Alumni and Allies (sponsor); Jewish Family and Children’s Services of San Francisco (sponsor); Consumer Federation of California (sponsor); Children’s Advocacy Institute, University of San Diego School of Law (sponsor); AAUW of California (sponsor); and 20 more.
Opposed: 7amleh – The Arab Center for Advancement of Social Media; 18 Million Rising; Alameda County Green Party; American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee; Anti Police-Terror Project; Arab American Caucus CA Dems; Arab American Civic Council; Arab American Cultural Center of Silicon Valley; and 52 more.
Read the Senate Floor Analyses analysis.
Our read
Analysis by Capitol Axis, drawn from the committee analyses and vote record for SB 771.
Between Senate Judiciary and Senate Floor Analyses the opposed count went from 3 to 60, against a rise of 20 in support. Opposition that consolidates in the second house is responding to language, not to the idea.
The sponsor is Stop the Cycle. Sponsorship tells you whose problem the bill was written to solve.
None of it showed up in the vote: Senate Floor passed SB 771 30-8 on September 11, 2025. When 60 organizations are on the record against a bill that carries by that margin, the argument with the Legislature is over and the Governor's office is the remaining audience.
18 Million Rising, Alameda County Green Party and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee appear on the opposed list, which runs to 60 organizations.
What happens next
The Governor vetoed it, with the last recorded action on March 2, 2026.
The Governor can sign the bill, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Until the decision, sign and veto request letters are the remaining channel, and the Department of Finance's enrolled bill report carries weight on anything with a fiscal effect. If signed, most provisions take effect January 1, and implementation moves to the agencies named in the bill.
What it means for privacy organizations
A vetoed bill usually returns. The veto message is the clearest statement of what a successor would have to change, and the interval before it is reintroduced is when that language gets negotiated.
The privacy group at Capitol Axis handles that for privacy clients.
Questions about SB 771
What does SB 771 do?
This bill would make a social media platform, as defined, that violates the above-referenced provisions of law relating to personal rights through its algorithms that relay content to users or aids, abets, acts in concert, or conspires in violation of those laws, or is a joint tortfeasor in an action alleging a violation of those laws, liable for specified civil penalties. The bill would declare its provisions to be severable and would declare attempted waiver of its provisions to be void and unenforceable.
Has SB 771 passed the California Legislature?
The Governor vetoed it, with the last recorded action on March 2, 2026.
Who supports and opposes SB 771?
The Senate Floor Analyses analysis dated October 14, 2025 lists 28 organizations in support and 60 in opposition. Supporters include Stop the Cycle (sponsor); San Diego Democrats for Equality, Executive Board (sponsor); Rainbow Spaces (sponsor). Opponents include 7amleh – The Arab Center for Advancement of Social Media; 18 Million Rising; Alameda County Green Party.
What happens next with SB 771?
A veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses, which is rare. The usual path is a successor bill in the next session, and the veto message is the clearest guide to what that bill would have to change.