CA AB 1137
deadReporting mechanism: child sexual abuse material.
California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower
Quick answers
Did CA AB 1137 pass?
No. CA AB 1137 did not pass — it was defeated or died in the legislative process (2026-02-02). Latest recorded action (2026-02-02): From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
What is CA AB 1137 about?
Existing law requires a social media platform to take certain actions with respect to child sexual abuse material on the social media platform, including by requiring the social media platform to provide, in a mechanism that is reasonably accessible to users, a means for a user who is a California resident to report material to the social media platform that the user reasonably believes meets certain criteria, including that the reported material is child sexual abuse material and that the reporting user is depicted in the material. Existing law also requires the social media platform to collect information reasonably sufficient to enable the social media platform to contact, as specified, a reporting user. This bill would delete the requirement for reporting material that the reporting user be depicted in the material, would require that the depicted individual be depicted as a minor, and would additionally require the mechanism to be clear and conspicuous. The bill would require a social media platform to ensure that any report submitted using the reporting mechanism is reviewed through a hash matching process and would require a social media company to ensure review by a natural person if there is not an established or known hash match to child sexual abuse material with respect to the reported material and the reported material is not otherwise blocked. Existing law makes a noncomplying social media company liable to a reporting user for actual damages and statutory damages, as specified. This bill would also impose a civil penalty on a noncomplying social media company to be collected in a civil action by certain public attorneys, including the Attorney General. The bill would make a social media company liable to a depicted individual, as defined, for specified violations. Existing law prohibits a social media platform from knowingly facilitating, aiding, or abetting commercial sexual exploitation, as defined, and exempts a social media platform from being deemed in violation of that prohibition if it instituted a specified audit program and provided to each member of its board of directors a true and correct copy of each audit, as prescribed. This bill would revise those provisions to, instead, require a social media platform to submit to third-party audits and release audit reports to the public in order to be exempt from being deemed in violation that prohibition, as prescribed. This bill would declare that its provisions are severable.
Who sponsors CA AB 1137?
Krell is the primary sponsor of CA AB 1137, joined by 4 cosponsors.
Description
Existing law requires a social media platform to take certain actions with respect to child sexual abuse material on the social media platform, including by requiring the social media platform to provide, in a mechanism that is reasonably accessible to users, a means for a user who is a California resident to report material to the social media platform that the user reasonably believes meets certain criteria, including that the reported material is child sexual abuse material and that the reporting user is depicted in the material. Existing law also requires the social media platform to collect information reasonably sufficient to enable the social media platform to contact, as specified, a reporting user. This bill would delete the requirement for reporting material that the reporting user be depicted in the material, would require that the depicted individual be depicted as a minor, and would additionally require the mechanism to be clear and conspicuous. The bill would require a social media platform to ensure that any report submitted using the reporting mechanism is reviewed through a hash matching process and would require a social media company to ensure review by a natural person if there is not an established or known hash match to child sexual abuse material with respect to the reported material and the reported material is not otherwise blocked. Existing law makes a noncomplying social media company liable to a reporting user for actual damages and statutory damages, as specified. This bill would also impose a civil penalty on a noncomplying social media company to be collected in a civil action by certain public attorneys, including the Attorney General. The bill would make a social media company liable to a depicted individual, as defined, for specified violations. Existing law prohibits a social media platform from knowingly facilitating, aiding, or abetting commercial sexual exploitation, as defined, and exempts a social media platform from being deemed in violation of that prohibition if it instituted a specified audit program and provided to each member of its board of directors a true and correct copy of each audit, as prescribed. This bill would revise those provisions to, instead, require a social media platform to submit to third-party audits and release audit reports to the public in order to be exempt from being deemed in violation that prohibition, as prescribed. This bill would declare that its provisions are severable.
- Introduced
- 2025-03-24
- Latest action
- 2026-02-02 — From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
- Bill type
- bill
- Last updated
- —
Subjects
Sponsors
- Krellauthor
- Wicksauthor
- Kalracoauthor
- Macedocoauthor
- Stefanicoauthor
Committees
Not provided by source.
Action timeline
2025-02-20
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
2025-02-21
From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.
2025-03-24
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-03-24
Referred to Coms. on P. & C.P. and JUD.
referral-committee
2025-03-25
Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
referral-committee
2025-04-10
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-21
Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
referral-committee
2025-04-21
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. Read second time and amended.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2025-04-22
Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.
referral-committee
2025-04-23
Coauthors revised.
2025-04-23
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-04-30
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (April 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2025-04-30
Coauthors revised.
2025-05-07
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
referral-committee
2025-05-23
In committee: Held under submission.
2026-01-31
Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.
failure
2026-02-02
From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
committee-passage,failure
Versions
Documents
- application/pdf
- application/pdf
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- application/pdf(no extracted text yet)
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Votes
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary]
2025-04-22 · pass · 13-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Petrie-Norris: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Ortega: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Ward: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Patterson: other
- DeMaio: other
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2025-04-29 · pass · 11-0
Member-level votes (12)
- Sanchez: yes
- Papan: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: other
Related bills
No related bills recorded for this bill.
Official source
Attribution
Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z
Inspect retained evidence for changes recorded after evidence tracking began:
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