II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5259 

To require certain interactive computer services to adopt and operate technology verification measures to ensure that users of the platform are 

not minors, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 14, 2022 

Mr. LEE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require certain interactive computer services to adopt 

and operate technology verification measures to ensure 

that users of the platform are not minors, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shielding Children’s 

5 Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘SCREEN Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Over the 3 decades preceding the date of 

2 enactment of this Act, Congress has passed several 

3 bills to protect minors from access to online porno4 graphic content, including title V of the Tele5 communications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–104) 

6 (commonly known as the ‘‘Communications Decency 

7 Act’’), section 231 of the Communications Act of 

8 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231) (commonly known as the 

9 ‘‘Child Online Protection Act’’), and the Children’s 

10 Internet Protection Act (title XVII of division B of 

11 Public Law 106–554). 

12 (2) With the exception of the Children’s Inter13 net Protection Act (title XVII of division B of Public 

14 Law 106–554), the Supreme Court of the United 

15 States has struck down the previous efforts of Con16 gress to shield children from pornographic content, 

17 finding that such legislation constituted a ‘‘compel18 ling government interest’’ but that it was not the 

19 least restrictive means to achieve such interest. In 

20 Ashcroft v. ACLU, 542 U.S. 656 (2004), the Court 

21 even suggested at the time that ‘‘blocking and fil22 tering software’’ could conceivably be a ‘‘primary al23 ternative’’ to the requirements passed by Congress. 

24 (3) In the nearly 2 decades since the Supreme 

25 Court of the United States suggested the use of 


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1 ‘‘blocking and filtering software’’, such technology 

2 has proven to be ineffective in protecting minors 

3 from accessing online pornographic content. The 

4 Kaiser Family Foundation has found that filters do 

5 not work on 1 in 10 pornography sites accessed in6 tentionally and 1 in 3 pornography sites that are 

7 accessed unintentionally. Further, it has been proven 

8 that children are able to bypass ‘‘blocking and fil9 tering’’ software by employing strategic searches or 

10 measures to bypass the software completely. 

11 (4) Additionally, Pew Research has revealed 

12 studies showing that only 39-percent of parents use 

13 blocking or filtering software for their minor’s online 

14 activities, meaning that 61-percent of children only 

15 have restrictions on their internet access when they 

16 are at school or at a library. 

17 (5) 17 States have now recognized pornography 

18 as a public health hazard that leads to a broad 

19 range of individual harms, societal harms, and pub20 lic health impacts. 

21 (6) It is estimated that 80-percent of minors 

22 between the ages of 12 to 17 have been exposed to 

23 pornography, with 54-percent of teenagers seeking it 

24 out. The internet is the most common source for mi25 nors to access pornography with pornographic 


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1 websites receiving more web traffic in the United 

2 States than Twitter, Netflix, Pinterest, and 

3 LinkedIn combined. 

4 (7) Exposure to online pornography has created 

5 unique psychological effects for minors, including 

6 anxiety, addiction, low self-esteem, body image dis7 orders, an increase in problematic sexual activity at 

8 younger ages, and an increased desire among minors 

9 to engage in risky sexual behavior. 

10 (8) The Supreme Court of the United States 

11 has recognized on multiple occasions that Congress 

12 has a ‘‘compelling government interest’’ to protect 

13 the physical and psychological well-being of minors, 

14 which includes shielding them from ‘‘indecent’’ con15 tent that may not necessarily be considered ‘‘ob16 scene’’ by adult standards. 

17 (9) Because ‘‘blocking and filtering software’’ 

18 has not produced the results envisioned nearly 2 dec19 ades ago, it is necessary for Congress to pursue al20 ternative policies to enable the protection of the 

21 physical and psychological well-being of minors. 

22 (10) The evolution of our technology has now 

23 enabled the use of age verification technology that is 

24 cost efficient, not unduly burdensome, and can be 

25 operated narrowly in a manner that ensures only 


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1 adults have access to a website’s online pornographic 

2 content. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

5 (1) shielding minors from access to online por6 nographic content is a compelling government inter7 est that protects the physical and psychological well8 being of minors; and 

9 (2) requiring interactive computer services that 

10 are in the business of creating, hosting, or making 

11 available pornographic content to enact technological 

12 measures that shield minors from accessing porno13 graphic content on their platforms is the least re14 strictive means for Congress to achieve its compel15 ling government interest. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) CHILD PORNOGRAPHY; MINOR.—The terms 

19 ‘‘child pornography’’ and ‘‘minor’’ have the mean20 ings given those terms in section 2256 of title 18, 

21 United States Code. 

22 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

23 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

24 (3) COVERED PLATFORM.—The term ‘‘covered 

25 platform’’— 


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1 (A) means an entity— 

2 (i) that is an interactive computer 

3 service; 

4 (ii) that— 

5 (I) is engaged in interstate or 

6 foreign commerce; or 

7 (II) purposefully avails itself of 

8 the United States market or a portion 

9 thereof; and 

10 (iii) for which it is in the regular 

11 course of the trade or business of the enti12 ty to create, host, or make available con13 tent that meets the definition of harmful to 

14 minors under paragraph (4) and that is 

15 provided by the entity, a user, or other in16 formation content provider, with the objec17 tive of earning a profit; and 

18 (B) includes an entity described in sub19 paragraph (A) regardless of whether— 

20 (i) the entity earns a profit on the ac21 tivities described in subparagraph (A)(iii); 

22 or 

23 (ii) creating, hosting, or making avail24 able content that meets the definition of 

25 harmful to minors under paragraph (4) is 


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1 the sole source of income or principal busi2 ness of the entity. 

