I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7014 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit online 

platforms from disseminating political advertisements which are targeted 

to an individual or to a group of individuals on any basis other than 

the recognized place in which the individual or group resides, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2020 

Ms. ESHOO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on House Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 

prohibit online platforms from disseminating political advertisements which are targeted to an individual or to 

a group of individuals on any basis other than the recognized place in which the individual or group resides, 

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 ‘‘Banning Microtargeted 

5 Political Ads Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON DISSEMINATION OF TARGETED 

2 POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS BY ONLINE 

3 PLATFORMS. 

4 (a) RESTRICTIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal 

6 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et 

7 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

8 new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 325. RESTRICTIONS ON DISSEMINATION OF TAR10 GETED POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS BY ON11 LINE PLATFORMS. 

12 ‘‘(a) RESTRICTIONS ON ADVERTISEMENTS TAR13 GETED AT INDIVIDUALS OR AT SPECIFIC GROUPS OF IN14 DIVIDUALS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) RESTRICTIONS.—A covered online plat16 form or an agent, affiliate, vendor, or other person 

17 acting on behalf of such a platform may not target 

18 the dissemination of a political advertisement on 

19 such platform to an individual or to a specific group 

20 of individuals on any basis. 

21 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS CONSTITUTING TARGETING.—A 

22 covered online platform or an agent, affiliate, ven23 dor, or other person acting on behalf of such a plat24 form shall be considered to target the dissemination 

25 of a political advertisement to an individual or to a 

26 specific group of individuals if such platform— 


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1 ‘‘(A) performs or causes to perform any 

2 computational process (including one based on 

3 algorithmic models, machine learning, statistical 

4 analysis, or other data processing or artificial 

5 intelligence techniques) designed to transmit or 

6 display the advertisement to a subset of the 

7 users of such platform selected based on per8 sonal information pertaining to the individuals 

9 who make up the subset of users; or 

10 ‘‘(B) allows another person to instruct a 

11 covered online platform to display the advertise12 ment to a subset of the users of such platform, 

13 including by providing to such platform a list of 

14 individuals, contact information of individuals, 

15 or other personal information that can be used 

16 to identify individuals. 

17 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) TARGETING TO INDIVIDUALS WITHIN REC19 OGNIZED PLACE.—Subsection (a) does not apply to 

20 the targeting of the dissemination of a political ad21 vertisement to an individual residing in, or to a de22 vice located in, a recognized place. 

23 ‘‘(2) TARGETING TO INDIVIDUALS GIVING EX24 PRESS CONSENT.—Subsection (a) does not apply to 


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1 the targeting of the dissemination of a political ad2 vertisement to an individual if— 

3 ‘‘(A) the sponsor of the advertisement pro4 vides the covered online platform with a truth5 ful written attestation that the individual has 

6 provided express affirmative consent to— 

7 ‘‘(i) receive a targeted political adver8 tisement from the sponsor; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) allow the sponsor to disclose per10 sonal information pertaining to the indi11 vidual to another person for the purpose of 

12 advertising; 

13 ‘‘(B) the attestation includes a statement 

14 affirming that the consent provided by the indi15 vidual was freely given, specific, informed, un16 ambiguous, not received through or by the aid 

17 of the covered online platform, and has not 

18 been revoked by such individual; and 

19 ‘‘(C) the sponsor certifies to the platform 

20 that the sponsor permits an individual who pro21 vides consent to easily revoke such consent. 

22 ‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) TARGETING ON RANDOM BASIS.—Nothing 

24 in subsection (a) shall be construed to prohibit the 

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1 vidual or to a specific group of individuals on a ran2 dom basis, including on a random basis under any 

3 of the exceptions described in subsection (b). 

4 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION FOR OPT5 OUTS.—Nothing in subsection (b) shall be construed 

6 to require or authorize a covered online platform, a 

7 sponsor of a political advertisement, or an agent, af8 filiate, vendor, or other person acting on behalf of 

9 such a platform or sponsor to disseminate a political 

10 advertisement to an individual who has opted out of 

11 receiving a political advertisement or any other form 

12 of communication from the platform, the sponsor, or 

13 any agent, affiliate, vendor, or other person acting 

14 on behalf of the platform or sponsor, including opt15 ing out of receiving a specific type of advertisement 

16 or communication, an advertisement or communica17 tion from a particular sponsor, or any other opt-out 

18 preference. 

