I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1895 

To amend the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 to extend, 

enhance, and revise the provisions relating to collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of children and to establish certain other 

protections for personal information of children and minors. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2011 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. BARTON of Texas) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 

1998 to extend, enhance, and revise the provisions relating to collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of children and to establish certain other protections 

for personal information of children and minors. 

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 ‘‘Do Not Track Kids 

5 Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Since the enactment of the Children’s On2 line Privacy Protection Act of 1998, the World Wide 

3 Web has changed dramatically, with the creation of 

4 tens of millions of websites, the proliferation of en5 tirely new media platforms, and the emergence of a 

6 diverse ecosystem of services, devices, and applica7 tions that enable users to connect wirelessly within 

8 an online environment without being tethered to a 

9 desktop computer. 

10 (2) The explosive growth of the Internet eco11 system has unleashed a wide array of opportunities 

12 to learn, communicate, participate in civic life, ac13 cess entertainment, and engage in commerce. 

14 (3) In addition to these significant benefits, the 

15 Internet also presents challenges, particularly with 

16 respect to the efforts of entities to track the online 

17 activities of children and minors and to collect, use, 

18 and disclose personal information about them, in19 cluding their geolocation, for commercial purposes. 

20 (4) Children are increasingly spending time on21 line. A Nielsen Online survey conducted in July 

22 2009 found that ‘‘time spent online for children ages 

23 2 to 11 increased from about 7 hours to more than 

24 11 hours per week, a jump of 63% over five years’’. 


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1 (5) Children and teens are visiting numerous 

2 companies’ websites, and marketers are using multi3 media games, online quizzes, and cellular phone ap4 plications to create ties to children and teens. 

5 (6) According to a study by the Wall Street 

6 Journal in 2010, websites directed to children and 

7 teens were more likely to use cookies and other 

8 tracking tools than sites directed to a general audi9 ence. 

10 (7) This study examined 50 popular websites 

11 for children and teens in the United States and 

12 found that these 50 sites placed 4,123 cookies, bea13 cons, and other tracking tools on the test computer 

14 used for the study. 

15 (8) This is 30 percent greater than the number 

16 of such tracking tools that were placed on the test 

17 computer in a similar study of the 50 overall most 

18 popular websites in the United States, which are 

19 generally directed to adults. 

20 (9) Children and teens have become the focus 

21 of behavioral profiling and targeting, raising privacy 

22 concerns. 

23 (10) Eighty-five percent of parents say they are 

24 more concerned about online privacy than they were 

25 5 years ago. 


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1 (11) Seventy-two percent of parents say sexual 

2 predators are the main reason they are concerned 

3 about children revealing personal information online. 

4 (12) According to the Pew Research Center’s 

5 Internet and American Life Project, 31 percent of 

6 12-year-olds in the United States were using social 

7 networking sites in 2006, with that figure growing 

8 to 38 percent by mid-2009. 

9 (13) Seventy-five percent of parents do not 

10 think social networking sites do a good job of pro11 tecting the online privacy of children. 

12 (14) Ninety-one percent of parents think search 

13 engines and social networking sites should not be 

14 permitted to share the physical location of children 

15 with other companies until parents give authoriza16 tion. 

17 (15) Significant majorities, 88 percent of par18 ents and 85 percent of teens, want online companies 

19 to require them to opt in before the companies use 

20 their personal information for marketing purposes. 

21 (16) Eighty-eight percent of parents would sup22 port a law that requires search engines and social 

23 networking sites to get users’ permission before 

24 using their personal information. 


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1 (17) A Commonsense Media/Zogby poll found 

2 that 94 percent of parents and 94 percent of adults 

3 believe individuals should have the ability to request 

4 the deletion of all their personal information held by 

5 an online search engine, social networking site, or 

6 marketing company after a specific period of time. 