3 (4) HARMFUL TO MINORS.—The term ‘‘harmful 

4 to minors’’, with respect to a picture, image, graphic 

5 image file, film, videotape, or other visual depiction, 

6 means that the picture, image, graphic image file, 

7 film, videotape, or other depiction— 

8 (A)(i) taken as a whole and with respect to 

9 minors, appeals to the prurient interest in nu10 dity, sex, or excretion; 

11 (ii) depicts, describes, or represents, in a 

12 patently offensive way with respect to what is 

13 suitable for minors, an actual or simulated sex14 ual act or sexual contact, actual or simulated 

15 normal or perverted sexual acts, or lewd exhi16 bition of the genitals; and 

17 (iii) taken as a whole, lacks serious, lit18 erary, artistic, political, or scientific value as to 

19 minors; 

20 (B) is obscene; or 

21 (C) is child pornography. 

22 (5) INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER; INTER23 ACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE.—The terms ‘‘informa24 tion content provider’’ and ‘‘interactive computer 

25 service’’ have the meanings given those terms in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 Dec 21, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5259.IS S5259

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1 tion 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

2 U.S.C. 230(f)). 

3 (6) SEXUAL ACT; SEXUAL CONTACT.—The 

4 terms ‘‘sexual act’’ and ‘‘sexual contact’’ have the 

5 meanings given those terms in section 2246 of title 

6 18, United States Code. 

7 (7) TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION MEASURE.— 

8 The term ‘‘technology verification measure’’ means 

9 technology that— 

10 (A) employs a system or process to deter11 mine whether it is more likely than not that a 

12 user of a covered platform is a minor; and 

13 (B) prevents access by minors to any con14 tent on a covered platform. 

15 SEC. 4. TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION MEASURES. 

16 (a) RULE MAKING.—The Commission shall— 

17 (1) not later than 30 days after the date of en18 actment of this Act, issue a notice of proposed rule 

19 making to require covered platforms to adopt and 

20 operate technology verification measures on the plat21 form to ensure that— 

22 (A) users of the covered platform are not 

23 minors; and 


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1 (B) minors are prevented from accessing 

2 any content on the covered platform that is 

3 harmful to minors; and 

4 (2) not later than 1 year after issuing the no5 tice of proposed rule making under paragraph (1), 

6 issue the final rule. 

7 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The rule described in sub8 section (a) shall— 

9 (1) set the applicable verification standards and 

10 metrics to which a covered platform using a tech11 nology verification measure is required to adhere 

12 when determining whether it is more likely than not 

13 that a user of the covered platform is not a minor; 

14 (2) require covered platforms to— 

15 (A) adopt technology verification measures 

16 that adhere to the standards and metrics set by 

17 the Commission under paragraph (1); and 

18 (B) make publicly available the verification 

19 process that the covered platform is employing 

20 to comply with the requirements under this Act; 

21 (3) provide that requiring a user to confirm 

22 that the user is not a minor shall not be sufficient 

23 to satisfy the requirements under subparagraphs (A) 

24 and (B) of subsection (a)(1); 


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1 (4) subject the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses 

2 of all users, including known virtual proxy network 

3 IP addresses, of a covered platform to the require4 ments described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

5 subsection (a)(1) unless the covered platform (or 

6 third-party described in paragraph (6)), according to 

7 standards set by the Commission, determines based 

8 on available technology a user is not located within 

9 the United States; 

10 (5) permit covered platforms to choose the tech11 nology verification measure that ensures the 

12 verification of users in accordance with the stand13 ards and metrics set by the Commission under para14 graph (1), provided that the technology verification 

15 measure employed by the covered platform prohibits 

16 a minor from accessing the platform or any informa17 tion on the platform that is obscene, child pornog18 raphy, or harmful to minors; 

19 (6) permit covered platforms to contract with a 

20 third-party to employ a technology verification meas21 ures, and provide that use of such a third-party shall 

22 not relieve the covered platform of the requirements 

23 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection 

24 (a)(1) or the enforcement actions described in sec25 tion 6; 


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1 (7) require the Commission to establish a proc2 ess for each covered platform to submit only such 

3 documents or other materials as are necessary for 

4 the Commission to ensure full compliance with the 

5 requirements of the rule; and 

6 (8) require the Commission to— 

7 (A) conduct regular audits of covered plat8 forms to ensure compliance with the require9 ments under this subsection; and 

10 (B) make public the terms and processes 

11 for the audits conducted under subparagraph 

12 (A), including the processes for any third-party 

13 conducting an audit on behalf of the Commis14 sion. 

15 (c) COMPLIANCE.— 

16 (1) DEADLINE.—Not later than 180 days after 

17 the date on which the final rule is issued under sub18 section (a)(2), each covered platform shall comply 

19 with the requirements under the final rule. 

20 (2) APPROPRIATE DOCUMENTS, MATERIALS, 

21 AND MEASURES.—The Commission shall prescribe 

22 the appropriate documents, materials, or other 

23 measures required to ensure full compliance with the 

24 requirements of the final rule issued under sub25 section (a)(2). 


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1 (d) CONTRACTING WITH THIRD PARTIES.—The 

2 Commission may create a process to contract with inde3 pendent third-party auditors to conduct regular audits on 

4 behalf of the Commission under subsection (b)(8). 

5 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec6 tion shall be construed to require a covered platform to 

7 submit any information that identifies, is linked to, or is 

8 reasonably linkable to a user of the covered platform or 

9 a device that is linked or reasonable linkable to a user 

10 of the covered platform. 

11 SEC. 5. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENTS. 

12 In issuing the rule required under section 4, the Com13 mission shall consult with the following individuals, includ14 ing with respect to the applicable standards and metrics 

15 for making a determination on whether it is more likely 

16 than not that a user of a covered platform is not a minor: 

17 (1) Individuals with experience in computer 

18 science and software engineering. 

19 (2) Individuals with experience in— 

20 (A) advocating for online child safety; or 

21 (B) providing services to minors who have 

22 been victimized by online child exploitation. 

23 (3) Individuals with experience in consumer 

24 protection and online privacy. 


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1 (4) Individuals who supply technology 

2 verification measure products or have expertise in 

3 technology verification measure solutions. 

4 (5) Individuals with experience in data security 

5 and cryptography. 

6 SEC. 6. CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS. 

7 (a) NOTIFICATION.—If the Commission has a sound 

8 basis to conclude that a covered platform has violated the 

9 final rule issued under section 4, the Commission shall no10 tify the covered platform with a brief description of the 

11 specific violation with recommended measures to correct 

12 the violation. 

13 (b) PENALTY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered platform that has 

15 not provided evidence of compliance or corrected a 

16 violation that has been noticed by the Commission 

17 under subsection (a) within 72 hours of the receipt 

18 of such notice shall be subject to a civil penalty in 

19 an amount that is not more than $25,000 per viola20 tion. 

21 (2) SEPARATE VIOLATIONS.—For the purposes 

22 of paragraph (1), each day of violation of the final 

23 rule issued under section 4 shall constitute a sepa24 rate violation. 


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1 (3) APPEAL.—A covered platform may appeal 

2 any civil penalty issued by the Commission under 

3 this subsection in an appropriate district court of 

4 the United States. 

5 (4) USE OF AMOUNTS.—Any amounts collected 

6 under this subsection shall be used by the Commis7 sion to carry out enforcement of the final rule issued 

8 under section 4. 

9 (c) ENFORCEMENT.—The Commission may— 

10 (1) file a claim in an appropriate district court 

11 of the United States to enforce this section; 

12 (2) seek a temporary or permanent injunction 

13 from an appropriate district court of the United 

14 States on such terms as the court deems reasonable 

15 to prevent or restrain a violation of the final rule 

16 issued under section 4; 

17 (3) after 30 days of non-compliance with sec18 tion 4 and a demonstration of a lack of good faith 

19 on the part of the covered platform to comply with 

20 section 4, seek a permanent or temporary injunction 

21 to restrict the operation of the covered platform 

22 within the United States; and 

23 (4) after 30 days of non-compliance with sec24 tion 4 and a demonstration of a lack of good faith 

25 on the part of the covered platform to comply with 


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1 section 4, seek an order to allow the Commission to 

2 prohibit a covered platform from engaging in any 

3 online economic transactions within the United 

4 States. 

5 (d) DURATION.—The terms of an injunction or an 

6 order issued under paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of subsection 

7 (c) with respect to a covered platform shall only be valid 

8 until such time as the covered platform demonstrates to 

9 the Commission full compliance with the requirements of 

10 the final rule issued under section 4. 

11 SEC. 7. GAO REPORT. 

12 Not later than 2 years after the date on which cov13 ered platforms are required to comply with the final rule 

14 issued under section 4(a)(2), the Comptroller General of 

15 the United States shall submit to Congress a report that 

16 includes— 

17 (1) an analysis of the effectiveness of the tech18 nology verification measures required under the final 

19 rule; 

20 (2) recommendations to the Commission for im21 provements to the final rule; and 

22 (3) recommendations to Congress on future leg23 islative improvements. 


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1 SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. 

2 If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 

3 a provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

4 unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of this Act, and 

5 the application of such provisions to any other person or 

6 circumstance, shall not be affected thereby. 

Æ 


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