Text of US HB 7891 (2024)

I 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7891 To protect the safety of children on the internet. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 9, 2024 Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mrs. HOUCHIN, Ms. SCHRIER, and Mr. BUCSHON) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To protect the safety of children on the internet. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Kids Online Safety Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—KIDS ONLINE SAFETY Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Duty of care. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7891 IH Sec. 103. Safeguards for minors. Sec. 104. Disclosure. Sec. 105. Transparency. Sec. 106. Research on social media and minors. Sec. 107. Market research. Sec. 108. Age verification study and report. Sec. 109. Guidance. Sec. 110. Enforcement. Sec. 111. Kids Online Safety Council. Sec. 112. Effective date. Sec. 113. Rules of construction and other matters. Sec. 114. Severability. TITLE II—FILTER BUBBLE TRANSPARENCY Sec. 201. Definitions. Sec. 202. Requirement to allow users to see unmanipulated content on internet platforms. Sec. 203. Severability. TITLE III—RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAWS Sec. 301. Relationship to State laws. TITLE I—KIDS ONLINE SAFETY 1 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 2 In this title: 3 (1) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi- 4 vidual who is under the age of 13. 5 (2) COMPULSIVE USAGE.—The term ‘‘compul- 6 sive usage’’ means any response stimulated by exter- 7 nal factors that causes an individual to engage in re- 8 petitive behavior reasonably likely to cause a mental 9 health disorder. 10 (3) COVERED PLATFORM.— 11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 12 platform’’ means an online platform, online 13 video game, messaging application, or video 14 streaming service that connects to the internet 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7891 IH and that is used, or is reasonably likely to be 1 used, by a minor. 2 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘covered 3 platform’’ does not include— 4 (i) an entity acting in its capacity as 5 a provider of— 6 (I) a common carrier service sub- 7 ject to the Communications Act of 8 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) and all 9 Acts amendatory thereof and supple- 10 mentary thereto; 11 (II) a broadband internet access 12 service (as such term is defined for 13 purposes of section 8.1(b) of title 47, 14 Code of Federal Regulations, or any 15 successor regulation); 16 (III) an email service; 17 (IV) a teleconferencing or video 18 conferencing service that allows recep- 19 tion and transmission of audio or 20 video signals for real-time communica- 21 tion, provided that— 22 (aa) the service is not an on- 23 line platform, including a social 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7891 IH media service or social network; 1 and 2 (bb) the real-time commu- 3 nication is initiated by using a 4 unique link or identifier to facili- 5 tate access; or 6 (V) a wireless messaging service, 7 including such a service provided 8 through short messaging service or 9 multimedia messaging service proto- 10 cols, that is not a component of, or 11 linked to, an online platform and 12 where the predominant or exclusive 13 function is direct messaging consisting 14 of the transmission of text, photos or 15 videos that are sent by electronic 16 means, where messages are trans- 17 mitted from the sender to a recipient, 18 and are not posted within an online 19 platform or publicly; 20 (ii) an organization not organized to 21 carry on business for its own profit or that 22 of its members; 23 (iii) any public or private preschool, 24 elementary, or secondary school, or any in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7891 IH stitution of vocational, professional, or 1 higher education; 2 (iv) a library (as defined in section 3 213(1) of the Library Services and Tech- 4 nology Act (20 U.S.C. 9122(1))); 5 (v) a news or sports news and cov- 6 erage website or app where— 7 (I) the inclusion of video content 8 on the website or app is related to the 9 website or app’s own gathering, re- 10 porting, or publishing of news content 11 or sports news and coverage; and 12 (II) the website or app is not 13 otherwise an online platform; 14 (vi) a product or service that pri- 15 marily functions as business-to-business 16 software, a cloud storage, file sharing, or 17 file collaboration service, provided that the 18 product or service is not an online plat- 19 form; or 20 (vii) a virtual private network or simi- 21 lar service that exists solely to route inter- 22 net traffic between locations. 23 (4) DESIGN FEATURE.—The term ‘‘design fea- 24 ture’’ means any feature or component of a covered 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7891 IH platform that will encourage or increase the fre- 1 quency, time spent, or activity of minors on the cov- 2 ered platform. Design features include, but are not 3 limited to— 4 (A) infinite scrolling or auto play; 5 (B) rewards for time spent on the plat- 6 form; 7 (C) notifications; 8 (D) push alerts that urge a user to spend 9 more time engaged with the platform when they 10 are not actively using it; 11 (E) badges or other visual award symbols 12 based on elevated levels of engagement with the 13 platform; 14 (F) personalized recommendation systems; 15 (G) in-game purchases; or 16 (H) appearance altering filters. 17 (5) HIGH IMPACT ONLINE COMPANY.—The 18 term ‘‘high impact online company’’ means an online 19 platform or online video game that provides any 20 internet-accessible platform where— 21 (A) such online platform or online video 22 game generates $2,500,000,000 or more in an- 23 nual revenue, including the revenue generated 24 by any affiliate of such covered platform; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7891 IH (B) such online platform or online video 1 game has 150,000,000 or more global monthly 2 active users for not fewer than 3 of the pre- 3 ceding 12 months on the online product or serv- 4 ice of such covered platform; and 5 (C) such online platform or online video 6 game constitutes an online product or service 7 that is primarily used by users to access or 8 share, user-generated content. 9 (6) KNOW; KNOWS.—The term ‘‘know’’ or 10 ‘‘knows’’ means— 11 (A) with respect to a high impact online 12 company, the platform knew or should have 13 known the individual was a child or minor; 14 (B) with respect to a covered platform that 15 had an annual gross revenue of $200,000,000 16 or more, collects the personal information of 17 200,000 individuals or more, and does not meet 18 the qualifications of subparagraph (A), that 19 covered platform knew or acted in willful dis- 20 regard of the fact that the individual was a 21 child or minor; and 22 (C) with respect to a covered platform that 23 does not meet the requirements of subpara- 24 graph (A) or (B), actual knowledge. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7891 IH (7) MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER.—The term 1 ‘‘mental health disorder’’ has the meaning given the 2 term ‘‘mental disorder’’ in the Diagnostic and Sta- 3 tistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, 5th Edi- 4 tion (or the most current successor edition). 5 (8) MICROTRANSACTION.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘microtrans- 7 action’’ means a purchase made in an online 8 video game (including a purchase made using a 9 virtual currency that is purchasable or redeem- 10 able using cash or credit or that is included as 11 part of a paid subscription service). 12 (B) INCLUSIONS.—Such term includes a 13 purchase involving surprise mechanics, new 14 characters, or in-game items. 15 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—Such term does not in- 16 clude— 17 (i) a purchase made in an online video 18 game using a virtual currency that is 19 earned through gameplay and is not other- 20 wise purchasable or redeemable using cash 21 or credit or included as part of a paid sub- 22 scription service; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7891 IH (ii) a purchase of additional levels 1 within the game or an overall expansion of 2 the game. 3 (9) MINOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an indi- 4 vidual who is under the age of 17. 5 (10) ONLINE PLATFORM.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘online plat- 7 form’’ means any public-facing website, online 8 service, online application, or mobile application 9 that predominantly provides a community 10 forum for user-generated content. 11 (B) INCLUSIONS.—Such term includes 12 sharing videos, images, games, audio files, or 13 other content, including a social media service, 14 social network, or virtual reality environment. 15 (C) EXCLUSIONS.