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Union Calendar No. 445 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8128 

[Report No. 116–545] 

To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a pilot 

program to explore the use of artificial intelligence in support of the 

consumer product safety mission of the Commission. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 28, 2020 

Mr. MCNERNEY (for himself and Mr. BURGESS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SOTO, Mr. GUTHRIE, and Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Reported with amendments; committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on August 28, 2020] 


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A BILL 

To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a pilot program to explore the use of artificial intelligence in support of the consumer product safety mission 

of the Commission. 


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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Consumer Safety Technology Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND CONSUMER PRODUCT 

SAFETY 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Pilot program for use of artificial intelligence by Consumer Product 

Safety Commission. 

TITLE II—BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Study on blockchain technology and its use in consumer protection. 

TITLE III—DIGITAL TOKEN TAXONOMY 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Findings. 

Sec. 303. Reports on unfair or deceptive acts or practices in transactions relating 

to digital tokens. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act— 

10 (1) the term ‘‘consumer product’’ has the mean11 ing given such term in section 3(a) of the Consumer 

12 Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)); and 

13 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of 

14 Commerce. 


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1 TITLE I—ARTIFICIAL INTEL2 LIGENCE AND CONSUMER 

3 PRODUCT SAFETY 

4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘AI for Consumer Prod6 uct Safety Act’’. 

7 SEC. 102. PILOT PROGRAM FOR USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTEL8 LIGENCE BY CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 

9 COMMISSION. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety 

12 Commission shall establish a pilot program to explore the 

13 use of artificial intelligence by the Commission in support 

14 of the consumer product safety mission of the Commission. 

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting the pilot program 

16 established under subsection (a), the Commission shall do 

17 the following: 

18 (1) Use artificial intelligence for at least 1 of the 

19 following purposes: 

20 (A) Tracking trends with respect to injuries 

21 involving consumer products. 

22 (B) Identifying consumer product hazards. 

23 (C) Monitoring the retail marketplace (in24 cluding internet websites) for the sale of recalled 


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1 consumer products (including both new and used 

2 products). 

3 (D) Identifying consumer products required 

4 by section 17(a) of the Consumer Product Safety 

5 Act (15 U.S.C. 2066(a)) to be refused admission 

6 into the customs territory of the United States. 

7 (2) Consult with the following: 

8 (A) Technologists, data scientists, and ex9 perts in artificial intelligence and machine 

10 learning. 

11 (B) Cybersecurity experts. 

12 (C) Members of the retail industry. 

13 (D) Consumer product manufacturers. 

14 (E) Consumer product safety organizations. 

15 (F) Any other person the Commission con16 siders appropriate. 

17 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the conclusion of the pilot program established under 

19 subsection (a), the Consumer Product Safety Commission 

20 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

21 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com22 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, and make 

23 publicly available on the website of the Commission, a re24 port on the findings and data derived from such program, 

25 including whether and the extent to which the use of artifiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Sep 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H8128.RH H8128

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1 cial intelligence improved the ability of the Commission to 

2 advance the consumer product safety mission of the Com3 mission. 

4 TITLE II—BLOCKCHAIN 

5 TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION 

6 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

7 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Blockchain Innovation 

8 Act’’. 

9 SEC. 202. STUDY ON BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY AND ITS 

10 USE IN CONSUMER PROTECTION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (1) STUDY REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

14 of Commerce, in consultation with the Federal Trade 

15 Commission, and in consultation with the any other 

16 appropriate Federal agency the Secretary determines 

17 appropriate, shall conduct a study on current and po18 tential use of blockchain technology in commerce and 

19 the potential benefits of blockchain technology for lim20 iting fraud and other unfair and deceptive acts and 

21 practices. 

22 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR STUDY.—In conducting 

23 the study, the Secretary shall examine— 

24 (A) trends in the commercial use of and in25 vestment in blockchain technology; 


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1 (B) best practices in facilitating public-pri2 vate partnerships in blockchain technology; 

3 (C) potential benefits and risks of 

4 blockchain technology for consumer protection; 

5 (D) how blockchain technology can be used 

6 by industry and consumers to reduce fraud and 

7 increase the security of commercial transactions; 

8 (E) areas in Federal regulation of 

9 blockchain technology that greater clarity would 

10 encourage domestic innovation: and 

11 (F) any other relevant observations or rec12 ommendations related to blockchain technology 

13 and consumer protection. 

14 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT.—In producing the study 

15 required in subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall pro16 vide opportunity for public comment and advice rel17 evant to the production of the study. 

18 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 months 

19 after the completion of the study required pursuant to sub20 section (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

21 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and 

22 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

23 of the Senate, and make publicly available on the website 

24 of the Department of Commerce, a report that contains the 

25 results of the study conducted under subsection (a). 


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1 TITLE III—DIGITAL TOKEN 

2 TAXONOMY 

3 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Digital Taxonomy Act’’. 

5 SEC. 302. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds that— 

7 (1) it is important that the United States re8 mains a leader in innovation; 

9 (2) digital tokens and blockchain technology are 

10 driving innovation and providing consumers with in11 creased choice and convenience; 

12 (3) the use of digital tokens and blockchain tech13 nology is likely to increase in the future; 

14 (4) the Federal Trade Commission is responsible 

15 for protecting consumers from unfair or deceptive acts 

16 or practices, including relating to digital tokens; 

17 (5) the Commission has previously taken action 

18 against unscrupulous companies and individuals that 

19 committed unfair or deceptive acts or practices in20 volving digital tokens; and 

21 (6) to bolster the Commission’s ability to enforce 

22 against unfair or deceptive acts or practices involving 

23 digital tokens, the Commission should ensure staff 

24 have appropriate training and resources to identify 

25 and pursue such cases. 


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1 SEC. 303. REPORTS ON UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR 

2 PRACTICES IN TRANSACTIONS RELATING TO 

3 DIGITAL TOKENS. 

4 Not later than one year after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act and each year thereafter until fiscal year 2024, 

6 the Federal Trade Commission shall transmit to the Com7 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Represent8 atives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

9 Transportation of the Senate, and make publicly available 

10 on its website, a report of— 

11 (1) any actions taken by the Commission relat12 ing to unfair or deceptive acts or practices in trans13 actions relating to digital tokens; 

14 (2) the Commission’s other efforts to prevent un15 fair or deceptive acts or practices relating to digital 

16 tokens; and 

17 (3) any recommendations by the Commission for 

18 legislation that would improve the ability of the Com19 mission and other relevant Federal agencies— 

20 (A) to further protect consumers from un21 fair or deceptive acts or practices in the digital 

22 token marketplace; and 

23 (B) to promote competition and promote in24 novation in the global digital token sector. 

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to direct the 

Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a pilot 


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program to explore the use of artificial intelligence in 

support of the mission of the Commission and direct the 

Secretary of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission to study and report on the use of blockchain technology and digital tokens, respectively.’’. 


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kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 445 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8128 

[Report No. 116–545] 

A BILL 

To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commissumer product safety mission of the Commission. use of artificial intelligence in support of the con- sion to establish a pilot program to explore the 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Reported with amendments; committed to the Committee 

dered to be printed of the Whole House on the State of the Union and orVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Sep 30, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H8128.RH H8128

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS