II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4893 

To require online service providers to disclose their acceptable use policies, 

provide users with written notice before the termination of a user’s 

account, and publish an annual report detailing actions taken to enforce 

their acceptable use policies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2024 

Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. SCHMITT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require online service providers to disclose their acceptable use policies, provide users with written notice before 

the termination of a user’s account, and publish an annual report detailing actions taken to enforce their acceptable use 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 ‘‘Transparency in En5 forcement, Restricting, and Monitoring of Services Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘TERMS Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to ensure that consumers, 

3 businesses, and organizations seeking to use the products 

4 or services of an online service provider have sufficient in5 formation regarding the online service provider’s commer6 cial business standards, processes, and policies with re7 spect to the unilateral termination, suspension, or can8 cellation of user accounts or ability to use the online serv9 ice provider’s products or services. Such information al10 lows consumers to make informed choices regarding their 

11 decision to use or purchase the services or products of an 

12 online service provider and promotes a competitive mar13 ketplace for such products or services. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

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

17 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

18 (2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

19 ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ has the meaning given 

20 such term in section 201(i) of title 35, United States 

21 Code. 

22 (3) ONLINE SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

23 ‘‘online service provider’’— 

24 (A) means the provider of a public-facing 

25 website, online service, or online application di26 rected to a consumer or organization that— 


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1 (i) requires any person who wishes to 

2 use the website, online service, or online 

3 application to create a unique account or 

4 profile for such website, service, or applica5 tion; 

6 (ii) provides an internet-based product 

7 or service to the general public that is ac8 cessible through the website, online service, 

9 or online application; and 

10 (iii) is engaged in interstate or foreign 

11 commerce; and 

12 (B) includes any entity described in sub13 paragraph (A), regardless of whether— 

14 (i) offering a product or service to the 

15 general public is the sole source of income 

16 or principal business of such entity; or 

17 (ii) the entity earns a profit on a 

18 product or service. 

19 (4) RESTRICT.—The term ‘‘restrict’’, with re20 spect to a user, means an online service provider’s 

21 termination or suspension of a user’s account or pro22 file on the online service provider’s website, online 

23 service, or online application, or limitation of the 

24 user’s access thereto based on a determination that 


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1 the user violated the online service provider’s accept2 able use policy. 

3 (5) USER.—The term ‘‘user’’ means, with re4 spect to an online service provider, a person who 

5 registers an account or creates a profile on the 

6 website, online service, or online application of the 

7 online service provider. 

8 SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE OF ACCEPTABLE USE POLICIES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act and subject to subsection 

11 (b), an online service provider shall publicly disclose in an 

12 easily accessible manner, such as within terms of service 

13 available on the online service provider’s website, an ac14 ceptable use policy that concisely and accurately describes, 

15 in easy to understand language, information regarding the 

16 standards, processes, and policies of the online service pro17 vider with respect to any decision by the online service 

18 provider to restrict a user. 

19 (b) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—For purposes of sub20 section (a), an online service provider shall include the fol21 lowing information in an acceptable use policy: 

22 (1) An explanation of what specific acts or 

23 practices are prohibited by the online service pro24 vider that could lead to a decision by the online serv25 ice provider to restrict a user. 


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1 (2) An explanation of how the online service 

2 provider enforces the acceptable use policy, including 

3 any third party the online service provider relies 

4 upon, in whole or in part, to assist in the enforce5 ment of the acceptable use policy by the online serv6 ice provider. 

7 (3) Either— 

8 (A) an explanation of how a user can ap9 peal, if applicable, a decision by an online serv10 ice provider to restrict a user; or 

11 (B) if the online service provider does not 

12 permit an appeal or reconsideration of a deci13 sion to restrict a user, a statement that such 

14 decision is not appealable or subject to recon15 sideration. 

16 (4) An explanation of whether acts or practices 

17 a user commits entirely outside of the website, online 

18 service, or online application of the online service 

19 provider, such as social media posts, public state20 ments, media publications, and third-party re21 sources, may be a sufficient basis alone or in com22 bination with other information to restrict a user. 

23 (5) An explanation of the online service pro24 vider’s standards, processes, and policies with reVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Aug 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4893.IS S4893

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1 spect to the notice requirement described in section 

2 5. 

3 SEC. 5. ADVANCE WRITTEN NOTICE PRIOR TO TERMI4 NATION OR SUSPENSION. 

5 (a) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as described in sub7 section (b), an online service provider shall provide 

8 advance written notice to a user in violation of the 

9 online service provider’s acceptable use policy prior 

10 to restricting the user. 

11 (2) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The advance 

12 written notice required under paragraph (1) shall in13 clude the following information: 

14 (A) The specific act or practice of the user 

15 that led to the decision to restrict the user. 

16 (B) A description of how the act or prac17 tice identified in subparagraph (A) violated the 

18 acceptable use policy. 

19 (C) Whether the user has an option to ap20 peal the decision, and, if so, a description of the 

21 process for how the user can appeal the online 

22 service provider’s decision, consistent with the 

23 acceptable use policy. 

24 (D) A description of the option for the 

25 user to elect that the online service provider 


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1 publicly disclose such written notice as de2 scribed in paragraph (4). 

3 (3) ADVANCE WRITTEN NOTICE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of 

5 this section, an online service provider will be 

6 deemed to have provided an advance written no7 tice to a user if such provider makes a good 

8 faith effort to notify the user not later than 7 

9 days prior to restricting the user. 

10 (B) GOOD FAITH EFFORT.—For the pur11 poses of subparagraph (A), a good faith effort 

12 may include— 

13 (i) a notification to the most recent 

14 email address or other contact information 

15 the user provided to the online service pro16 vider; or 

17 (ii) if the online service provider does 

18 not have any contact information of the 

19 user, a highly visible notice that is dis20 played to the user on the online service 

21 provider’s website, service, or application 

22 when the user next accesses such website, 

23 service, or application. 

24 (4) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—An online service 

25 provider shall— 


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1 (A) provide to any user issued a written 

2 notice under paragraph (1) an option for the 

3 online service provider to publicly disclose such 

4 notice; and 

5 (B) if such user chooses to have such no6 tice publicly disclosed, publish such notice on 

7 the website of the online service provider. 

8 (b) EXCEPTIONS FOR COURT ACTION OR IMMINENT

9 RISK OF HARM.—An online service provider may restrict 

10 a user without advance written notice if— 

11 (1) such restriction was done to— 

12 (A) comply with a lawful order of a court 

13 of competent jurisdiction; or 

14 (B) protect against an imminent risk of— 

15 (i) death; 

16 (ii) a serious physical injury; or 

17 (iii) a serious health risk; and 

18 (2) the online service provider provides the user 

19 the information required by subsection (a)(2) and 

20 publicly discloses the written notice at the same time 

21 that the provider restricts the user or as soon as 

22 practicable thereafter. 

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of this sec24 tion shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter 

4 on a date to be determined by each online service provider, 

5 an online service provider shall publish, with an open li6 cense, in both a format easily read by humans and a ma7 chine-readable format, in a location on their public website 

8 that is easily accessible to users, and consistent with the 

9 requirements described in subsections (b) and (c), a report 

10 detailing actions taken to enforce the online service pro11 vider’s acceptable use policy. 

12 (b) REPORT REQUIREMENTS.—The report required 

13 under subsection (a) shall include the following informa14 tion with respect to the applicable reporting period: 

15 (1) The total number of instances in which the 

16 online service provider was alerted of a potential vio17 lation of the acceptable use policy by— 

18 (A) a user complaint; 

19 (B) an employee of, or a person con20 tracting with, the online service provider; 

21 (C) an internal automated detection tool of 

22 the online service provider; 

23 (D) a government entity, including the spe24 cific office or entity that alerted the online serv25 ice provider; 

26 (E) a nonprofit organization; or 


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1 (F) any other person. 

2 (2) Subject to subsection (c), the number of in3 stances in which the online service provider took 

4 steps to restrict a user, including the number of in5 stances in which the online service provider— 

6 (A) terminated a user’s account or profile 

7 on the online service provider’s website, online 

8 service, or online application or otherwise per9 manently limited access to or use of the product 

10 or service of the online service provider; 

11 (B) suspended a user’s account or profile 

12 on the online service provider’s website, online 

13 service, or online application; 

14 (C) limited a user’s access to the online 

15 service provider’s website, online service, or on16 line application; or 

17 (D) took any other action, such as issuing 

18 a warning, in response to a violation of the ac19 ceptable use policy. 

20 (3) The number of instances in which a user 

21 appealed the online service provider’s decision. 

22 (4) The number of appeals that resulted in a 

23 reversal of the online service provider’s decision. 


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1 (c) CATEGORIZATION OF ACTIONS TAKEN.—The in2 formation described in subsection (b)(2) shall be cat3 egorized by— 

4 (1) the exact provision of the acceptable use 

5 policy that was violated by a user; and 

6 (2) the source of the alert of the potential viola7 tion of the acceptable use policy as described in sub8 section (b)(1). 

9 SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT. 

10 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

11 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC12 TICES.—A violation of this Act shall be treated as 

13 a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive 

14 act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Fed15 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

16 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

17 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

19 subparagraph (C), the Commission shall enforce 

20 this Act in the same manner, by the same 

21 means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, 

22 and duties as though all applicable terms and 

23 provisions of the Federal Trade Commission 

24 Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated 

25 into and made a part of this Act. 


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1 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Ex2 cept as provided in subparagraph (C), any on3 line service provider who violates this Act or a 

4 regulation promulgated under this Act shall be 

5 subject to the penalties and entitled to the 

6 privileges and immunities provided in the Fed7 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 

8 seq.). 