—Such term does not in- 16 clude chats, comments, or other interactive 17 functionalities of the community forum that is 18 incidental to the predominant purpose of the 19 website, online service, online application, or 20 mobile application. 21 (11) ONLINE VIDEO GAME.—The term ‘‘online 22 video game’’ means a video game, including an edu- 23 cational video game, that connects to the internet 24 and that allows a user to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7891 IH (A) create and upload content other than 1 content that is incidental to gameplay, such as 2 character or level designs created by the user, 3 preselected phrases, or short interactions with 4 other users; 5 (B) engage in microtransactions within the 6 game; or 7 (C) communicate with other users. 8 (12) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ has the 9 meaning given that term in section 1302 of the Chil- 10 dren’s Online Privacy Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 11 6501). 12 (13) PERSONAL DATA.—The term ‘‘personal 13 data’’ has the same meaning as the term ‘‘personal 14 information’’ as defined in section 1302 of the Chil- 15 dren’s Online Privacy Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 16 6501). 17 (14) PERSONALIZED RECOMMENDATION SYS- 18 TEM.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘personalized 20 recommendation system’’ means a fully or par- 21 tially automated system used to suggest, pro- 22 mote, rank, or recommend content, including 23 other users, hashtags, or posts, based on the 24 personal data of users. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7891 IH (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘personal- 1 ized recommendation system’’ does not in- 2 clude— 3 (i) systems that suggests, promotes, 4 or ranks content based solely on the user’s 5 language, city or town, or age; 6 (ii) technical means that do not fully 7 automate or replace human decision-mak- 8 ing processes; 9 (iii) technical means that are designed 10 to block, detect, identify, or prevent a user 11 from accessing inappropriate, unlawful, or 12 harmful content; or 13 (iv) technical means designed to pre- 14 vent or detect fraud, malicious conduct or 15 other illegal activity, or preserve the integ- 16 rity or security of systems, products, or 17 services. 18 (15) SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE.—The 19 term ‘‘sexual exploitation and abuse’’ means any of 20 the following: 21 (A) Coercion and enticement, as described 22 in section 2422 of title 18, United States Code. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7891 IH (B) Child sexual abuse material, as de- 1 scribed in sections 2251, 2252, 2252A, and 2 2260 of title 18, United States Code. 3 (C) Trafficking for the production of im- 4 ages, as described in section 2251A of title 18, 5 United States Code. 6 (D) Sex trafficking of children, as de- 7 scribed in section 1591 of title 18, United 8 States Code. 9 (16) USER.—The term ‘‘user’’ means, with re- 10 spect to a covered platform, an individual who reg- 11 isters an account or creates a profile on the covered 12 platform. 13 SEC. 102. DUTY OF CARE. 14 (a) PREVENTION OF HARM TO MINORS.—A high im- 15 pact online company shall exercise reasonable care in the 16 creation and implementation of any design feature to pre- 17 vent and mitigate the following harms to minors: 18 (1) Consistent with evidence-informed medical 19 information, the following mental health disorders: 20 anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance use 21 disorders, and suicidal behaviors. 22 (2) Patterns of use that indicate or encourage 23 compulsive usage by minors. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 7891 IH (3) Physical violence (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1 16), cyberbullying and discriminatory harassment of 2 a minor. 3 (4) Sexual exploitation and abuse of minors. 4 (5) Promotion and marketing of narcotic drugs 5 (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Sub- 6 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), tobacco products, 7 gambling, or alcohol. 8 (b) LIMITATION.—Nothing in subsection (a) shall be 9 construed to require a high impact online company to pre- 10 vent or preclude— 11 (1) any minor from deliberately and independ- 12 ently searching for, or specifically requesting, con- 13 tent; or 14 (2) the high impact online company or individ- 15 uals on the platform from providing resources for 16 the prevention or mitigation of the harms described 17 in subsection (a), including evidence-informed infor- 18 mation and clinical resources. 19 SEC. 103. SAFEGUARDS FOR MINORS. 20 (a) SAFEGUARDS FOR MINORS.— 21 (1) SAFEGUARDS.—A covered platform shall 22 provide a user or visitor that the covered platform 23 knows is a minor with readily accessible and easy- 24 to-use safeguards to, as applicable— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 7891 IH (A) limit the ability of other users or visi- 1 tors to communicate with the minor; 2 (B) limit design features that encourage or 3 increase the frequency, time spent, or activity of 4 minors on the covered platform, such as infinite 5 scrolling, auto playing, rewards for time spent 6 on the platform, notifications, badges, push 7 alerts, and other interactive elements that re- 8 sult in compulsive usage of the covered platform 9 by the minor; and 10 (C) control personalized recommendation 11 systems, including the ability for a minor to 12 have— 13 (i) the option of opting out of such 14 personalized recommendation systems, 15 while still allowing the display of content 16 based on a chronological format; 17 (ii) the option of limiting types or cat- 18 egories of recommendations from such sys- 19 tems; or 20 (iii) both such options. 21 (2) OPTIONS.—A covered platform shall provide 22 a user that the covered platform knows is a minor 23 with readily accessible and easy-to-use options to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15 •HR 7891 IH limit the amount of time spent by the minor on the 1 covered platform. 2 (3) DEFAULT SAFEGUARD SETTINGS FOR MI- 3 NORS.—A covered platform shall provide that, in the 4 case of a user or visitor that the platform knows is 5 a minor, the default setting for any safeguard de- 6 scribed under paragraph (1) shall be the option 7 available on the platform that provides the most pro- 8 tective level of control that is offered by the platform 9 over safety for that user or visitor, unless otherwise 10 enabled by the parent. 11 (b) PARENTAL TOOLS.— 12 (1) TOOLS.—A covered platform shall provide 13 readily accessible and easy-to-use settings for par- 14 ents to support a user that the platform knows is a 15 minor with respect to the user’s use of the platform. 16 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The parental tools pro- 17 vided by a covered platform shall include— 18 (A) the ability to manage a minor’s ac- 19 count settings, including the safeguards and op- 20 tions established under subsection (a), in a 21 manner that allows parents to— 22 (i) view the account settings; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 16 •HR 7891 IH (ii) in the case of a user that the plat- 1 form knows is a child, change and control 2 the account settings; 3 (B) the ability to restrict purchases and fi- 4 nancial transactions by the minor, where appli- 5 cable; and 6 (C) the ability to view metrics of total time 7 spent on the covered platform and restrict time 8 spent on the covered platform by the minor. 9 (3) NOTICE TO MINORS.—A covered platform 10 shall provide clear and conspicuous notice to a user 11 when the tools described in this subsection are in ef- 12 fect and what settings or controls have been applied. 13 (4) DEFAULT TOOLS.—A covered platform shall 14 provide that, in the case of a user that the platform 15 knows is a child, the tools required under paragraph 16 (1) shall be enabled by default. 17 (5) APPLICATION TO EXISTING ACCOUNTS.—If, 18 prior to the effective date of this subsection, a cov- 19 ered platform provided a parent of a user that the 20 platform knows is a child with notice and the ability 21 to enable the parental tools described under this 22 subsection in a manner that would otherwise comply 23 with this subsection, and the parent opted out of en- 24 abling such tools, the covered platform is not re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 17 •HR 7891 IH quired to enable such tools with respect to such user 1 by default when this subsection takes effect. 2 (c) REPORTING MECHANISM.— 3 (1) REPORTS SUBMITTED BY PARENTS, MI- 4 NORS, AND SCHOOLS.—A covered platform shall pro- 5 vide— 6 (A) a readily accessible and easy-to-use 7 means to submit reports to the covered plat- 8 form of harms to a minor; 9 (B) an electronic point of contact specific 10 to matters involving harms to a minor; and 11 (C) confirmation of the receipt of such a 12 report and, within the applicable time period 13 described in paragraph (2), a substantive re- 14 sponse to the individual that submitted the re- 15 port. 16 (2) TIMING.