Rules of interpretation.
Municipal Code of Chicago § 4-156-1040
in effect4-156-1040 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)
Source: City of Chicago, Municipal Code of Chicago (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2703175Fetched: 10/24/2026