Amendment of Municipal Code Chapter 4-156 regarding social media amusement tax
- Record number: SO2026-0025395
- Type: Ordinance; category: Municipal Code Amendments
- Status: Final
- Sponsor: Johnson, Brandon
- Committee: Committee on Finance
- Introduction Date: May 20, 2026
- Final Action Date: Jun 17, 2026
- Official record: Office of the City Clerk
Roll call: Passed Jun 17, 2026
47 yea, 2 nay, 1 absent. This was a divided vote. On motion of Alderperson Dowell, and unsuccessful motion to reconsider by Alderperson Mitchell, the matter was Passed. Voted at the City Council meeting of Jun 17, 2026.
Nay (2): Marty Quinn (13), Scott Waguespack (32)
Yea (47): Daniel La Spata (1), Brian Hopkins (2), Pat Dowell (3), Lamont J. Robinson (4), Desmon C. Yancy (5), William E. Hall (6), Gregory I. Mitchell (7), Michelle A. Harris (8), Anthony Beale (9), Peter Chico (10), Nicole T. Lee (11), Julia M. Ramirez (12), Jeylú B. Gutiérrez (14), Raymond A. Lopez (15), Stephanie D. Coleman (16), David H. Moore (17), Derrick G. Curtis (18), Matthew J. O'Shea (19), Jeanette B. Taylor (20), Ronnie L. Mosley (21), Michael D. Rodriguez (22), Silvana Tabares (23), Monique L. Scott (24), Byron Sigcho-López (25), Jessica L. Fuentes (26), Walter R. Burnett (27), Jason C. Ervin (28), Chris Taliaferro (29), Ruth Cruz (30), Felix Cardona Jr. (31), Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33), William Conway (34), Anthony J. Quezada (35), Emma Mitts (37), Nicholas Sposato (38), Samantha Nugent (39), Andre Vasquez Jr. (40), Anthony V. Napolitano (41), Brendan Reilly (42), Timothy R. Knudsen (43), Bennett R. Lawson (44), James M. Gardiner (45), Angela Clay (46), Matthew J. Martin (47), Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48), Maria E. Hadden (49), Debra L. Silverstein (50)
Absent (1): Gilbert Villegas (36)
Plain-language summary
Written by AI (@cf/openai/gpt-oss-120b) from the ordinance text only: SO2026-0025395 Substitute Ordinance.pdf. AI can make mistakes; the official document always wins.
The City Council updated the definition of "social media amusement" and "social media business" in the tax code, clarifying which platforms are covered. Certain services like streaming video, employee communication tools, and advertising networks are excluded. The changes apply to Chicago starting January 1, 2026.
- Defines "social media amusement" as using social media for entertainment.
- Defines "social media business" as a for-profit entity that provides social media amusement and handles consumer data.
- Lists specific exclusions, such as streaming services, employee communication tools, advertising networks, telecom carriers, broadband, community groups, teleconferencing, cloud services, and technical support.
- Specifies the law does not affect news-gathering organizations.
- The ordinance takes effect retroactively to January 1, 2026, with no tax liability for months without consumer use.
Who: The amendment affects social media businesses operating in Chicago and the city’s consumers who use those platforms.
Where: Chicago
Impact report
Written by AI from the official document. AI can make mistakes; the official document always wins.
This ordinance rewrites the definitions in Chicago's social media amusement tax law to clarify which websites, apps, and platforms count as "social media" and which businesses are covered.
Who it affects
- Social media businesses: The ordinance updates what counts as a "social media business" for the tax, which is a for-profit company that gives people access to social media for amusement and uses or shares their consumer data.
- Websites and apps where the owners create or pick the content: Platforms where almost all content is made or chosen by the people who run them, apart from small extras like chat or comments, would not count as "social media."
- Streaming services, online video games, and news websites: The separate exclusions for these services and for news-gathering organizations appear to be removed, and the new owner-created-content rule covers them instead.
- Single-purpose community groups for education or public safety: The separate listed exclusion for these groups appears to be removed from the rules about who counts as a social media business.
- Chicago social media users: No tax is owed for a Chicago consumer in a month when that person does not use the service, even if the company still holds older data about them.
What changes
- "Social media" would no longer include websites or apps where nearly all content is created or chosen by the people who run them, except for small features like chat or comments.
- The specific list item excluding streaming services and online video games with incidental chat or comments appears to be removed.
- The separate rules about news websites and news-gathering organizations appear to be removed.
- The exclusion for single-purpose community groups for education or public safety appears to be removed, and the remaining list is renumbered.
- The city says these changes are meant to clarify the existing tax passed on December 19, 2025, not to change it.
Where: Chicago
When: Takes effect after passage and approval, and applies back to January 1, 2026.
Timeline
- May 18, 2026: Recommended to Pass, Committee on Finance. The matter was recommended to Pass by controlling legislative body.
- May 20, 2026: Referred, City Council. The matter was Referred to Committee.
- Jun 15, 2026: Substituted
- Jun 17, 2026: Signed by Mayor, City Council. The matter was Signed by the Mayor.
- Jun 17, 2026: Passed, City Council (47 yea, 2 nay), at the City Council meeting. On motion of Alderperson Dowell, and unsuccessful motion to reconsider by Alderperson Mitchell, the matter was Passed.
Documents
- SO2026-0025395_SIGNED.pdf (Legislation)
- SO2026-0025395 Substitute Ordinance.pdf (Legislation)
- O2026-0025395 Ordinance.pdf (Legislation)
- O2026-0025395 Mayoral Letter.pdf (Miscellaneous)
- SO2026-0025395 C.L..pdf (Committee Letter)
Lobbying and money
Computed links; money near a vote is not evidence that it influenced the vote.
Who lobbied on it
- Tiktok Inc.: SOCIAL MEDIA TAX (1 filing, Oct 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2025; Michael Cassidy; matched by semantic tfidf)
- Tiktok Inc: SOCIAL MEDIA ORDINANCE (2 filings, Oct 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2025; Maria Virginia Martinez; matched by semantic tfidf)
Money from these interests in the 365 days before the vote
| Member | Vote | Amount | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Conway | Yea | $1,000 | Michael Cassidy (lobbyist for Tiktok Inc.) |
Related legislation
More from Johnson, Brandon
- Executive Order No. 2026-7 (Senior Bill of Rights and Establishing the Mayor's Office on Aging) (F2026-0029547, introduced Dec 8, 2026, Placed on File)
- Issuance of general obligation bonds (2027-2028 General Obligation Borrowing Ordinance) (O2026-0029650, introduced Oct 21, 2026, Referred)
- Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Recommendations (O2026-0029642, introduced Oct 21, 2026, Referred)
More on Municipal Code Amendments
- Amendment of Municipal Code Section 9-24-065 regarding ability to pay pilot program (O2026-0029654, introduced Dec 8, 2026, Council Introduction)
- Amendment of Municipal Code Titles 3, 4 and 8 regarding technical and scriveners' corrections (2027 Municipal Code Corrections Ordinance) (O2026-0029649, introduced Oct 21, 2026, Referred)
- Amendment of Municipal Code Titles 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14A, 15, 17 regarding management, structure, powers and functions of various… (O2026-0029644, introduced Oct 21, 2026, Referred)
Sources and methods: how we get and count this data · report an error