7 SEC. 3. ONLINE COLLECTION, USE, AND DISCLOSURE OF 

8 PERSONAL INFORMATION OF CHILDREN. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1302 of the Children’s 

10 Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 6501) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(2) OPERATOR.—The term ‘operator’— 

15 ‘‘(A) means any person who, for commer16 cial purposes, in interstate or foreign commerce, 

17 operates or provides a website on the Internet, 

18 online service, online application, or mobile ap19 plication and who collects or maintains personal 

20 information from or about users of such 

21 website, service, or application, or on whose be22 half such information is collected or main23 tained, including any person offering products 

24 or services for sale through such website, serv25 ice, or application; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) does not include any nonprofit entity 

2 that would otherwise be exempt from coverage 

3 under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commis4 sion Act (15 U.S.C. 45).’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

6 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘(A) the release of personal information 

9 for any purpose, except where such information 

10 is provided to a person other than an operator 

11 who provides support for the internal operations 

12 of the website, online service, online application, 

13 or mobile application of the operator and does 

14 not disclose or use that information for any 

15 other purpose; and’’; and 

16 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

17 ‘‘website or online service’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘website, online service, online application, or 

19 mobile application’’; 

20 (3) in paragraph (8)— 

21 (A) by amending subparagraph (G) to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘(G) information concerning a child or the 

24 parents of that child (including any unique or 

25 substantially unique identifier, such as a cusVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:06 May 26, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1895.IH H1895

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1 tomer number) that an operator collects online 

2 from the child and combines with an identifier 

3 described in subparagraphs (A) through (G).’’; 

4 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 

5 and (G) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respec6 tively; and 

7 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 

8 the following new subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(F) information (including an Internet 

10 protocol address) that permits the identification 

11 of the computer of an individual, or any other 

12 device used by an individual to access the Inter13 net or an online service, online application, or 

14 mobile application;’’; 

15 (4) by striking paragraph (10) and redesig16 nating paragraphs (11) and (12) as paragraphs (10) 

17 and (11), respectively; and 

18 (5) by adding at the end the following new 

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(12) ONLINE, ONLINE SERVICE, ONLINE AP21 PLICATION, MOBILE APPLICATION, DIRECTED TO

22 CHILDREN.—The terms ‘online’, ‘online service’, ‘on23 line application’, ‘mobile application’, and ‘directed 

24 to children’ shall have the meanings given them by 

25 the Commission by regulation. Not later than 1 year 


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1 after the date of the enactment of the Do Not Track 

2 Kids Act of 2011, the Commission shall promulgate, 

3 under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 

4 regulations that define such terms broadly enough so 

5 that they are not limited to current technology, con6 sistent with the principles articulated by the Com7 mission regarding the definition of the term ‘Inter8 net’ in its statement of basis and purpose on the 

9 final rule under this title promulgated on November 

10 3, 1999 (64 Fed. Reg. 59891). The definition of the 

11 term ‘online service’ in such regulations shall include 

12 broadband Internet access service (as defined in the 

13 Report and Order of the Federal Communications 

14 Commission relating to the matter of preserving the 

15 open Internet and broadband industry practices 

16 (FCC 10–201, adopted by the Commission on De17 cember 21, 2010)).’’. 

18 (b) ONLINE COLLECTION, USE, AND DISCLOSURE OF

19 PERSONAL INFORMATION OF CHILDREN.—Section 1303 

20 of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 

21 (15 U.S.C. 6502) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking the heading and inserting the 

23 following: ‘‘ONLINE COLLECTION, USE, AND DIS24 CLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OF

25 CHILDREN’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

3 follows: 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for an oper5 ator of a website, online service, online application, 

6 or mobile application directed to children, or an op7 erator having actual knowledge that it is collecting 

8 personal information from children, to collect per9 sonal information from a child in a manner that vio10 lates the regulations prescribed under subsection 

11 (b).’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘of such a website or 

14 online service’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘subsection 

16 (b)(1)(B)(iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

17 (b)(1)(C)(iii)’’; and 

18 (3) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of the enactment of the Do Not Track Kids 

23 Act of 2011, the Commission shall promulgate, 

24 under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 

25 regulations to require an operator of a website, onVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:06 May 26, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1895.IH H1895

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1 line service, online application, or mobile application 

2 directed to children, or an operator having actual 

3 knowledge that it is collecting personal information 

4 from children— 

5 ‘‘(A) to provide clear and conspicuous no6 tice in clear and plain language of the types of 