9 (C) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—Not10 withstanding section 4, 5(a)(2), or 6 of the 

11 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44, 

12 45(a)(2), 46) or any jurisdictional limitation of 

13 the Commission, the Commission shall also en14 force this Act, in the same manner provided in 

15 subparagraphs (A) and (B), with respect to or16 ganizations not organized to carry on business 

17 for their own profit or that of their members. 

18 (D) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in 

19 this subsection shall be construed to limit the 

20 authority of the Commission under any other 

21 provision of law. 

22 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which the at24 torney general of a State has reason to believe that 

25 an interest of the residents of the State has been or 


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1 is threatened or adversely affected by the engage2 ment of any online service provider in a practice that 

3 violates this Act, the attorney general of the State 

4 may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on behalf 

5 of the residents of the State in an appropriate dis6 trict court of the United States— 

7 (A) to enjoin further violation of this Act 

8 by such online service provider; 

9 (B) to enforce compliance with this Act; 

10 (C) to obtain damages, restitution, or other 

11 compensation on behalf of such residents; and 

12 (D) to obtain such other relief as the court 

13 may consider to be appropriate. 

14 (2) RIGHTS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

15 (A) NOTICE TO THE COMMISSION.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

17 in clause (iii), the attorney general of a 

18 State shall notify the Commission in writ19 ing that the attorney general intends to 

20 bring a civil action under paragraph (1) 

21 before initiating the civil action. 

22 (ii) CONTENTS.—The notification re23 quired by clause (i) with respect to a civil 

24 action shall include a copy of the complaint 

25 to be filed to initiate the civil action. 


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1 (iii) EXCEPTION.—If it is not feasible 

2 for the attorney general of a State to pro3 vide the notification required by clause (i) 

4 before initiating a civil action under para5 graph (1), the attorney general shall notify 

6 the Commission immediately upon insti7 tuting the civil action. 

8 (B) INTERVENTION BY THE COMMIS9 SION.—The Commission may— 

10 (i) intervene in any civil action 

11 brought by the attorney general of a State 

12 under paragraph (1); and 

13 (ii) upon intervening— 

14 (I) be heard on all matters aris15 ing in the civil action; and 

16 (II) file petitions for appeal of a 

17 decision in the civil action. 

18 (3) INVESTIGATORY POWERS.—Nothing in this 

19 subsection may be construed to prevent the attorney 

20 general of a State from exercising the powers con21 ferred on the attorney general by the laws of the 

22 State to conduct investigations, to administer oaths 

23 or affirmations, or to compel the attendance of wit24 nesses or the production of documentary or other 

25 evidence. 


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1 (4) PREEMPTIVE ACTION BY THE COMMIS2 SION.—If the Commission institutes a civil action or 

3 an administrative action with respect to a violation 

4 of this Act, the attorney general of a State may not, 

5 during the pendency of such action, bring a civil ac6 tion under paragraph (1) against any defendant 

7 named in the complaint of the Commission for the 

8 violation with respect to which the Commission insti9 tuted such action. 

10 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OR PROCESS.— 

11 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

12 paragraph (1) may be brought in— 

13 (i) the district court of the United 

14 States that meets applicable requirements 

15 relating to venue under section 1391 of 

16 title 28, United States Code; or 

17 (ii) another court of competent juris18 diction. 

19 (B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 

20 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 

21 served in any district in which the defendant— 

22 (i) is an inhabitant; or 

23 (ii) may be found. 

24 (6) ACTIONS BY OTHER STATE OFFICIALS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to civil ac2 tions brought by attorneys general under para3 graph (1), any other officer of a State who is 

4 authorized by the State to do so may bring a 

5 civil action under paragraph (1), subject to the 

6 same requirements and limitations that apply 

7 under this subsection to civil actions brought by 

8 attorneys general. 

9 (B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this 

10 subsection may be construed to prohibit an au11 thorized official of a State from initiating or 

12 continuing any proceeding in a court of the 

13 State for a violation of any civil or criminal law 

14 of the State. 

15 (c) COMMISSION GUIDANCE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis18 sion shall issue guidance to assist online service pro19 viders in complying with the requirements of this 

20 Act, which shall include the provision of best prac21 tices and examples. 

22 (2) LIMITATION ON GUIDANCE.—No guidance 

23 issued by the Commission with respect to this Act 

24 shall— 


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1 (A) confer any rights on any person, State, 

2 or locality; or 

3 (B) operate to bind the Commission or any 

4 person to the approach recommended in such 

5 guidance. 

6 (3) USE IN ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—In any 

7 enforcement action brought pursuant to this Act— 

8 (A) the Commission or State attorney gen9 eral, as applicable— 

10 (i) shall allege a specific violation of a 

11 provision of this Act; and 

12 (ii) may not base such enforcement 

13 on, or execute a consent order based on, 

14 practices that are alleged to be inconsistent 

15 with any guidance issued by the Commis16 sion with respect to this Act, unless the 

17 practices are alleged to violate a provision 

18 of this Act; and 

19 (B) a person may use compliance with any 

20 such guidance as evidence of compliance with 

21 this Act. 

Æ 


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