SOCIAL MEDIA AMUSEMENT TAX (4-156-1000 et seq.)

Municipal Code of Chicago tit. 4, ch. 4-156, art. VIII

in effect

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-156-1000 Social media amusement tax; purpose.

4-156-1000 Social media amusement tax; purpose. This article shall be known as the “Social Media Amusement Tax”. The purpose of the tax is revenue generation for the City of Chicago by taxing the activity of social media amusement based on a social media business’s monetization of consumer engagement and consumer data collected about Chicago users in conjunction with their social media use. (Added Coun. J. 12-19-25, p. 38125, Art. IX, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-156-1010 Definitions.

4-156-1010 Definitions. For purposes of this Article VIII, the following words shall have the following meanings: “Chicago consumer” means a Chicago resident who uses social media in the City accessed through an account registered with a social media business and whose consumer data is collected by the social media business, regardless of whether the individual is charged for establishing the account or accessing the media. “Chicago resident” means an individual who is in the City for other than a temporary or transitory purpose during the calendar year or who is domiciled in the City. “Comptroller” means the Comptroller of the City. “Consumer contact information” means a consumer’s email address, telephone number, home address, mailing address, or any credit card information necessary to engage in a sales transaction. “Consumer data” means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked with a consumer, whether directly submitted to the social media business by the consumer or derived from other sources. “Social media” means websites, applications, products, and internet platforms that allows consumers to view, share, and otherwise engage with images, videos, and audio presented in types and formats such as performances, promotions, memes, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, or live streams. “Social media” does not include any websites, applications, products, or internet platforms in which substantially all of the content made available to users (excepting incidental interactive user functions such as chat or comments) is individually created or selected for inclusion by those who maintain the website, application, product, or platform. “Social media amusement” means engagement with media content delivered through the use of social media for the substantial purpose of entertainment and enjoyment. “Social media business” means a for-profit entity that: (a) provides individuals with access to social media for the activity of social media amusement; and (b) collects, maintains, uses, processes, sells, or shares consumer data, other than consumer contact information, in support of the entity’s business activities. (Added Coun. J. 12-19-25, p. 38125, Art. IX, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 6-17-26, p. 44541, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-156-1020 Tax imposed; rate of tax; application of tax.

4-156-1020 Tax imposed; rate of tax; application of tax. (a) Tax imposed. A tax is imposed on the activity of social media amusement by taxing the means by which such media content engagement is most commonly monetized, through the collection and use of consumer data by a social media business in support of the entity’s commercial purposes. (b) The tax is imposed on social media businesses that collect consumer data on more than 100,000 Chicago consumers in a calendar year, based on the number of Chicago consumers from whom a social media platform business collects consumer data within a calendar month. The rate of the tax is $0.50 per the number of Chicago consumers per calendar month in excess of 100,000. (c) Application. (1) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a consumer whose information on record with or available to a social media business indicates a Chicago home address, a Chicago mailing address, or an internet protocol address or other consumer data on primary usage location connected with a Chicago location is a Chicago consumer for purposes of this article. The burden of proving that a consumer is not a Chicago consumer is on the social media business. For administrative ease, a social media business may create reasonable categorization standards to use in analyzing consumer data to determine if a consumer is a Chicago consumer; however, its reliance on such standards does not alleviate the social media business’s burden of proof. (2) A Chicago consumer shall be counted only once in the calculation of the monthly tax imposed on a social media business. Each calendar month shall be treated as a separate reporting period. (3) Business entities that are part of a controlled group of corporations as defined in Section 1563(a) of the Internal Revenue Code shall be treated as a single entity for purposes of meeting the definition of a social media business under this article. (Added Coun. J. 12-19-25, p. 38125, Art. IX, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-156-1030 Returns; payment of tax; recordkeeping.

4-156-1030 Returns; payment of tax; recordkeeping. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, (1) all tax returns shall be filed with the Department of Finance on an annual basis on or before August 15 of each year in accordance with Sections 3-4-186 and 3-4-189 of this Code, (2) all tax remittances shall be made in accordance with either Section 3-4-187 (payment of actual tax liabilities) or Section 3-4-188 (payment of estimated taxes), and (3) the provisions of Sections 3-4-186, 3-4-187, 3-4-188 and 3-4-189 shall control over any contrary provisions in this chapter regarding the subjects covered by those sections. (b) A social media business shall maintain books and records as required by Section 3-4-170 of this Code. (Added Coun. J. 12-19-25, p. 38125, Art. IX, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-156-1040 Rules of interpretation.

4-156-1040 Rules of interpretation. (a) The definition of “social media business” in this article shall not be construed to include: (1) an Internet search provider; (2) an Internet service provider; (3) an email service; (4) a communication service, including text, audio, or video communication technology, provided by a business to the business’s employees and clients for use in the course of business activities and not for public distribution, except that a social media business’s media access includes a communication service provided to consumers by a social media business; (5) an advertising network with the sole function of delivering commercial content; (6) a telecommunications carrier, as defined in United States Code, title 47, section 153; (7) a broadband service, as defined in 220 ILCS 5/21-201(c); (8) teleconferencing or video-conferencing services that allow reception and transmission of audio and video signals for real-time communication, except that a social media business’s media access includes teleconferencing or video-conferencing services provided to consumers by a social media business; (9) cloud computing services or other non-possessory computer leasing services, which may include cloud storage and shared document collaboration; or (10) providing or obtaining technical support for a platform, product, or service. (b) For interpretation of the definition of the term “Chicago consumer” in this article and for provision of evidence to the City in support of refuting the rebuttable presumption described in Section 4-156-1020(c)(1), a social media business may use consumer data or other information already collected or used in the entity’s standard practices of consumer data collection and analysis in support of its business purposes. The presentation of such consumer data and information shall be consistent with the entity’s representations to third parties considering the purchase or lease of advertising, consumer data, or other services or goods from the entity. (c) This article shall not be interpreted to require any additional consumer data to be collected, analyzed, or retained by a social media business beyond its standard practices in support of its business purposes. (d) This article shall have no retroactive application prior to January 1, 2026. However, the ongoing retention of previously collected or acquired consumer data on a Chicago consumer beyond the effective date of this article shall be treated as substantially identical to consumer data collected or acquired after the effective date. There is no tax liability attributable for a Chicago consumer for a calendar month if there is no use by that consumer during the month even if there is previously collected data on that consumer. (Added Coun. J. 12-19-25, p. 38125, Art. IX, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 6-17-26, p. 44541, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-156-1050 Protecting Care Fund.

4-156-1050 Protecting Care Fund. The Budget Director and the Comptroller shall create and implement a special revenue fund for supports to the City’s mental and behavioral health operations and investments (the “Protecting Care Fund”) and other accounting measures to track the collection and spending of all proceeds, including penalties, resulting from the imposition of the tax under this chapter. (Added Coun. J. 12-19-25, p. 38125, Art. IX, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-156-1060 Rulemaking.

4-156-1060 Rulemaking. The Comptroller, in consultation with the Chief Information Officer, is authorized to promulgate rules necessary or appropriate to implement this article. (Added Coun. J. 12-19-25, p. 38125, Art. IX, § 1)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-156-1070 Violation; penalty.

4-156-1070 Violation; penalty. Any person who violates this article shall be subject to a fine of not less than $2,500.00 nor more than $10,000.00 for each offense. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense to which a separate fine shall apply. (Added Coun. J. 12-19-25, p. 38125, Art. IX, § 1)

Source: City of Chicago, Municipal Code of Chicago (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2703147Fetched: 10/24/2026