7 personal information the operator collects, how 

8 the operator uses such information, whether the 

9 operator discloses such information, and the 

10 procedures or mechanisms the operator uses to 

11 ensure that personal information is not col12 lected from children except in accordance with 

13 the regulations promulgated under this para14 graph; 

15 ‘‘(B) to obtain verifiable parental consent 

16 for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal 

17 information of a child; 

18 ‘‘(C) to provide to a parent whose child 

19 has provided personal information to the oper20 ator, upon request by and proper identification 

21 of the parent— 

22 ‘‘(i) a description of the specific types 

23 of personal information collected from the 

24 child by the operator; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the opportunity at any time to 

2 refuse to permit the further use or mainte3 nance in retrievable form, or future collec4 tion, by the operator of personal informa5 tion collected from the child; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) a means that is reasonable 

7 under the circumstances for the parent to 

8 obtain any personal information collected 

9 from the child, if such information is avail10 able to the operator at the time the parent 

11 makes the request; 

12 ‘‘(D) not to condition participation in a 

13 game, or use of a website, service, or applica14 tion, by a child on the provision by the child of 

15 more personal information than is reasonably 

16 required to participate in the game or use the 

17 website, service, or application; and 

18 ‘‘(E) to establish and maintain reasonable 

19 procedures to protect the confidentiality, secu20 rity, and integrity of personal information col21 lected from children.’’; 

22 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

23 (A) of paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

24 (1)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)’’; 

25 and 


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1 (C) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(3) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—The regula4 tions shall prohibit an operator from discontinuing 

5 service provided to a child on the basis of refusal by 

6 the parent of the child, under the regulations pre7 scribed under paragraph (1)(C)(ii), to permit the 

8 further use or maintenance in retrievable form, or 

9 future collection, by the operator of personal infor10 mation collected from the child, to the extent that 

11 the operator is capable of providing such service 

12 without such information.’’. 

13 (c) ADMINISTRATION AND APPLICABILITY OF ACT.— 

14 Section 1306 of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection 

15 Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 6505) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, in the 

18 case of’’ and all that follows and inserting the 

19 following: ‘‘by the appropriate Federal banking 

20 agency with respect to any insured depository 

21 institution (as such terms are defined in section 

22 3 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1813));’’; and 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and redesig24 nating paragraphs (3) through (6) as para25 graphs (2) through (5), respectively; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(f) TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS AND CABLE

4 OPERATORS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) ENFORCEMENT BY FTC.—Notwithstanding 

6 section 5(a)(2) of the Federal Trade Commission 

7 Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(2)), compliance with the re8 quirements imposed under this title shall be enforced 

9 by the Commission with respect to any telecommuni10 cations carrier (as defined in section 3 of the Com11 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153)). 

12 ‘‘(2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—To the 

13 extent that sections 222 and 631 of the Communica14 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222; 551) are incon15 sistent with this title, this title controls.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. TARGETED MARKETING TO CHILDREN OR MINORS. 

17 (a) ACTS PROHIBITED.—It is unlawful for an oper18 ator of a website, online service, online application, or mo19 bile application directed to children or minors, or an oper20 ator having actual knowledge that it is collecting personal 

21 information from children or minors, to use, disclose to 

22 third parties, or compile personal information collected 

23 from children or minors, if the use, disclosure, or compila24 tion is for targeted marketing purposes. 


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1 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

3 promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, United States 

4 Code, regulations to implement this section. 

5 SEC. 5. DIGITAL MARKETING BILL OF RIGHTS FOR TEENS 

6 AND FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICES PRIN7 CIPLES. 

8 (a) ACTS PROHIBITED.—It is unlawful for an oper9 ator of a website, online service, online application, or mo10 bile application directed to minors, or an operator having 

11 actual knowledge that it is collecting personal information 

12 from minors, to collect personal information from minors 

13 unless such operator has adopted and implemented a Dig14 ital Marketing Bill of Rights for Teens that— 

15 (1) is consistent with the Fair Information 

16 Practices Principles described in subsection (b); and 

17 (2) balances the ability of minors to participate 

18 fully in the digital media culture with the govern19 mental and industry obligation to ensure that opera20 tors of websites, online services, online applications, 

21 and mobile applications do not subject minors to un22 fair and deceptive surveillance, data collection, or be23 havioral profiling. 


