Give the News Ping to the News damn it! Act 2026

Passed by the Senate on 2 May 2026 and signed by the President on 3 May 2026.

Author: Rein
Sponsor: Rein

Preamble

Whereas the News Ping is something that can be used by journalists to reach a mass audience;

Whereas besides the state's SimDemocracy News Agency (SDNA), no one could use it;

Whereas there should be adequate infrastructure to give it to other journalists;

§1. The News Ping shall be defined as the '@News Ping' role in the SimDemoracy discord that can be obtained using the 'Channels and Roles' section.

§2. Any business whose nature is related to creating news articles or journalism may apply for a news pass with the Department of the Treasury.

§2.1. This shall be done either:

§2.1.1. when the business is incorporated, as an additional request to business registration,

§2.1.2. or as a separate request, as either:

§2.1.2.1. a reply in their post in the # businesses-in-operation discord channel,

§2.1.2.2. or as a Reddit Post titled 'News Pass for X'.

§2.2. The Department of the Treasury should be informed upon an application for a news pass is made.

§3. The news pass shall allow business to ping the News Ping at most twice a week.

§3.1. News Pings shall be exclusively used to notify individuals who have the News Ping when a news article is publicly released.

§4. Citizens may be able to petition, under standard requirements of the Petitions Act 2024, that a business lose their news pass.

§4.1. If the petition succeeds, the Senate shall hold a concurrent hearing and vote on if said business should retain their news pass.