19 ‘‘(d) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ENFORCEMENT BY INDIVIDUALS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person alleging a 

22 violation of this section by a covered online 

23 platform may bring a civil action in any court 

24 of competent jurisdiction, State or Federal. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RELIEF.—In a civil action brought 

2 under this paragraph in which the plaintiff pre3 vails, the court may award— 

4 ‘‘(i) an amount not less than $100 

5 and not greater than $1,000 per violation 

6 against any person who negligently violates 

7 a provision of this section; 

8 ‘‘(ii) an amount not less than $500 

9 and not greater than $5,000 per violation 

10 against any person who recklessly, will11 fully, or intentionally violates a provision of 

12 this section; 

13 ‘‘(iii) reasonable attorney’s fees and 

14 litigation costs; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) any other relief, including equi16 table or declaratory relief, that the court 

17 determines appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(C) INJURY IN FACT.—A violation of this 

19 section constitutes a concrete and particularized 

20 injury in fact to an individual. 

21 ‘‘(2) INVALIDITY OF PRE-DISPUTE ARBITRA22 TION AGREEMENTS AND PRE-DISPUTE JOINT ACTION

23 WAIVERS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

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1 tion agreement or pre-dispute joint action waiv2 er shall be valid or enforceable with respect to 

3 a dispute arising under this section. 

4 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—Any determination 

5 as to whether or how this subsection applies to 

6 any dispute shall be made by a court, rather 

7 than an arbitrator, without regard to whether 

8 such agreement purports to delegate such deter9 mination to an arbitrator. 

10 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

11 ‘‘(i) PRE-DISPUTE ARBITRATION

12 AGREEMENT.—The term ‘pre-dispute arbi13 tration agreement’ means any agreement 

14 to arbitrate a dispute that has not arisen 

15 at the time of making the agreement. 

16 ‘‘(ii) PRE-DISPUTE JOINT-ACTION

17 WAIVER.—The term ‘pre-dispute joint-ac18 tion waiver’ means an agreement, whether 

19 or not part of a pre-dispute arbitration 

20 agreement, that would prohibit, or waive 

21 the right of, one of the parties to the 

22 agreement to participate in a joint, class, 

23 or collective action in a judicial, arbitral, 

24 administration, or other forum, concerning 


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1 a dispute that has not yet arisen at the 

2 time of making the agreement. 

3 ‘‘(iii) DISPUTE.—The term ‘dispute’ 

4 means any claim related to an alleged vio5 lation of this section and between an indi6 vidual and a covered organization. 

7 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) COVERED ONLINE PLATFORM.—The term 

9 ‘covered online platform’ means any website, web ap10 plication, mobile application, smart device applica11 tion, digital application (including a social network, 

12 or search engine), or advertising network (including 

13 a network disseminating advertisements on another 

14 website, web application, mobile application, smart 

15 device application, or digital application) that re16 ceives payment to disseminate political advertise17 ments, except that such term does not include a 

18 website, application, or network (in combination with 

19 any subsidiaries and affiliates of such a website, ap20 plication, or network) that, during the 12-month pe21 riod ending on the date of the dissemination of the 

22 political advertisement involved, collected or proc23 essed personal information pertaining to fewer than 

24 50,000,000 individuals. 

25 ‘‘(2) INDIAN LANDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) INDIAN LANDS.—In this section, the 

2 term ‘Indian lands’ includes— 

3 ‘‘(i) any Indian country of an Indian 

4 Tribe, as defined under section 1151 of 

5 title 18, United States Code; 

6 ‘‘(ii) any land in Alaska owned, pursu7 ant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle8 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), by an 

9 Indian Tribe that is a Native village (as 

10 defined in section 3 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 

11 1602)) or by a Village Corporation that is 

12 associated with an Indian Tribe (as de13 fined in section 3 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 

14 1602)); 

15 ‘‘(iii) any land on which the seat of 

16 the Tribal Government is located; and 

17 ‘‘(iv) any land that is part or all of a 

18 Tribal designated statistical area associ19 ated with an Indian Tribe, or is part or all 

20 of an Alaska Native village statistical area 

21 associated with an Indian Tribe, as defined 

22 by the Census Bureau for the purposes of 

23 the most recent decennial census. 

24 ‘‘(B) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—In subpara25 graph (A)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the term ‘Indian’ has the mean2 ing given the term in section 4 of the In3 dian Self-Determination and Education 

4 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); 

5 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘Indian Tribe’ has the 

6 meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ in 

7 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

8 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

9 5304); and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘Tribal Government’ 

11 means the recognized governing body of an 

12 Indian Tribe. 

13 ‘‘(3) PERSONAL INFORMATION.—The term ‘per14 sonal information’ means any information that is 

15 linked or reasonably linkable to a specific individual 

16 or a specific device, including de-identified informa17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(4) POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT.—The term 

19 ‘political advertisement’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) an electioneering communication (as 

21 defined in section 304(f)(3)); 

22 ‘‘(B) an independent expenditure; or 

23 ‘‘(C) a public communication that refers to 

24 a clearly identified candidate for Federal office 

25 (regardless of whether a candidate for State or 


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1 local office is also mentioned or identified) and 

2 that promotes or supports a candidate for that 

3 office, or attacks or opposes a candidate for 

4 that office (regardless of whether the commu5 nication expressly advocates a vote for or 

6 against a candidate). 

7 ‘‘(5) RECOGNIZED PLACE.—The term ‘recog8 nized place’ means any of the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) Each State, the District of Columbia, 

10 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 

11 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

12 Northern Mariana Islands, and the United 

13 States Virgin Islands. 

14 ‘‘(B) Indian lands. 

15 ‘‘(C) A county, municipality, city, town, 

16 township, village, borough, or similar unit of 

17 general government that is— 

18 ‘‘(i) incorporated pursuant to a State 

19 law; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) is an ‘incorporated place’ (as 

21 such term is defined in the most recent 

22 glossary of the Census Bureau). 

23 ‘‘(D) A ‘census designated place’ (as such 

24 term is defined in the most recent glossary of 

25 the Census Bureau). 


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1 ‘‘(E) A congressional district.’’. 

2 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

3 by paragraph (1) shall take effect 3 months after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

5 (b) EXPANSION OF CERTAIN DEFINITIONS.— 

6 (1) EXPANSION OF THE DEFINITION OF ELEC7 TIONEERING COMMUNICATION.— 

8 (A) APPLICATION TO QUALIFIED INTER9 NET AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) 

11 of section 304(f)(3) of the Federal Election 

12 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

13 30104(f)(3)(A)) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘or satellite communication’’ each place it 

15 appears in clauses (i) and (ii) and insert16 ing ‘‘satellite, or qualified internet or dig17 ital communication’’. 

18 (ii) QUALIFIED INTERNET OR DIGITAL

19 COMMUNICATION.—Paragraph (3) of sec20 tion 304(f) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

21 30104(f)) is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following new subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(D) QUALIFIED INTERNET OR DIGITAL

24 COMMUNICATION.—The term ‘qualified internet 

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1 nication which is placed or promoted for a fee 

2 on a covered online platform (as defined in sec3 tion 325(e)).’’. 

4 (B) NONAPPLICATION OF RELEVANT ELEC5 TORATE TO ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS.—Sec6 tion 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(III) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

7 30104(f)(3)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by inserting 

8 ‘‘any broadcast, cable, or satellite’’ before ‘‘com9 munication’’. 

10 (C) NEWS EXEMPTION.—Section 

11 304(f)(3)(B)(i) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

12 30104(f)(3)(B)(i)) is amended to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(i) a communication appearing in a 

15 news story, commentary, or editorial dis16 tributed through the facilities of any 

17 broadcasting station or any online or dig18 ital newspaper, magazine, blog, publica19 tion, or periodical, unless such broad20 casting, online, or digital facilities are 

21 owned or controlled by any political party, 

22 political committee, or candidate;’’. 

23 (2) EXPANSION OF THE DEFINITION OF PUBLIC

24 COMMUNICATION.—Paragraph (22) of section 301 of 

25 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 


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1 U.S.C. 30101(22)) is amended by striking ‘‘or sat2 ellite communication’’ and inserting ‘‘satellite, paid 

3 internet, or paid digital communication, paid pro4 motion’’. 

5 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

6 by this subsection shall apply with respect to com7 munications made on or after the expiration of the 

8 3-month period which begins on the date of the en9 actment of this Act. 

Æ 


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