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1 (b) FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICES PRINCIPLES.— 

2 The Fair Information Practices Principles described in 

3 this subsection are the following: 

4 (1) COLLECTION LIMITATION PRINCIPLE.— 

5 There should be limits on the collection of personal 

6 information. Any such information should be ob7 tained by lawful and fair means and, where appro8 priate, with the knowledge or consent of the subject 

9 of the information. 

10 (2) DATA QUALITY PRINCIPLE.—Personal infor11 mation should be relevant to the purposes for which 

12 the information is to be used and, to the extent nec13 essary for such purposes, should be accurate, com14 plete, and kept up-to-date. 

15 (3) PURPOSE SPECIFICATION PRINCIPLE.—The 

16 purposes for which personal information is collected 

17 should be specified not later than at the time of the 

18 collection of the information. The subsequent use of 

19 the information should be limited to the fulfilment 

20 of— 

21 (A) the purposes originally specified; or 

22 (B) other purposes that are— 

23 (i) compatible with such originally 

24 specified purposes; and 


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1 (ii) specified in a notice to the subject 

2 of the information before the information 

3 is used for such other purposes. 

4 (4) USE LIMITATION PRINCIPLE.—Personal in5 formation should not be disclosed, made available, or 

6 otherwise used for purposes other than those speci7 fied in accordance with the purpose limitation prin8 ciple described in paragraph (3), except— 

9 (A) with the consent of the subject of the 

10 information; or 

11 (B) under specific legal authority. 

12 (5) SECURITY SAFEGUARDS PRINCIPLE.—Per13 sonal information should be protected by reasonable 

14 security safeguards against risks such as loss or un15 authorized access, destruction, use, modification, or 

16 disclosure. 

17 (6) OPENNESS PRINCIPLE.—The operator 

18 should maintain a general policy of openness about 

19 developments, practices, and policies with respect to 

20 personal information. The operator should provide 

21 each user of the website, online service, online appli22 cation, or mobile application of the operator with a 

23 means of readily ascertaining— 

24 (A) whether the operator possesses any 

25 personal information of such user, the nature of 


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1 any such information, and the purposes for 

2 which the information was obtained and is 

3 being retained; 

4 (B) the identity of the operator; and 

5 (C) the address of— 

6 (i) in the case of an operator who is 

7 an individual, the principal residence of the 

8 operator; or 

9 (ii) in the case of any other operator, 

10 the principal place of business of the oper11 ator. 

12 (7) INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATION PRINCIPLE.— 

13 An individual should have the right— 

14 (A) to obtain any personal information of 

15 the individual that is in the possession of the 

16 operator from the operator, or from a person 

17 specified by the operator, within a reasonable 

18 time after making a request, at a charge (if 

19 any) that is not excessive, in a reasonable man20 ner, and in a form that is readily intelligible to 

21 the individual; 

22 (B) to be given by the operator, or person 

23 specified by the operator— 

24 (i) reasons for any denial of a request 

25 under subparagraph (A); and 


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1 (ii) an opportunity to challenge such 

2 denial; 

3 (C) to challenge the accuracy of personal 

4 information of the individual that is in the pos5 session of the operator; and 

6 (D) if the individual establishes the inaccu7 racy of personal information in a challenge 

8 under subparagraph (C), to have the informa9 tion erased, corrected, completed, or otherwise 

10 amended. 

11 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

13 promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, United States 

14 Code, regulations to implement this section. 

15 SEC. 6. ONLINE COLLECTION OF GEOLOCATION INFORMA16 TION OF CHILDREN AND MINORS. 

17 (a) ACTS PROHIBITED.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for an oper19 ator of a website, online service, online application, 

20 or mobile application directed to children or minors, 

21 or an operator having actual knowledge that it is 

22 collecting geolocation information from children or 

23 minors, to collect geolocation information from a 

24 child or minor in a manner that violates the regula25 tions prescribed under subsection (b). 


