II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4975 

To require covered entities to implement and disclose information moderation 

policies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 8, 2020 

Mr. LEE (for himself and Mr. MORAN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To require covered entities to implement and disclose 

information moderation policies, 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 ‘‘Promoting Responsi5 bility Over Moderation In the Social-media Environment 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘PROMISE Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

8 The purpose of this Act is to ensure that users of 

9 a covered entity have the necessary information regarding 

10 such entity’s policy on moderating information provided 

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1 by a user or other information content provider. Access 

2 to such a policy enables users to make informed choices 

3 regarding the use or purchase of services provided by the 

4 covered entity and promotes a competitive marketplace for 

5 such services. 

6 SEC. 3. INFORMATION MODERATION POLICIES. 

7 (a) REQUIREMENT.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity— 

9 (A) shall implement and operate in accord10 ance with an information moderation policy (as 

11 described in paragraph (2)); 

12 (B) shall disclose such information mod13 eration policy in a publicly available and easily 

14 accessible manner; and 

15 (C) shall not make a deceptive policy state16 ment with respect to such information modera17 tion policy. 

18 (2) INFORMATION MODERATION POLICY.—The 

19 information moderation policy described in this 

20 paragraph is a policy that accurately describes, in 

21 plain, easy to understand language, information re22 garding the business practices of a covered entity 

23 with respect to the standards, processes, and policies 

24 of the covered entity on moderating information proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 12, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4975.IS S4975
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1 vided by a user or other information content pro2 vider, including— 

3 (A) any category of information that— 

4 (i) the covered entity does not permit 

5 on its service; or 

6 (ii) is subject to moderation by users 

7 or providers of such covered entity; 

8 (B) the process which a user or provider of 

9 the covered entity utilizes to moderate informa10 tion posted, published, or otherwise displayed 

11 on the service; and 

12 (C) the notification process, if any, which 

13 the covered entity uses to inform a user— 

14 (i) that such user’s information has 

15 been moderated; 

16 (ii) of the rationale justifying the 

17 moderation decision; and 

18 (iii) of the user’s options for redress, 

19 if any. 

20 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COM21 MISSION.— 

22 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC23 TICES.—A violation of subsection (a) shall constitute 

24 an unfair or deceptive act or practice in commerce 

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1 in violation of section 5(a) of the Federal Trade 

2 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)). 

3 (2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—Subject to para4 graphs (4) and (5), the Commission shall enforce 

5 subsection (a) in the same manner, by the same 

6 means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and 

7 duties as though all applicable terms and provisions 

8 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 

9 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of 

10 this section. Any person who violates subsection (a) 

11 shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the 

12 privileges and immunities provided in such Act. 

13 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall pre14 scribe, in accordance with section 553 of title 5, 

15 United States Code, such regulations as are nec16 essary to carry out the purposes of this section, in17 cluding regulations as may be necessary or appro18 priate to administer and carry out the purposes and 

19 objectives of this section. 

20 (4) PRESUMPTION OF MATERIALITY.—With re21 spect to a violation of subsection (a), there shall be 

22 a rebuttable presumption that a deceptive policy 

23 statement is material and likely to cause injury. 

24 (5) APPLICATION TO COMMON CARRIERS.—Not25 withstanding the definition of the term ‘‘Acts to regVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Dec 12, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4975.IS S4975
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1 ulate commerce’’ in section 4 of the Federal Trade 

2 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44) and the exception 

3 provided by section 5(a)(2) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 45(a)(2)) for common carriers, the Commission shall 

5 enforce subsection (a), in the same manner provided 

6 in paragraphs (1) through (4), with respect to cov7 ered entities that are common carriers for purposes 

8 of such section 5(a)(2). 

9 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

11 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

12 (2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en13 tity’’ means an entity that is an interactive computer 

14 service engaged in interstate or foreign commerce. 

15 (3) DECEPTIVE POLICY STATEMENT.—The 

16 term ‘‘deceptive policy statement’’ means an oral or 

17 written representation, omission, or practice made 

18 by an officer, director, or other authorized agent of 

19 a covered entity regarding such covered entity’s in20 formation moderation policy that— 

21 (A) misleads or is likely to mislead a rea22 sonable individual regarding the covered entity’s 

23 service; and 

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1 (B) affects or is likely to affect a reason2 able individual’s choice to use or use of the cov3 ered entity’s service. 

4 (4) INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER.—The 

5 term ‘‘information content provider’’ has the mean6 ing given such term in section 230(f) of the Commu7 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)). 

8 (5) INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE.—The 

9 term ‘‘interactive computer service’’ has the meaning 

10 given such term in section 230(f) of the Communica11 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)). 

12 (6) MODERATE.—With respect to information 

13 provided by a user or other information content pro14 vider, the term ‘‘moderate’’ means— 

15 (A) to remove or otherwise restrict access 

16 to or the availability of such information; 

17 (B) to edit or otherwise alter such infor18 mation; or 

19 (C) to post, publish, or otherwise display a 

20 warning, fact-check notice, or other label in 

21 conjunction with such information. 

Æ