—A covered platform shall establish 17 an internal process to receive and substantively re- 18 spond to such reports in a reasonable and timely 19 manner, but in no case later than— 20 (A) 10 days after the receipt of a report, 21 if, for the most recent calendar year, the plat- 22 form averaged more than 10,000,000 active 23 users on a monthly basis in the United States; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 18 •HR 7891 IH (B) 21 days after the receipt of a report, 1 if, for the most recent calendar year, the plat- 2 form averaged less than 10,000,000 active 3 users on a monthly basis in the United States; 4 and 5 (C) notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) 6 and (B), if the report involves an imminent 7 threat to the safety of a minor, as promptly as 8 needed to address the reported threat to safety. 9 (d) ADVERTISING OF ILLEGAL PRODUCTS.—A cov- 10 ered platform shall not facilitate the advertising of nar- 11 cotic drugs (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled 12 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), tobacco products, gam- 13 bling, or alcohol to an individual that the covered platform 14 knows is a minor. 15 (e) RULES OF APPLICATION.— 16 (1) ACCESSIBILITY.—With respect to safe- 17 guards and parental tools described under sub- 18 sections (a) and (b), a covered platform shall pro- 19 vide— 20 (A) information and control options in a 21 clear and conspicuous manner that takes into 22 consideration the differing ages, capacities, and 23 developmental needs of the minors most likely 24 to access the covered platform and does not en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 19 •HR 7891 IH courage minors or parents to weaken or disable 1 safeguards or parental tools; 2 (B) readily accessible and easy-to-use con- 3 trols to enable or disable safeguards or parental 4 tools, as appropriate; and 5 (C) information and control options in the 6 same language, form, and manner as the cov- 7 ered platform provides the product or service 8 used by minors and their parents. 9 (2) DARK PATTERNS PROHIBITION.—It shall be 10 unlawful for any covered platform to design, embed, 11 modify, or manipulate a user interface of a covered 12 platform with the purpose or substantial effect of 13 obscuring, subverting, or impairing user autonomy, 14 decision making, or choice with respect to safe- 15 guards or parental tools required under this section. 16 (3) TIMING CONSIDERATIONS.— 17 (A) NO INTERRUPTION TO GAMEPLAY.— 18 Subsections (a)(1)(C) and (b)(3) shall not re- 19 quire an online video game to interrupt the nat- 20 ural sequence of game play, such as progressing 21 through game levels or finishing a competition. 22 (B) APPLICATION OF CHANGES TO OFF- 23 LINE DEVICES OR ACCOUNTS.—If a user’s de- 24 vice or user account does not have access to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 20 •HR 7891 IH internet at the time of a change to parental 1 tools, a covered platform shall apply changes 2 the next time the device or user is connected to 3 the internet. 4 (4) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 5 this section shall be construed to— 6 (A) prevent a covered platform from taking 7 reasonable measures to— 8 (i) block, detect, or prevent the dis- 9 tribution of unlawful, obscene, or other 10 harmful material to minors as described in 11 section 102(a); or 12 (ii) block or filter spam, prevent 13 criminal activity, or protect the security of 14 a platform or service; 15 (B) require the disclosure of a minor’s 16 browsing behavior, search history, messages, 17 contact list, or other content or metadata of 18 their communications; 19 (C) prevent a covered platform from using 20 a personalized recommendation system to dis- 21 play content to a minor if the system only uses 22 information on— 23 (i) the language spoken by the minor; 24 (ii) the city the minor is located in; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 21 •HR 7891 IH (iii) the minor’s age; or 1 (D) prevent an online video game from dis- 2 closing a username or other user identification 3 for the purpose of competitive gameplay or to 4 allow for the reporting of users. 5 (f) DEVICE OR CONSOLE CONTROLS.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section shall 7 be construed to prohibit a covered platform from in- 8 tegrating its products or service with, or duplicate 9 controls or tools provided by, third-party systems, 10 including operating systems or gaming consoles, to 11 meet the requirements imposed under subsections 12 (a) and (b) relating to safeguards for minors and 13 parental tools, provided that— 14 (A) the controls or tools meet such require- 15 ments; and 16 (B) the minor or parent is provided suffi- 17 cient notice of the integration and use of the 18 parental tools. 19 (2) PRESERVATION OF PROTECTIONS.—In the 20 event of a conflict between the controls or tools of 21 a third-party system, including operating systems or 22 gaming consoles, and a covered platform, the cov- 23 ered platform is not required to override the controls 24 or tools of a third-party system if it would under- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 22 •HR 7891 IH mine the protections for minors from the safeguards 1 or parental tools imposed under subsections (a) and 2 (b). 3 SEC. 104. DISCLOSURE. 4 (a) NOTICE.— 5 (1) REGISTRATION OR PURCHASE.—Prior to 6 registration or purchase of a covered platform by an 7 individual that the platform knows is a minor, the 8 platform shall provide clear, conspicuous, and easy- 9 to-understand— 10 (A) notice of the policies and practices of 11 the covered platform with respect to safeguards 12 for minors; 13 (B) information about how to access the 14 safeguards and parental tools required under 15 section 103; and 16 (C) notice about whether the covered plat- 17 form uses or makes available to minors a prod- 18 uct, service, or design feature, including any 19 personalized recommendation system, that 20 poses any heightened risk of harm to minors. 21 (2) NOTIFICATION.— 22 (A) NOTICE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—In 23 the case of an individual that a covered plat- 24 form knows is a child, the platform shall addi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 23 •HR 7891 IH tionally provide information about the parental 1 tools and safeguards required under section 103 2 to a parent of the child and obtain verifiable 3 parental consent (as defined in section 1302(9) 4 of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act 5 (15 U.S.C. 6501(9))) from the parent prior to 6 the initial use of the covered platform by the 7 child. 8 (B) REASONABLE EFFORT.—A covered 9 platform shall be deemed to have satisfied the 10 requirement described in subparagraph (A) if 11 the covered platform is in compliance with the 12 requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy 13 Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) to use 14 reasonable efforts (taking into consideration 15 available technology) to provide a parent with 16 the information described in subparagraph (A) 17 and to obtain verifiable parental consent as re- 18 quired. 19 (3) CONSOLIDATED NOTICES.—For purposes of 20 this Act, a covered platform may consolidate the 21 process for providing information under this sub- 22 section and obtaining verifiable parental consent or 23 the consent of the minor involved (as applicable) as 24 required under this subsection with its obligations to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 24 •HR 7891 IH provide relevant notice and obtain verifiable consent 1 under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act 2 (15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 3 (4) GUIDANCE.—The Federal Trade Commis- 4 sion may issue guidance to assist covered platforms 5 in complying with the specific notice requirements of 6 this subsection. 7 (b) PERSONALIZED RECOMMENDATION SYSTEM.—A 8 covered platform that operates a personalized rec- 9 ommendation system shall set out in its terms and condi- 10 tions, in a clear, conspicuous, and easy-to-understand 11 manner— 12 (1) an overview of how such personalized rec- 13 ommendation system is used by the covered platform 14 to provide information to minors; and 15 (2) information about options for minors or 16 their parents to opt out of or control the personal- 17 ized recommendation system (as applicable). 18 (c) RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND MINORS.—A cov- 19 ered platform shall provide to minors and parents clear, 20 conspicuous, easy-to-understand, and comprehensive infor- 21 mation in a prominent location, which may include a link 22 to a web page, regarding— 23 (1) its policies and practices with respect to 24 safeguards for minors; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 25 •HR 7891 IH (2) how to access the safeguards and tools re- 1 quired under section 103. 