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1 (2) DISCLOSURE TO PARENT OR MINOR PRO2 TECTED.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), neither 

3 an operator nor the operator’s agent shall be held to 

4 be liable under any Federal or State law for any dis5 closure made in good faith and following reasonable 

6 procedures in responding to a request for disclosure 

7 of geolocation information under subparagraph 

8 (C)(ii)(III) or (D)(ii)(III) of subsection (b)(1). 

9 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis12 sion shall promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, 

13 United States Code, regulations that require an op14 erator of a website, online service, online application, 

15 or mobile application directed to children or minors, 

16 or an operator having actual knowledge that it is 

17 collecting geolocation information from children or 

18 minors— 

19 (A) to provide clear and conspicuous notice 

20 in clear and plain language of any geolocation 

21 information the operator collects, how the oper22 ator uses such information, and whether the op23 erator discloses such information; 

24 (B) to establish procedures or mechanisms 

25 to ensure that geolocation information is not 


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1 collected from children or minors except in ac2 cordance with regulations promulgated under 

3 this paragraph; 

4 (C) in the case of collection of geolocation 

5 information from a child— 

6 (i) prior to collecting such informa7 tion, to obtain verifiable parental consent; 

8 and 

9 (ii) after collecting such information, 

10 to provide to the parent of the child, upon 

11 request by and proper identification of the 

12 parent— 

13 (I) a description of the 

14 geolocation information collected from 

15 the child by the operator; 

16 (II) the opportunity at any time 

17 to refuse to permit the further use or 

18 maintenance in retrievable form, or 

19 future collection, by the operator of 

20 geolocation information from the 

21 child; and 

22 (III) a means that is reasonable 

23 under the circumstances for the par24 ent to obtain any geolocation informa25 tion collected from the child, if such 


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1 information is available to the oper2 ator at the time the parent makes the 

3 request; and 

4 (D) in the case of collection of geolocation 

5 information from a minor— 

6 (i) prior to collecting such informa7 tion, to obtain express authorization from 

8 such minor; and 

9 (ii) after collecting such information, 

10 to provide to the minor, upon request— 

11 (I) a description of the 

12 geolocation information collected from 

13 the minor by the operator; 

14 (II) the opportunity at any time 

15 to refuse to permit the further use or 

16 maintenance in retrievable form, or 

17 future collection, by the operator of 

18 geolocation information from the 

19 minor; and 

20 (III) a means that is reasonable 

21 under the circumstances for the minor 

22 to obtain any geolocation information 

23 collected from the minor, if such in24 formation is available to the operator 


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1 at the time the minor makes the re2 quest. 

3 (2) WHEN CONSENT OR AUTHORIZATION NOT

4 REQUIRED.—The regulations promulgated under 

5 paragraph (1) shall provide that verifiable parental 

6 consent under subparagraph (C)(i) of such para7 graph or express authorization under subparagraph 

8 (D)(i) of such paragraph is not required when the 

9 collection of the geolocation information of a child or 

10 minor is necessary, to the extent permitted under 

11 other provisions of law, to provide information to 

12 law enforcement agencies or for an investigation on 

13 a matter related to public safety. 

14 (3) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—The regula15 tions promulgated under paragraph (1) shall pro16 hibit an operator from discontinuing service provided 

17 to— 

18 (A) a child on the basis of refusal by the 

19 parent of the child, under subparagraph 

20 (C)(ii)(II) of such paragraph, to permit the fur21 ther use or maintenance in retrievable form, or 

22 future online collection, of geolocation informa23 tion from the child by the operator, to the ex24 tent that the operator is capable of providing 

25 such service without such information; or 


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1 (B) a minor on the basis of refusal by the 

2 minor, under subparagraph (D)(ii)(II) of such 

3 paragraph, to permit the further use or mainte4 nance in retrievable form, or future online col5 lection, of geolocation information from the 

6 minor by the operator, to the extent that the 

7 operator is capable of providing such service 

8 without such information. 

9 (c) INCONSISTENT STATE LAW.—No State or local 

10 government may impose any liability for commercial ac11 tivities or actions by operators in interstate or foreign 

12 commerce in connection with an activity or action de13 scribed in this section that is inconsistent with the treat14 ment of those activities or actions under this section. 

