SB0697 — Election Law - Actions to Influence an Election - Social Media Platform Algorithms and Bots Purchased by Foreign Nationals
Last action — Committee Report (House of Origin) — Favorable with Amendments
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1Introduced
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2In Committee
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3Passed Senate
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4Passed House of Delegates
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5To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.
Prognosis
Where this bill stands today.
Odds of enactment
LowHow often bills like it became law.
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Introduced
Current position in the legislative process.
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2 sponsors
1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.
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Single-party support
Sponsorship is currently within one party (2 D).
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Cleared a recorded vote
Passed 1 recorded vote so far.
Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.
Summary
Establishing a rebuttable presumption that a social media platform has made an independent expenditure to a certain candidate if the social media platform knowingly and purposefully alters its algorithm to amplify certain political content for the benefit of the candidate; prohibiting a foreign national from using a bot to publish, distribute, or disseminate campaign material or artificially amplify political content to users of an online platform for a certain purpose; etc.
Bill Text
We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.
Read SB0697 on the official Maryland source →Action History
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Committee Report (House of Origin) — Favorable with Amendments
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First Reading (Opposite House)
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Third Reading (House of Origin) — Passed
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Second Reading (House of Origin) — Passed with Amendments
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Hearing (Primary, House of Origin)
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First Reading (House of Origin)
Sponsors
- Senator Brian J. Feldman · Primary
- Senator Katie Fry Hester · Cosponsor
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 186 not signed on
Sponsors (1)
- Senator Brian J. Feldman Democrat
Co-sponsors (1)
- Senator Katie Fry Hester Democrat
Not signed on (186)
186 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 186 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unaffiliated | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Democrat | 27 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Republican | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 45 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| % of votes cast | 96% | 0% | 0% | 4% |
How each member voted (47)
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does SB0697 do?
- Establishing a rebuttable presumption that a social media platform has made an independent expenditure to a certain candidate if the social media platform knowingly and purposefully alters its algorithm to amplify certain political content for the benefit of the candidate; prohibiting a foreign national from using a bot to publish, distribute, or disseminate campaign material or artificially amplify political content to users of an online platform for a certain purpose; etc.
- Who sponsors SB0697?
- SB0697 is sponsored by Senator Brian J. Feldman (Democrat) and Senator Katie Fry Hester (Democrat).
- What is the current status of SB0697?
- This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 06, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
- Where can I track SB0697?
- Track SB0697 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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Last checked for changes about 10 hours ago · updated continuously
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