2 (d) RESOURCES IN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES.—A 3 covered platform shall ensure, to the extent practicable, 4 that the disclosures required by this section are made 5 available in the same language, form, and manner as the 6 covered platform provides any product or service used by 7 minors and their parents. 8 SEC. 105. TRANSPARENCY. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), not less 10 frequently than once a year, a covered platform shall issue 11 a public report describing the reasonably foreseeable risks 12 of harms to minors and assessing the prevention and miti- 13 gation measures taken to address such risk based on an 14 independent, third-party audit conducted through reason- 15 able inspection of the covered platform. 16 (b) SCOPE OF APPLICATION.—The requirements of 17 this section shall apply to a covered platform if— 18 (1) for the most recent calendar year, the plat- 19 form averaged more than 10,000,000 active users on 20 a monthly basis in the United States; and 21 (2) the platform predominantly provides a com- 22 munity forum for user-generated content and discus- 23 sion, including sharing videos, images, games, audio 24 files, discussion in a virtual setting, or other content, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 26 •HR 7891 IH such as acting as a social media platform, virtual re- 1 ality environment, or a social network service. 2 (c) CONTENT.— 3 (1) TRANSPARENCY.—The public reports re- 4 quired of a covered platform under this section shall 5 include— 6 (A) an assessment of the extent to which 7 the platform is likely to be accessed by minors; 8 (B) a description of the commercial inter- 9 ests of the covered platform in use by minors; 10 (C) an accounting, based on the data held 11 by the covered platform, of— 12 (i) the number of users using the cov- 13 ered platform that the platform knows to 14 be minors in the United States; 15 (ii) the median and mean amounts of 16 time spent on the platform by users known 17 to be minors in the United States who 18 have accessed the platform during the re- 19 porting year on a daily, weekly, and 20 monthly basis; and 21 (iii) the amount of content being 22 accessed by users that the platform knows 23 to be minors in the United States that is 24 in English, and the top 5 non-English lan- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 27 •HR 7891 IH guages used by users accessing the plat- 1 form in the United States; 2 (D) an accounting of total reports received 3 regarding, and the prevalence (which can be 4 based on scientifically valid sampling methods 5 using the content available to the covered plat- 6 form in the normal course of business) of con- 7 tent related to, the harms described in section 8 102(a), disaggregated by category of harm and 9 language, including English and the top 5 non- 10 English languages used by users accessing the 11 platform from the United States (as identified 12 under subparagraph (C)(iii)); and 13 (E) a description of any material breaches 14 of parental tools or assurances regarding mi- 15 nors, and other matters regarding non-compli- 16 ance with this Act. 17 (2) REASONABLY FORESEEABLE RISK OF HARM 18 TO MINORS.—The public reports required of a cov- 19 ered platform under this section shall include— 20 (A) an assessment of the reasonably fore- 21 seeable risk of harms to minors posed by the 22 covered platform, specifically identifying those 23 physical, mental, developmental, or financial 24 harms described in section 102(a); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 28 •HR 7891 IH (B) a description of whether and how the 1 covered platform uses design features that en- 2 courage or increase the frequency, time spent, 3 or activity of minors on the covered platform, 4 such as infinite scrolling, auto playing, rewards 5 for time spent on the platform, notifications, 6 and other design features that result in compul- 7 sive usage of the covered platform by the minor; 8 (C) a description of whether, how, and for 9 what purpose the platform collects or processes 10 categories of personal data that may cause rea- 11 sonably foreseeable risk of harms to minors; 12 (D) an evaluation of the efficacy of safe- 13 guards for minors and parental tools under sec- 14 tion 103, and any issues in delivering such safe- 15 guards and the associated parental tools; 16 (E) an evaluation of any other relevant 17 matters of public concern over risk of harms to 18 minors associated with the use of the covered 19 platform; and 20 (F) an assessment of differences in risk of 21 harm to minors across different English and 22 non-English languages and efficacy of safe- 23 guards in those languages. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 29 •HR 7891 IH (3) MITIGATION.—The public reports required 1 of a covered platform under this section shall in- 2 clude, for English and the top 5 non-English lan- 3 guages used by users accessing the platform from 4 the United States (as identified under paragraph 5 (2)(C)(iii))— 6 (A) a description of the safeguards and pa- 7 rental tools available to minors and parents on 8 the covered platform; 9 (B) a description of interventions by the 10 covered platform when it had or has reason to 11 believe that harms to minors could occur; 12 (C) a description of the prevention and 13 mitigation measures intended to be taken in re- 14 sponse to the known and emerging risks identi- 15 fied in its assessment of reasonably foreseeable 16 risks of harms to minors, including steps taken 17 to— 18 (i) prevent harms to minors, including 19 adapting or removing design features or 20 addressing through parental tools; 21 (ii) provide the most protective level of 22 control over safety by default; and 23 (iii) adapt recommendation systems to 24 mitigate reasonably foreseeable risk of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 30 •HR 7891 IH harms to minors, as described in section 1 102(a); 2 (D) a description of internal processes for 3 handling reports and automated detection 4 mechanisms for harms to minors, including the 5 rate, timeliness, and effectiveness of responses 6 under the requirement of section 103(c); 7 (E) the status of implementing prevention 8 and mitigation measures identified in prior as- 9 sessments; and 10 (F) a description of the additional meas- 11 ures to be taken by the covered platform to ad- 12 dress the circumvention of safeguards for mi- 13 nors and parental tools. 14 (d) REASONABLE INSPECTION.—In conducting an in- 15 spection of the reasonably foreseeable risk of harm to mi- 16 nors under this section, an independent, third-party audi- 17 tor shall— 18 (1) take into consideration the function of per- 19 sonalized recommendation systems; 20 (2) consult parents and youth experts, including 21 youth and families with relevant past or current ex- 22 perience, public health and mental health nonprofit 23 organizations, health and development organizations, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 31 •HR 7891 IH and civil society with respect to the prevention of 1 harms to minors; 2 (3) conduct research based on experiences of 3 minors that use the covered platform, including re- 4 ports under section 103(c) and information provided 5 by law enforcement; 6 (4) take account of research, including research 7 regarding design features, marketing, or product in- 8 tegrity, industry best practices, or outside research; 9 (5) consider indicia or inferences of age of 10 users, in addition to any self-declared information 11 about the age of users; and 12 (6) take into consideration differences in risk of 13 reasonably foreseeable harms and effectiveness of 14 safeguards across English and non-English lan- 15 guages. 16 (e) COOPERATION WITH INDEPENDENT, THIRD- 17 PARTY AUDIT.—To facilitate the report required by sub- 18 section (c), a covered platform shall— 19 (1) provide or otherwise make available to the 20 independent third-party conducting the audit all in- 21 formation and material in its possession, custody, or 22 control that is relevant to the audit; 23 (2) provide or otherwise make available to the 24 independent third-party conducting the audit access 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 32 •HR 7891 IH to all network, systems, and assets relevant to the 1 audit; and 2 (3) disclose all relevant facts to the independent 3 third-party conducting the audit, and not misrepre- 4 sent in any manner, expressly or by implication, any 5 relevant fact. 6 (f) PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—In issuing the public reports 8 required under this section, a covered platform shall 9 take steps to safeguard the privacy of its users, in- 10 cluding ensuring that data is presented in a de-iden- 11 tified, aggregated format such that it is not reason- 12 ably linkable to any user. 13 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This section 14 shall not be construed to require the disclosure of in- 15 formation that will lead to material vulnerabilities 16 for the privacy of users or the security of a covered 17 platform’s service or create a significant risk of the 18 violation of Federal or State law. 19 (3) DEFINITION OF DE-IDENTIFIED.