15 SEC. 7. ERASER BUTTONS. 

16 (a) ACTS PROHIBITED.—It is unlawful for an oper17 ator of a website, online service, online application, or mo18 bile application to make publicly available through the 

19 website, service, or application content that contains or 

20 displays personal information of children or minors in a 

21 manner that violates the regulations prescribed under sub22 section (b). 

23 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

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1 sion shall promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, 

2 United States Code, regulations that require an op3 erator— 

4 (A) to the extent technologically feasible, 

5 to implement mechanisms that permit users of 

6 the website, service, or application of the oper7 ator to erase or otherwise eliminate content 

8 that is publicly available through the website, 

9 service, or application and contains or displays 

10 personal information of children or minors; and 

11 (B) to take appropriate steps to make 

12 users aware of such mechanisms. 

13 (2) EXCEPTION.—The regulations promulgated 

14 under paragraph (1) may not require an operator to 

15 erase or otherwise eliminate information that the op16 erator is required to maintain under any other provi17 sion of Federal or State law. 

18 SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT AND APPLICABILITY. 

19 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro21 vided, this Act shall be enforced by the Commission 

22 under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

24 (2) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC25 TICES.—Subject to subsection (b), a violation of a 


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1 regulation prescribed under section 4(b), 5(c), 6(b), 

2 or 7(b) shall be treated as a violation of a rule defin3 ing an unfair or deceptive act or practice prescribed 

4 under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 

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

6 (3) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—Subject to 

7 subsection (b), the Commission shall prevent any 

8 person from violating a rule of the Commission 

9 under section 4(b), 5(c), 6(b), or 7(b) in the same 

10 manner, by the same means, and with the same ju11 risdiction, powers, and duties as though all applica12 ble terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Com13 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor14 porated into and made a part of this Act. Any per15 son who violates such rule shall be subject to the 

16 penalties and entitled to the privileges and immuni17 ties provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

18 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY CERTAIN OTHER AGEN19 CIES.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), compliance with 

20 the requirements imposed under this Act shall be enforced 

21 as follows: 

22 (1) Under section 8 of the Federal Deposit In23 surance Act (12 U.S.C. 1818) by the appropriate 

24 Federal banking agency, with respect to an insured 


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1 depository institution (as such terms are defined in 

2 section 3 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1813)). 

3 (2) Under the Federal Credit Union Act (12 

4 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) by the National Credit Union 

5 Administration Board, with respect to any Federal 

6 credit union. 

7 (3) Under part A of subtitle VII of title 49, 

8 United States Code, by the Secretary of Transpor9 tation, with respect to any air carrier or foreign air 

10 carrier subject to such part. 

11 (4) Under the Packers and Stockyards Act, 

12 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) (except as provided in 

13 section 406 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 226; 227)) by the 

14 Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to any activi15 ties subject to such Act. 

16 (5) Under the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 

17 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.) by the Farm Credit Adminis18 tration, with respect to any Federal land bank, Fed19 eral land bank association, Federal intermediate 

20 credit bank, or production credit association. 

21 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN22 ERAL.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

24 (A) CIVIL ACTIONS.—In any case in which 

25 the attorney general of a State has reason to 


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1 believe that an interest of the residents of that 

2 State has been or is threatened or adversely af3 fected by the engagement of any person in a 

4 practice that violates any regulation of the 

5 Commission prescribed under section 4(b), 5(c), 

6 6(b), or 7(b), the State, as parens patriae, may 

7 bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of 

8 the State in a district court of the United 

9 States of appropriate jurisdiction to— 

10 (i) enjoin that practice; 

11 (ii) enforce compliance with the regu12 lation; 

13 (iii) obtain damage, restitution, or 

14 other compensation on behalf of residents 

15 of the State; or 

16 (iv) obtain such other relief as the 

17 court may consider to be appropriate. 

18 (B) NOTICE.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an ac20 tion under subparagraph (A), the attorney 

21 general of the State involved shall provide 

22 to the Commission— 

23 (I) written notice of that action; 

24 and 


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1 (II) a copy of the complaint for 

2 that action. 

3 (ii) EXEMPTION.— 

4 (I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

5 shall not apply with respect to the fil6 ing of an action by an attorney gen7 eral of a State under this paragraph, 

8 if the attorney general determines 

9 that it is not feasible to provide the 

10 notice described in that clause before 

11 the filing of the action. 

