II 

Calendar No. 252 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 90 

[Report No. 118–114] 

To require the disclosure of a camera or recording capability in certain 

internet-connected devices. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25, 2023 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Ms. CANTWELL, and Mr. WARNOCK) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To require the disclosure of a camera or recording capability 

in certain internet-connected devices. 

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 ‘‘Informing Consumers 

5 about Smart Devices Act’’. 


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•S 90 RS

1 SEC. 2. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE OF A CAMERA OR RECORD2 ING CAPABILITY IN CERTAIN INTERNET-CON3 NECTED DEVICES. 

4 Each manufacturer of a covered device shall disclose, 

5 clearly and conspicuously and prior to purchase, whether 

6 the covered device manufactured by the manufacturer con7 tains a camera or microphone as a component of the cov8 ered device. 

9 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS10 SION. 

11 (a) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES.— 

12 A violation of section 2 shall be treated as a violation of 

13 a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice pre14 scribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 

15 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

16 (b) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade Commis18 sion (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) 

19 shall enforce this Act in the same manner, by the 

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

21 and duties as though all applicable terms and provi22 sions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made 

24 a part of this Act. 

25 (2) PENALTIES AND PRIVILEGES.—Any person 

26 who violates this Act or a regulation promulgated 


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•S 90 RS

1 under this Act shall be subject to the penalties and 

2 entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in 

3 the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 

4 seq.). 

5 (3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act 

6 shall be construed to limit the authority of the Com7 mission under any other provision of law. 

8 (c) COMMISSION GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 

9 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis10 sion, through outreach to relevant private entities, shall 

11 issue guidance to assist manufacturers in complying with 

12 the requirements of this Act, including guidance about 

13 best practices for making the disclosure required by sec14 tion 2 as clear and conspicuous as practicable clear and 

15 conspicuous and age appropriate as practicable and about 

16 best practices for the use of a pictorial (as defined in section 

17 2(a) of the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016 (15 

18 U.S.C. 45b(a))) visual representation of the information to 

19 be disclosed. 

20 (d) TAILORED GUIDANCE.—A manufacturer of a cov21 ered device may petition the Commission for tailored guid22 ance as to how to meet the requirements of section 2 con23 sistent with existing rules of practice or any successor 

24 rules. 


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•S 90 RS

1 (e) LIMITATION ON COMMISSION GUIDANCE.—No 

2 guidance issued by the Commission with respect to this 

3 Act shall confer any rights on any person, State, or local4 ity, nor shall operate to bind the Commission or any per5 son to the approach recommended in such guidance. In 

6 any enforcement action brought pursuant to this Act, the 

7 Commission shall allege a specific violation of a provision 

8 of this Act. The Commission may not base an enforcement 

9 action on, or execute a consent order based on, practices 

10 that are alleged to be inconsistent with any such guide11 lines, unless the practices allegedly violate section 2. 

12 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF COVERED DEVICE. 

13 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘covered device’’— 

14 (1) means a consumer product, as defined by 

15 section 3(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act 

16 (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)) that is capable of connecting to 

17 the internet, a component of which is a camera or 

18 microphone; and 

19 (2) does not include— 

20 (A) a telephone (including a mobile phone), 

21 a laptop, tablet, or any device that a consumer 

22 would reasonably expect to have a microphone 

23 or camera; 


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•S 90 RS

1 (B) any device that is specifically marketed 

2 as a camera, telecommunications device, or 

3 microphone; or 

4 (C) any device or apparatus described in 

5 sections 255, 716, and 718, and subsections 

6 (aa) and (bb) of section 303 of the Communica7 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 255; 617; 619; 

8 and 303(aa) and (bb)), and any regulations 

9 promulgated thereunder. 

10 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 This Act shall apply to all covered devices manufac12 tured after the date that is 180 days after the date on 

13 which guidance is issued by the Commission under section 

14 3(c), and shall not apply to covered devices manufactured 

15 or sold before such date, or otherwise introduced into 

16 interstate commerce before such date. 


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Calendar No. 252 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 90 

[Report No. 118–114] 

A BILL 

To require the disclosure of a camera or recording 

capability in certain internet-connected devices. 

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 


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