—As used 20 in this subsection, the term ‘‘de-identified’’ means 21 data that does not identify and is not linked or rea- 22 sonably linkable to a device that is linked or reason- 23 ably linkable to an individual, regardless of whether 24 the information is aggregated. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 33 •HR 7891 IH (g) LOCATION.—The public reports required under 1 this section should be posted by a covered platform on an 2 easy to find location on a publicly available website. 3 SEC. 106. RESEARCH ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND MINORS. 4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 5 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 6 means the Federal Trade Commission. 7 (2) NATIONAL ACADEMY.—The term ‘‘National 8 Academy’’ means the National Academy of Sciences. 9 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 11 (b) RESEARCH ON SOCIAL MEDIA HARMS.—Not 12 later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this 13 Act, the Commission shall seek to enter into a contract 14 with the National Academy, under which the National 15 Academy shall conduct no less than 5 scientific, com- 16 prehensive studies and reports on the risk of harms to mi- 17 nors by use of social media and other online platforms, 18 including in English and non-English languages. 19 (c) MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED.—In contracting 20 with the National Academy, the Commission, in consulta- 21 tion with the Secretary, shall seek to commission separate 22 studies and reports, using the Commission’s authority 23 under section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 24 (15 U.S.C. 46(b)), on the relationship between social 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 34 •HR 7891 IH media and other online platforms as defined in this Act 1 on the following matters: 2 (1) Anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and 3 suicidal behaviors. 4 (2) Substance use disorders and the use of nar- 5 cotic drugs, tobacco products, gambling, or alcohol 6 by minors. 7 (3) Sexual exploitation and abuse. 8 (4) Addiction-like use of social media and de- 9 sign factors that lead to unhealthy and harmful 10 overuse of social media. 11 (d) ADDITIONAL STUDY.—Not earlier than 4 years 12 after enactment, the Commission shall seek to enter into 13 a contract with the National Academy under which the 14 National Academy shall conduct an additional study and 15 report covering the matters described in subsection (c) for 16 the purposes of providing additional information, consid- 17 ering new research, and other matters. 18 (e) CONTENT OF REPORTS.—The comprehensive 19 studies and reports conducted pursuant to this section 20 shall seek to evaluate impacts and advance understanding, 21 knowledge, and remedies regarding the harms to minors 22 posed by social media and other online platforms, and may 23 include recommendations related to public policy. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 35 •HR 7891 IH (f) ACTIVE STUDIES.—If the National Academy is 1 engaged in any active studies on the matters described in 2 subsection (c) at the time that it enters into a contract 3 with the Commission to conduct a study under this sec- 4 tion, it may base the study to be conducted under this 5 section on the active study, so long as it otherwise incor- 6 porates the requirements of this section. 7 (g) COLLABORATION.—In designing and conducting 8 the studies under this section, the Commission, the Sec- 9 retary, and the National Academy shall consult with the 10 Surgeon General and the Kids Online Safety Council. 11 (h) ACCESS TO DATA.— 12 (1) FACT-FINDING AUTHORITY.—The Commis- 13 sion may issue orders under section 6(b) of the Fed- 14 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 46(b)) to re- 15 quire covered platforms to provide reports, data, or 16 answers in writing as necessary to conduct the stud- 17 ies required under this section. 18 (2) SCOPE.—In exercising its authority under 19 paragraph (1), the Commission may issue orders to 20 no more than 5 covered platforms per study under 21 this section. 22 (3) CONFIDENTIAL ACCESS.—Notwithstanding 23 section 6(f) or 21 of the Federal Trade Commission 24 Act (15 U.S.C. 46, 57b–2), the Commission shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 36 •HR 7891 IH enter in agreements with the National Academy to 1 share appropriate information received from a cov- 2 ered platform pursuant to an order under such sub- 3 section (b) for a comprehensive study under this sec- 4 tion in a confidential and secure manner, and to 5 prohibit the disclosure or sharing of such informa- 6 tion by the National Academy. Nothing in this para- 7 graph shall be construed to preclude the disclosure 8 of any such information if authorized or required by 9 any other law. 10 SEC. 107. MARKET RESEARCH. 11 (a) MARKET RESEARCH BY COVERED PLATFORMS.— 12 The Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with the 13 Secretary of Commerce, shall issue guidance for covered 14 platforms seeking to conduct market- and product-focused 15 research on minors. Such guidance shall include— 16 (1) a standard consent form that provides mi- 17 nors and their parents a clear, conspicuous, and 18 easy-to-understand explanation of the scope and pur- 19 pose of the research to be conducted that is available 20 in English and the top 5 non-English languages 21 used in the United States; 22 (2) information on how to obtain informed con- 23 sent from the parent of a minor prior to conducting 24 such market- and product-focused research; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 37 •HR 7891 IH (3) recommendations for research practices for 1 studies that may include minors, disaggregated by 2 the age ranges of 0–5, 6–9, 10–12, and 13–16. 3 (b) TIMING.—The Federal Trade Commission shall 4 issue such guidance not later than 18 months after the 5 date of enactment of this Act. In doing so, they shall seek 6 input from members of the public and the representatives 7 of the Kids Online Safety Council established under sec- 8 tion 111. 9 SEC. 108. AGE VERIFICATION STUDY AND REPORT. 10 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Commerce, in coordi- 11 nation with the Federal Communications Commission and 12 Federal Trade Commission, shall conduct a study evalu- 13 ating the most technologically feasible methods and op- 14 tions for developing systems to verify age at the device 15 or operating system level. 16 (b) CONTENTS.—Such study shall consider— 17 (1) the benefits of creating a device or oper- 18 ating system level age verification system; 19 (2) what information may need to be collected 20 to create this type of age verification system; 21 (3) the accuracy of such systems and their im- 22 pact or steps to improve accessibility, including for 23 individuals with disabilities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 38 •HR 7891 IH (4) how such a system or systems could verify 1 age while mitigating risks to user privacy and data 2 security and safeguarding minors’ personal data, 3 emphasizing minimizing the amount of data col- 4 lected and processed by covered platforms and age 5 verification providers for such a system; 6 (5) the technical feasibility, including the need 7 for potential hardware and software changes, includ- 8 ing for devices currently in commerce and owned by 9 consumers; and 10 (6) the impact of different age verification sys- 11 tems on competition, particularly the risk of dif- 12 ferent age verification systems creating barriers to 13 entry for small companies. 14 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 15 of enactment of this Act, the agencies described in sub- 16 section (a) shall submit a report containing the results of 17 the study conducted under such subsection to the Com- 18 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 19 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 20 the House of Representatives. 21 SEC. 109. GUIDANCE. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Com- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 39 •HR 7891 IH mission, in consultation with the Kids Online Safety Coun- 1 cil established under section 111, shall issue guidance to— 2 (1) provide information and examples for cov- 3 ered platforms and auditors regarding, with consid- 4 eration given to differences across English and non- 5 English languages— 6 (A) identifying design features that en- 7 courage or increase the frequency, time spent, 8 or activity of minors on the covered platform; 9 (B) safeguarding minors against the pos- 10 sible misuse of parental tools; 11 (C) best practices in providing minors and 12 parents the most protective level of control over 13 safety; 14 (D) using indicia or inferences of age of 15 users for assessing use of the covered platform 16 by minors; 17 (E) methods for evaluating the efficacy of 18 safeguards set forth in this Act; and 19 (F) providing additional parental tool op- 20 tions that allow parents to address the harms 21 described in section 102(a); and 22 (2) outline conduct that does not have the pur- 23 pose or substantial effect of subverting or impairing 24 user autonomy, decision making, or choice, or of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 40 •HR 7891 IH causing, increasing, or encouraging compulsive usage 1 for a minor, such as— 2 (A) de minimis user interface changes de- 3 rived from testing consumer preferences, includ- 4 ing different styles, layouts, or text, where such 5 changes are not done with the purpose of weak- 6 ening or disabling safeguards or parental tools; 7 and 8 (B) establishing default settings that pro- 9 vide enhanced protection to users or otherwise 10 enhance their autonomy and decision-making 11 ability. 12 (b) GUIDANCE TO SCHOOLS.—Not later than 18 13 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 14 retary of Education, in consultation with the Federal 15 Trade Commission and the Kids Online Safety Council es- 16 tablished under section 111, shall issue guidance to assist 17 elementary and secondary schools in using the notice, safe- 18 guards and tools provided under this Act and providing 19 information on online safety for students and teachers. 20 (c) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 21 GUIDANCE.— 22 (1) EFFECT OF GUIDANCE.—No guidance 23 issued by the Federal Trade Commission with re- 24 spect to this Act shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 41 •HR 7891 IH (A) confer any rights on any person, State, 1 or locality; or 2 (B) operate to bind the Federal Trade 3 Commission or any court, person, State, or lo- 4 cality to the approach recommended in such 5 guidance. 6 (2) USE IN ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—In any 7 enforcement action brought pursuant to this Act, the 8 Federal Trade Commission or a State attorney gen- 9 eral, as applicable— 10 (A) shall allege a violation of a provision of 11 this Act; and 12 (B) may not base such enforcement action 13 on, or execute a consent order based on, prac- 14 tices that are alleged to be inconsistent with 15 guidance issued by the Federal Trade Commis- 16 sion with respect to this Act, unless the prac- 17 tices are alleged to violate a provision of this 18 Act. 19 SEC. 110. ENFORCEMENT. 20 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 21 SION.— 22 (1) UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC- 23 TICES.—A violation of this Act shall be treated as 24 a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 42 •HR 7891 IH act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) 1 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 2 57a(a)(1)(B)). 3 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade 5 Commission (referred to in this section as the 6 ‘‘Commission’’) shall enforce this Act in the 7 same manner, by the same means, and with the 8 same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though 9 all applicable terms and provisions of the Fed- 10 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 11 seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of 12 this Act. 13 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 14 person that violates this Act shall be subject to 15 the penalties, and entitled to the privileges and 16 immunities, provided in the Federal Trade 17 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 18 (3) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 19 Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the 20 Commission under any other provision of law. 21 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN- 22 ERAL.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 43 •HR 7891 IH (A) CIVIL ACTIONS.—In any case in which 1 the attorney general of a State has reason to 2 believe that a covered platform has violated or 3 is violating section 103, 104, or 105, the State, 4 as parens patriae, may bring a civil action on 5 behalf of the residents of the State in a district 6 court of the United States or a State court of 7 appropriate jurisdiction to— 8 (i) enjoin any practice that violates 9 section 103, 104, or 105; 10 (ii) enforce compliance with section 11 103, 104, or 105; 12 (iii) on behalf of residents of the 13 State, obtain damages, restitution, or other 14 compensation, each of which shall be dis- 15 tributed in accordance with State law; or 16 (iv) obtain such other relief as the 17 court may consider to be appropriate. 18 (B) NOTICE.— 19 (i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an ac- 20 tion under subparagraph (A), the attorney 21 general of the State involved shall provide 22 to the Commission— 23 (I) written notice of that action; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 44 •HR 7891 IH (II) a copy of the complaint for 1 that action. 2 (ii) EXEMPTION.— 3 (I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 4 shall not apply with respect to the fil- 5 ing of an action by an attorney gen- 6 eral of a State under this paragraph 7 if the attorney general of the State 8 determines that it is not feasible to 9 provide the notice described in that 10 clause before the filing of the action. 11 (II) NOTIFICATION.—In an ac- 12 tion described in subclause (I), the at- 13 torney general of a State shall provide 14 notice and a copy of the complaint to 15 the Commission at the same time as 16 the attorney general files the action. 17 (2) INTERVENTION.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 19 under paragraph (1)(B), the Commission shall 20 have the right to intervene in the action that is 21 the subject of the notice. 22 (B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 23 Commission intervenes in an action under para- 24 graph (1), it shall have the right— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 45 •HR 7891 IH (i) to be heard with respect to any 1 matter that arises in that action; and 2 (ii) to file a petition for appeal. 3 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing 4 any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in this 5 Act shall be construed to prevent an attorney gen- 6 eral of a State from exercising the powers conferred 7 on the attorney general by the laws of that State 8 to— 9 (A) conduct investigations; 10 (B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 11 (C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 12 the production of documentary and other evi- 13 dence. 14 (4) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—In any 15 case in which an action is instituted by or on behalf 16 of the Commission for violation of this Act, no State 17 may, during the pendency of that action, institute a 18 separate action under paragraph (1) against any de- 19 fendant named in the complaint in the action insti- 20 tuted by or on behalf of the Commission for that 21 violation. 22 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 23 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 24 paragraph (1) may be brought in— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 46 •HR 7891 IH (i) the district court of the United 1 States that meets applicable requirements 2 relating to venue under section 1391 of 3 title 28, United States Code; or 4 (ii) a State court of competent juris- 5 diction. 6 (B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 7 brought under paragraph (1) in a district court 8 of the United States, process may be served 9 wherever defendant— 10 (i) is an inhabitant; or 11 (ii) may be found. 12 (6) LIMITATION.—A violation of section 102 13 shall not form the basis of liability in any action 14 brought by the attorney general of a State under a 15 State law. 16 SEC. 111. KIDS ONLINE SAFETY COUNCIL. 17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Com- 19 merce shall establish and convene the Kids Online Safety 20 Council for the purpose of providing advice on matters re- 21 lated to this Act. 22 (b) PARTICIPATION.—The Kids Online Safety Coun- 23 cil shall include diverse participation from— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 47 •HR 7891 IH (1) academic experts, health professionals, and 1 members of civil society with expertise in mental 2 health, substance use disorders, and the prevention 3 of harms to minors; 4 (2) representatives in academia and civil society 5 with specific expertise in privacy and civil liberties; 6 (3) parents and youth representation; 7 (4) representatives of covered platforms; 8 (5) representatives of the National Tele- 9 communications and Information Administration, 10 the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 11 the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of 12 Justice, and the Department of Health and Human 13 Services; 14 (6) State attorneys general or their designees 15 acting in State or local government; 16 (7) educators; and 17 (8) representatives of communities of socially 18 disadvantaged individuals (as defined in section 8 of 19 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637)). 