12 (II) NOTIFICATION.—In an ac13 tion described in subclause (I), the at14 torney general of a State shall provide 

15 notice and a copy of the complaint to 

16 the Commission at the same time as 

17 the attorney general files the action. 

18 (2) INTERVENTION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 

20 under paragraph (1)(B), the Commission shall 

21 have the right to intervene in the action that is 

22 the subject of the notice. 

23 (B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 

24 Commission intervenes in an action under para25 graph (1), it shall have the right— 


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1 (i) to be heard with respect to any 

2 matter that arises in that action; and 

3 (ii) to file a petition for appeal. 

4 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing 

5 any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in this 

6 Act shall be construed to prevent an attorney gen7 eral of a State from exercising the powers conferred 

8 on the attorney general by the laws of that State 

9 to— 

10 (A) conduct investigations; 

11 (B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 

12 (C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 

13 the production of documentary and other evi14 dence. 

15 (4) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.—In any 

16 case in which an action is instituted by or on behalf 

17 of the Commission for violation of any regulation 

18 prescribed under section 4(b), 5(c), 6(b), or 7(b), no 

19 State may, during the pendency of that action, insti20 tute an action under paragraph (1) against any de21 fendant named in the complaint in that action for 

22 violation of that regulation. 

23 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

24 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

25 paragraph (1) may be brought in the district 


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1 court of the United States that meets applicable 

2 requirements relating to venue under section 

3 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 

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

5 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 

6 served in any district in which the defendant— 

7 (i) is an inhabitant; or 

8 (ii) may be found. 

9 (d) TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS AND CABLE

10 OPERATORS.— 

11 (1) ENFORCEMENT BY FTC.—Notwithstanding 

12 section 5(a)(2) of the Federal Trade Commission 

13 Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(2)), compliance with the re14 quirements imposed under this Act shall be enforced 

15 by the Commission with respect to any telecommuni16 cations carrier (as defined in section 3 of the Com17 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153)). 

18 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—To the ex19 tent that sections 222 and 631 of the Communica20 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222; 551) are incon21 sistent with this Act, this Act controls. 

22 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act: 

24 (1) MINOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an indi25 vidual over the age of 12 and under the age of 18. 


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1 (2) TARGETED MARKETING.—The term ‘‘tar2 geted marketing’’ means advertising or other efforts 

3 to market a product or service that are directed to 

4 a specific individual or device— 

5 (A) based on the personal information of 

6 the individual or a unique identifier of the de7 vice; and 

8 (B) as a result of use by the individual, or 

9 access by the device, of a website, online serv10 ice, online application, or mobile application. 

11 (b) TERMS DEFINED BY COMMISSION.—In this Act, 

12 the terms ‘‘directed to minors’’ and ‘‘geolocation informa13 tion’’ shall have the meanings given such terms by the 

14 Commission by regulation. Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

16 promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, United States 

17 Code, regulations that define such terms broadly enough 

18 so that they are not limited to current technology, con19 sistent with the principles articulated by the Commission 

20 regarding the definition of the term ‘‘Internet’’ in its 

21 statement of basis and purpose on the final rule under 

22 the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (15 

23 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) promulgated on November 3, 1999 

24 (64 Fed. Reg. 59891). 


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1 (c) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—The definitions set forth 

2 in section 1302 of the Children’s Online Privacy Protec3 tion Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 6501), as amended by section 

4 3(a), shall apply in this Act. 

5 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections 

7 (b) and (c), this Act and the amendments made by this 

8 Act shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 (b) AUTHORITY TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS.— 

11 The following shall take effect on the date of the enact12 ment of this Act: 

13 (1) The amendments made by subsections 

14 (a)(5) and (b)(3)(A) of section 3. 

15 (2) Sections 4(b), 5(c), 6(b), 7(b), and 9(b). 

16 (c) DIGITAL MARKETING BILL OF RIGHTS FOR

17 TEENS.—Section 5, except for subsection (c) of such sec18 tion, shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after 

19 the promulgation of regulations under such subsection. 

Æ 


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