805 ILCS 5/15.98: Social media platform fee.

(a) Beginning January 1, 2027 and monthly thereafter within 14 days of the start of each month, each social media platform shall submit to the Secretary of State a report of the average number of monthly users of the platform located in the State of Illinois.

(b) Beginning January 1, 2027, the following fees are imposed on social media platforms based on the number of Illinois users from whom the social media platform collects data within a month. The fees must be paid to the Secretary of State no later than the 14th day of the first succeeding calendar month:

(1) social media platforms with over 100,000 Illinois users but not more than 500,000 Illinois users shall pay $0.10 per month on the number of Illinois users over 100,000 but not more than 500,000;

(2) social media platforms with over 500,000 Illinois users but not more than 1,000,000 Illinois users shall pay $40,000, plus $0.25 per month multiplied by the number of Illinois users over 500,000 but not more than 1,000,000; and

(3) social media platforms with over 1,000,000 Illinois users shall pay $165,000, plus $0.50 per month multiplied by the number of Illinois users over 1,000,000.

If a social media platform fails or refuses to pay the monthly fee to the Secretary of State, there shall be added to the fee an amount equal to 100% of the unpaid fee and any penalties each month until the fee is paid.

(c) The Secretary of State shall deposit a portion of the fees collected pursuant to this Section, in the amount of $170,000 per month, into the Secretary of State Special Services Fund. The Secretary of State shall deposit the remainder of the fees collected pursuant to this Section into the Common School Fund. The Secretary of State shall pay the funds to the State Comptroller within 30 days after receipt of the funds.

(d) As used in this Section:

"Consumer Price Index" means the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor that measures the average change in prices of goods and services purchased by all urban consumers, United States city average, all items, 1982-84=100.

"Social media platform" means a website or internet medium that:

(1) permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through that account or profile;

(2) enables one or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the medium; and

(3) primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the medium.

"Social media platform" does not include a not-for-profit organization, as defined in the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986.

(e) On January 1, 2028 and on each January 1 thereafter, the fees charged under this Section shall each be increased by an amount equal to the annual unadjusted percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period ending with the March preceding each July 1, including all previous adjustments, rounded down to the nearest whole number.

(f) A social media platform shall not vary the cost of access, features, services, or in-app purchases for any user based on the geographic origin of the user's login, activity, or account registration for the purposes of recouping the fee under this Section. A violation of this subsection regarding users' access to features and services constitutes an injury to that individual. Any individual alleging a violation of this subsection (f) by a social media platform may bring a civil action in the circuit court. An individual protected by this subsection shall not be required, as a condition of service or otherwise, to accept mandatory arbitration of a claim arising under this subsection.

(g) The Secretary of State may order a social media platform to pay the required fees to the Secretary of State, determine the amount of the fee required to be paid to the Secretary of State by a social media platform, determine any delinquency by a social media platform in the fees to be paid to the Secretary of State and to order such delinquency be remedied, and audit any social media platform to enforce the provisions of this Section, including to ensure that a social media platform has paid the required fee and any penalties or other sums owed. This subsection may be enforced by the Attorney General or a State's Attorney.