20 (c) ACTIVITIES.—The matters to be addressed by the 21 Kids Online Safety Council shall include— 22 (1) identifying emerging or current risks of 23 harms to minors associated with online platforms; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 48 •HR 7891 IH (2) recommending measures and methods for 1 assessing, preventing, and mitigating harms to mi- 2 nors online; 3 (3) recommending methods and themes for con- 4 ducting research regarding online harms to minors, 5 including in English and non-English languages; and 6 (4) recommending best practices and clear, con- 7 sensus-based technical standards for transparency 8 reports and audits, as required under this Act, in- 9 cluding methods, criteria, and scope to promote 10 overall accountability. 11 (d) NON-APPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Kids On- 12 line Safety Council shall not be subject to chapter 10 of 13 title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the 14 ‘‘Federal Advisory Committee Act’’). 15 SEC. 112. EFFECTIVE DATE. 16 Except as otherwise provided in this title, this title 17 shall take effect on the date that is 18 months after the 18 date of enactment of this Act. 19 SEC. 113. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION AND OTHER MATTERS. 20 (a) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 21 this title shall be construed to— 22 (1) preempt section 444 of the General Edu- 23 cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g, commonly 24 known as the ‘‘Family Educational Rights and Pri- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 49 •HR 7891 IH vacy Act of 1974’’) or other Federal or State laws 1 governing student privacy; 2 (2) preempt the Children’s Online Privacy Pro- 3 tection Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) or any 4 rule or regulation promulgated under such Act; or 5 (3) authorize any action that would conflict 6 with section 18(h) of the Federal Trade Commission 7 Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(h)). 8 (b) PROTECTIONS FOR PRIVACY.—Nothing in this 9 title shall be construed to require— 10 (1) the affirmative collection of any personal 11 data with respect to the age of users that a covered 12 platform is not already collecting in the normal 13 course of business; or 14 (2) a covered platform to implement an age 15 gating or age verification functionality. 16 (c) COMPLIANCE.—Nothing in this title shall be con- 17 strued to restrict a covered platform’s ability to— 18 (1) cooperate with law enforcement agencies re- 19 garding activity that the covered platform reasonably 20 and in good faith believes may violate Federal, 21 State, or local laws, rules, or regulations; 22 (2) comply with a lawful civil, criminal, or regu- 23 latory inquiry, subpoena, or summons by Federal, 24 State, local, or other government authorities; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 50 •HR 7891 IH (3) prevent, detect, protect against, or respond 1 to security incidents, identity theft, fraud, harass- 2 ment, malicious or deceptive activities, or any illegal 3 activity; preserve the integrity or security of sys- 4 tems; or investigate, report, or prosecute those re- 5 sponsible for any such action; or 6 (4) investigate, establish, exercise, respond to, 7 or defend against legal claims. 8 (d) APPLICATION TO VIDEO STREAMING SERV- 9 ICES.—A video streaming service shall be deemed to be 10 in compliance with this Act if it predominantly consists 11 of news, sports, entertainment, or other video program- 12 ming content that is preselected by the provider and not 13 user-generated, and— 14 (1) any chat, comment, or interactive 15 functionality is provided incidental to, directly re- 16 lated to, or dependent on provision of such content; 17 (2) if such video streaming service requires ac- 18 count owner registration and is not predominantly 19 news or sports, the service includes the capability— 20 (A) to limit a minor’s access to the service, 21 which may utilize a system of age-rating; 22 (B) to limit the automatic playing of on- 23 demand content selected by a personalized rec- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 51 •HR 7891 IH ommendation system for an individual that the 1 service knows is a minor; 2 (C) to provide an individual that the serv- 3 ice knows is a minor with readily accessible and 4 easy-to-use options to delete an account held by 5 the minor on the service, or, in the case of a 6 service that allows a parent to create a profile 7 for a minor, to allow a parent to delete the mi- 8 nor’s profile; 9 (D) for a parent to manage a minor’s ac- 10 count settings, and restrict purchases and fi- 11 nancial transactions by a minor, where applica- 12 ble; 13 (E) to provide an electronic point of con- 14 tact specific to matters described in this para- 15 graph; 16 (F) to offer a clear, conspicuous, and easy- 17 to-understand notice of its policies and prac- 18 tices with respect the capabilities described in 19 this paragraph; and 20 (G) when providing on-demand content, to 21 employ measures that safeguard against serving 22 advertising for narcotic drugs (as defined in 23 section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act 24 (21 U.S.C. 802)), tobacco products, gambling, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 52 •HR 7891 IH or alcohol directly to the account or profile of 1 an individual that the service knows is a minor. 2 SEC. 114. SEVERABILITY. 3 If any provision of this title, or an amendment made 4 by this title, is determined to be unenforceable or invalid, 5 the remaining provisions of this title and the amendments 6 made by this title shall not be affected. 7 TITLE II—FILTER BUBBLE 8 TRANSPARENCY 9 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this title: 11 (1) ALGORITHMIC RANKING SYSTEM.—The 12 term ‘‘algorithmic ranking system’’ means a com- 13 putational process, including one derived from algo- 14 rithmic decision-making, machine learning, statis- 15 tical analysis, or other data processing or artificial 16 intelligence techniques, used to determine the selec- 17 tion, order, relative prioritization, or relative promi- 18 nence of content from a set of information that is 19 provided to a user on an online platform, including 20 the ranking of search results, the provision of con- 21 tent recommendations, the display of social media 22 posts, or any other method of automated content se- 23 lection. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 53 •HR 7891 IH (2) APPROXIMATE GEOLOCATION INFORMA- 1 TION.—The term ‘‘approximate geolocation informa- 2 tion’’ means information that identifies the location 3 of an individual, but with a precision of less than 5 4 miles. 5 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 6 means the Federal Trade Commission. 7 (4) CONNECTED DEVICE.—The term ‘‘con- 8 nected device’’ means an electronic device that— 9 (A) is capable of connecting to the inter- 10 net, either directly or indirectly through a net- 11 work, to communicate information at the direc- 12 tion of an individual; 13 (B) has computer processing capabilities 14 for collecting, sending, receiving, or analyzing 15 data; and 16 (C) is primarily designed for or marketed 17 to consumers. 18 (5) INPUT-TRANSPARENT ALGORITHM.— 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘input-trans- 20 parent algorithm’’ means an algorithmic rank- 21 ing system that does not use the user-specific 22 data of a user to determine the selection, order, 23 relative prioritization, or relative prominence of 24 information that is furnished to such user on 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 54 •HR 7891 IH an online platform, unless the user-specific data 1 is expressly provided to the platform by the 2 user for such purpose. 3 (B) DATA EXPRESSLY PROVIDED TO THE 4 PLATFORM.