Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Monday signed into law a bipartisan bill aimed at forcing social media companies to swiftly respond to search warrants. 

Polis, during a bill signing event at the Capitol, said the measure, Senate Bill 11, will ensure there is a prompt response from social media companies when law enforcement asks for information, whether it be “helping to track down stolen bikes and cars to helping protect the lives of Coloradans from dangerous drugs.” 

Proponents say the measure will help expedite investigations into criminal activity online that poses harm, in particular, to children, such as the illegal sale of drugs and weapons. Law enforcement officials and family members who testified on the bill during earlier hearings said in some cases, social media companies took weeks to months to comply with investigations into illegal online activity, which they said cost lives. 

Several family members who’ve lost children to drug use were in attendance during Monday’s bill signing ceremony. 

Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, who co-sponsored the bill alongside Sen. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock, said the measure is a response to the “blatant disregard of social media companies of Colorado’s laws and court orders.” 

“This will help get justice for so many of the families who have had to deal with immense tragedy, but also prevent future injustice from happening,” Roberts said. 

Frizell thanked family members and advocates who pushed for the bill, saying, “They have endured so much, yet they have persisted to make certain that law enforcement has the tools that they need to solve crimes and to make sure that people who are doing the wrong things on social media platforms are brought to justice.” 

Under the new law, social media companies will need to acknowledge a search warrant within eight hours and have up to three days to comply with a warrant, though that timeline can be extended by a court. Social media companies are also required to be available to law enforcement at all times, including by providing a staffed hotline and contact information. 

The measure applies to social media companies and other online platforms that have at least 1 million Colorado-based users, and carries a $5,000 civil penalty for companies that don’t comply.   

SB 11 is modeled in part after a bill last year that sought to impose more sweeping requirements for social media companies, including making public internal policies and data on how minors use their platforms. That bill passed the legislature but was vetoed by Polis. 

While Polis opposed the broader measures around data reporting, which he said at the time could infringe on social media users’ privacy, he was supportive of the measure’s requirements around warrants, which were revived in this year’s bill.

SB 11 passed the legislature with broad bipartisan support. Its other lead sponsors are Reps. Andrew Boesenecker, D-Fort Collins, and Jarvis Caldwell, R-Colorado Springs. 

Lawmakers are also considering another measure, House Bill 1255, which would impose stricter timelines for social media companies to comply with warrants — up to 24 hours in certain cases — and give the attorney general’s office the power to levy penalties worth up to $250,000. 

That bill is sponsored only by Democrats and comes largely in response to last year’s shooting at Evergreen High School, which was carried out by a student whose social media posts had been under investigation by the FBI prior to the attack.