—For purposes of subparagraph 5 (A), user-specific data that is provided by a 6 user for the express purpose of determining the 7 selection, order, relative prioritization, or rel- 8 ative prominence of information that is fur- 9 nished to such user on an online platform— 10 (i) shall include user-supplied search 11 terms, filters, speech patterns (if provided 12 for the purpose of enabling the platform to 13 accept spoken input or selecting the lan- 14 guage in which the user interacts with the 15 platform), saved preferences, the resump- 16 tion of a previous search, and the current 17 precise geolocation information that is sup- 18 plied by the user; 19 (ii) shall include the user’s current ap- 20 proximate geolocation information; 21 (iii) shall include data submitted to 22 the platform by the user that expresses the 23 user’s desire to receive particular informa- 24 tion, such as the social media profiles the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 55 •HR 7891 IH user follows, the video channels the user 1 subscribes to, or other content or sources 2 of content on the platform the user has se- 3 lected; 4 (iv) shall not include the history of 5 the user’s connected device, including the 6 user’s history of web searches and brows- 7 ing, previous geographical locations, phys- 8 ical activity, device interaction, and finan- 9 cial transactions; and 10 (v) shall not include inferences about 11 the user or the user’s connected device, 12 without regard to whether such inferences 13 are based on data described in clause (i) or 14 (iii). 15 (6) ONLINE PLATFORM.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘online plat- 17 form’’ means any public-facing website, online 18 service, online application, or mobile application 19 that predominantly provides a community 20 forum for user-generated content. 21 (B) INCLUSIONS.—Such term includes 22 sharing videos, images, games, audio files, or 23 other content, including a social media service, 24 social network, or virtual reality environment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 56 •HR 7891 IH (C) EXCLUSIONS.—Such term does not in- 1 clude chats, comments, or other interactive 2 functionalities of the community forum that is 3 incidental to the predominant purpose of the 4 website, online service, online application, or 5 mobile application. 6 (7) OPAQUE ALGORITHM.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘opaque al- 8 gorithm’’ means an algorithmic ranking system 9 that determines the selection, order, relative 10 prioritization, or relative prominence of infor- 11 mation that is furnished to such user on an on- 12 line platform based, in whole or part, on user- 13 specific data that was not expressly provided by 14 the user to the platform for such purpose. 15 (B) EXCEPTION FOR AGE-APPROPRIATE 16 CONTENT FILTERS.—Such term shall not in- 17 clude an algorithmic ranking system used by an 18 online platform if— 19 (i) the only user-specific data (includ- 20 ing inferences about the user) that the sys- 21 tem uses is information relating to the age 22 of the user; and 23 (ii) such information is only used to 24 restrict a user’s access to content on the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 57 •HR 7891 IH basis that the individual is not old enough 1 to access such content. 2 (8) PRECISE GEOLOCATION INFORMATION.— 3 The term ‘‘precise geolocation information’’ means 4 geolocation information that identifies an individ- 5 ual’s location to within a range of 5 miles or less. 6 (9) USER-SPECIFIC DATA.—The term ‘‘user- 7 specific data’’ means information relating to an indi- 8 vidual or a specific connected device that would not 9 necessarily be true of every individual or device. 10 SEC. 202. REQUIREMENT TO ALLOW USERS TO SEE 11 UNMANIPULATED CONTENT ON INTERNET 12 PLATFORMS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 1 14 year after the date of enactment of this Act, it shall be 15 unlawful for any person to operate an online platform that 16 uses an opaque algorithm unless the person complies with 17 the requirements of subsection (b). 18 (b) OPAQUE ALGORITHM REQUIREMENTS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of this 20 subsection with respect to a person that operates an 21 online platform that uses an opaque algorithm are 22 the following: 23 (A) The person provides notice to users of 24 the platform— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 58 •HR 7891 IH (i) that the platform uses an opaque 1 algorithm that uses user-specific data to 2 select the content the user sees. Such no- 3 tice shall be presented in a clear and con- 4 spicuous manner on the platform whenever 5 the user interacts with an opaque algo- 6 rithm for the first time, and may be a one- 7 time notice that can be dismissed by the 8 user; and 9 (ii) in the terms and conditions of the 10 online platform, in a clear, accessible, and 11 easily comprehensible manner that is to be 12 updated whenever the online platform 13 makes a material change to— 14 (I) the most salient features, in- 15 puts, and parameters used by the al- 16 gorithm; 17 (II) how any user-specific data 18 used by the algorithm is collected or 19 inferred about a user of the platform, 20 and the categories of such data; 21 (III) any options that the online 22 platform makes available for a user of 23 the platform to opt out or exercise op- 24 tions under subparagraph (B), modify 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 59 •HR 7891 IH the profile of the user or to influence 1 the features, inputs, or parameters 2 used by the algorithm; and 3 (IV) any quantities, such as time 4 spent using a product or specific 5 measures of engagement or social 6 interaction, that the algorithm is de- 7 signed to optimize, as well as a gen- 8 eral description of the relative impor- 9 tance of each quantity for such rank- 10 ing. 11 (B) The online platform enables users to 12 easily switch between the opaque algorithm and 13 an input-transparent algorithm in their use of 14 the platform. 15 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 16 subsection shall be construed to require an online 17 platform to disclose any information, including data 18 or algorithms— 19 (A) relating to a trade secret or other pro- 20 tected intellectual property; 21 (B) that is confidential business informa- 22 tion; or 23 (C) that is privileged. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 60 •HR 7891 IH (3) PROHIBITION ON DIFFERENTIAL PRIC- 1 ING.—An online platform shall not deny, charge dif- 2 ferent prices or rates for, or condition the provision 3 of a service or product to a user based on the user’s 4 election to use an input-transparent algorithm in 5 their use of the platform, as provided under para- 6 graph (1)(B). 7 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 8 SION.— 9 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC- 10 TICES.—A violation of this section by an operator of 11 an online platform shall be treated as a violation of 12 a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice 13 prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 14 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 15 (2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade 17 Commission shall enforce this section in the 18 same manner, by the same means, and with the 19 same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though 20 all applicable terms and provisions of the Fed- 21 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 22 seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of 23 this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 61 •HR 7891 IH (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Ex- 1 cept as provided in subparagraph (C), any per- 2 son who violates this Act shall be subject to the 3 penalties and entitled to the privileges and im- 4 munities provided in the Federal Trade Com- 5 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 6 (C) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in 7 this section shall be construed to limit the au- 8 thority of the Commission under any other pro- 9 vision of law. 10 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION TO PRESERVE PER- 11 SONALIZED BLOCKS.—Nothing in this section shall be 12 construed to limit or prohibit an online platform’s ability 13 to, at the direction of an individual user or group of users, 14 restrict another user from searching for, finding, access- 15 ing, or interacting with such user’s or group’s account, 16 content, data, or online community. 17 SEC. 203. SEVERABILITY. 18 If any provision of this title, or an amendment made 19 by this title, is determined to be unenforceable or invalid, 20 the remaining provisions of this title and the amendments 21 made by this title shall not be affected. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 62 •HR 7891 IH TITLE III—RELATIONSHIP TO 1 STATE LAWS 2 SEC. 301. RELATIONSHIP TO STATE LAWS. 3 The provisions of this Act shall preempt any State 4 law, rule, or regulation only to the extent that such State 5 law, rule, or regulation conflicts with a provision of this 6 Act. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit a 7 State from enacting a law, rule, or regulation that pro- 8 vides greater protection to minors than the protection pro- 9 vided by the provisions of this Act. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:49 May 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7891.IH H7891 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS