I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3481 

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, to establish certain other protections for personal information of children and minors, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2013 

Mr. BARTON (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. 

COHEN, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 

Mr. TIERNEY, and Ms. TSONGAS) 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, to establish certain other protections 

for personal information of children and minors, 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 ‘‘Do Not Track Kids 

5 Act of 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Since the enactment of the Children’s On4 line Privacy Protection Act of 1998, the World Wide 

5 Web has changed dramatically, with the creation of 

6 tens of millions of websites, the proliferation of en7 tirely new media platforms, and the emergence of a 

8 diverse ecosystem of services, devices, and applica9 tions that enable users to connect wirelessly within 

10 an online environment without being tethered to a 

11 desktop computer. 

12 (2) The explosive growth of the Internet eco13 system has unleashed a wide array of opportunities 

14 to learn, communicate, participate in civic life, ac15 cess entertainment, and engage in commerce. 

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

17 Internet also presents challenges, particularly with 

18 respect to the efforts of entities to track the online 

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

20 and disclose personal information about them, in21 cluding their geolocation, for commercial purposes. 

22 (4) Children and teens are visiting numerous 

23 companies’ websites, and marketers are using multi24 media games, online quizzes, and mobile phone and 

25 tablet applications to create ties to children and 

26 teens. 


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

2 Journal in 2010, websites directed to children and 

3 teens were more likely to use cookies and other 

4 tracking tools than sites directed to a general audi5 ence. 

6 (6) This study examined 50 popular websites 

7 for children and teens in the United States and 

8 found that these 50 sites placed 4,123 cookies, bea9 cons, and other tracking tools on the test computer 

10 used for the study. 

11 (7) This is 30 percent greater than the number 

12 of such tracking tools that were placed on the test 

13 computer in a similar study of the 50 overall most 

14 popular websites in the United States, which are 

15 generally directed to adults. 

16 (8) Children and teens lack the cognitive ability 

17 to distinguish advertising from program content and 

18 to understand that the purpose of advertising is to 

19 persuade them, making them unable to activate the 

20 defenses on which adults rely. 

21 (9) Children and teens are less able than adults 

22 to understand the potential long-term consequences 

23 of having their information available to third parties, 

24 including advertisers, and other individuals. 


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1 (10) According to Common Sense Media and 

2 the Center for Digital Democracy, 90 percent of 

3 teens have used some form of social media, 75 per4 cent have a social networking site, and 51 percent 

5 check their social networking site at least once a 

6 day. 

7 (11) Ninety-one percent of parents and 91 per8 cent of adults believe it is not okay for advertisers 

9 to collect information about a child’s location from 

10 that child’s mobile phone. 

11 (12) Ninety-four percent of parents and 91 per12 cent of adults agree that advertisers should receive 

13 the parent’s permission before putting tracking soft14 ware on a child’s computer. 

15 (13) Ninety-six percent of parents and 94 per16 cent of adults expressed disapproval when asked if 

17 it is ‘‘okay for a website to ask children for personal 

18 information about their friends’’. 

19 (14) Eighty-eight percent of parents would sup20 port a law that requires search engines and social 

21 networking sites to get users’ permission before 

22 using their personal information. 

23 (15) A Commonsense Media/Zogby poll found 

24 that 94 percent of parents and 94 percent of adults 

25 believe individuals should have the ability to request 


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1 the deletion, after a specific period of time, of all of 

2 their personal information held by an online search 

3 engine, social networking site, or marketing com4 pany. 

5 (16) According to a Pew/Berkman Center poll, 

6 69 percent of parents of teens who engage in online 

7 activity are concerned about how such activity might 

8 affect their children’s future academic or employ9 ment opportunities. 

10 (17) Eighty-one percent of parents of teens who 

11 engage in online activity say they are concerned 

12 about how much information advertisers can learn 

13 about their children’s online activity. 

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

15 PERSONAL INFORMATION OF CHILDREN. 

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

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

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol20 lows: 

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

22 ‘‘(A) means any person who, for commer23 cial purposes, in interstate or foreign commerce, 

24 operates or provides a website on the Internet, 


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1 online service, online application, or mobile ap2 plication, and who— 

3 ‘‘(i) collects or maintains, either di4 rectly or through a service provider, per5 sonal information from or about the users 

6 of such website, service, or application; 

7 ‘‘(ii) allows another person to collect 

8 personal information directly from users of 

9 such website, service, or application (in 

10 which case the operator is deemed to have 

11 collected the information); or 

12 ‘‘(iii) allows users of such website, 

13 service, or application to publicly disclose 

14 personal information (in which case the op15 erator is deemed to have collected the in16 formation); and 

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

18 that would otherwise be exempt from coverage 

19 under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commis20 sion Act (15 U.S.C. 45).’’; 

21 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

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

23 as follows: 

24 ‘‘(A) the release of personal information 

25 for any purpose, except where such information 


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1 is provided to a person other than an operator 

2 who provides support for the internal operations 

3 of the website, online service, online application, 

4 or mobile application of the operator and does 

5 not disclose or use that information for any 

6 other purpose; and’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘website or online service’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘website, online service, online application, or 

10 mobile application’’; 

11 (3) in paragraph (8)— 

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

13 as follows: 

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

15 parents of that child (including any unique or 

16 substantially unique identifier, such as a cus17 tomer number) that an operator collects online 

18 from the child and combines with an identifier 

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

20 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 

21 and (G) as subparagraphs (G) and (H), respec22 tively; and 

23 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 

24 the following new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(F) information (including an Internet 

2 protocol address) that permits the identification 

3 of an individual, the computer of an individual, 

4 or any other device used by an individual to ac5 cess the Internet or an online service, online ap6 plication, or mobile application;’’; 

7 (4) by striking paragraph (10) and redesig8 nating paragraphs (11) and (12) as paragraphs (10) 

9 and (11), respectively; and 

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

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(12) ONLINE, ONLINE SERVICE, ONLINE AP13 PLICATION, MOBILE APPLICATION, DIRECTED TO

14 CHILDREN.—The terms ‘online’, ‘online service’, ‘on15 line application’, ‘mobile application’, and ‘directed 

16 to children’ shall have the meanings given them by 

17 the Commission by regulation. Not later than 1 year 

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

19 Kids Act of 2013, the Commission shall promulgate, 

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

21 regulations that define such terms broadly enough so 

22 that they are not limited to current technology, con23 sistent with the principles articulated by the Com24 mission regarding the definition of the term ‘Inter25 net’ in its statement of basis and purpose on the 


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1 final rule under this title promulgated on November 

2 3, 1999 (64 Fed. Reg. 59891). The definition of the 

3 term ‘online service’ in such regulations shall include 

4 broadband Internet access service (as defined in the 

5 Report and Order of the Federal Communications 

6 Commission relating to the matter of preserving the 

7 open Internet and broadband industry practices 

8 (FCC 10–201, adopted by the Commission on De9 cember 21, 2010)).’’. 

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

11 PERSONAL INFORMATION OF CHILDREN.—Section 1303 

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

13 (15 U.S.C. 6502) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking the heading and inserting the 

15 following: ‘‘ONLINE COLLECTION, USE, AND DIS16 CLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OF

17 CHILDREN.’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (a)— 

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

20 follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for an oper22 ator of a website, online service, online application, 

23 or mobile application directed to children, or an op24 erator having actual knowledge that personal infor25 mation being collected is from a child, to collect perVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:49 Nov 15, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3481.IH H3481

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1 sonal information from a child in a manner that vio2 lates the regulations prescribed under subsection 

3 (b).’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

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

6 online service’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘subsection 

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

9 (b)(1)(C)(iii)’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (b)— 

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

12 follows: 

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

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

15 Act of 2013, the Commission shall promulgate, 

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

17 regulations to require an operator of a website, on18 line service, online application, or mobile application 

19 directed to children, or an operator having actual 

20 knowledge that personal information being collected 

21 is from a child— 

22 ‘‘(A) to provide clear and conspicuous no23 tice in clear and plain language of the types of 

24 personal information the operator collects, how 

25 the operator uses such information, whether the 


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1 operator discloses such information, and the 

2 procedures or mechanisms the operator uses to 

3 ensure that personal information is not col4 lected from children except in accordance with 

5 the regulations promulgated under this para6 graph; 

7 ‘‘(B) to obtain verifiable parental consent 

8 for the collection, use, or disclosure of personal 

9 information of a child; 

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

11 has provided personal information to the oper12 ator, upon request by and proper identification 

13 of the parent— 

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

15 of personal information collected from the 

16 child by the operator; 

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

18 refuse to permit the further use or mainte19 nance in retrievable form, or future collec20 tion, by the operator of personal informa21 tion collected from the child; and 

22 ‘‘(iii) a means that is reasonable 

23 under the circumstances for the parent to 

24 obtain any personal information collected 

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1 able to the operator at the time the parent 

2 makes the request; 

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

4 game, or use of a website, service, or applica5 tion, by a child on the provision by the child of 

6 more personal information than is reasonably 

7 required to participate in the game or use the 

8 website, service, or application; and 

9 ‘‘(E) to establish and maintain reasonable 

10 procedures to protect the confidentiality, secu11 rity, and integrity of personal information col12 lected from children.’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) in the matter preceding subpara15 graph (A), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

16 (1)(A)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

17 (1)(B)’’; and 

18 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

19 ‘‘or to contact a different child’’ after ‘‘to 

20 recontact the child’’; 

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

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(3) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—The regula24 tions shall prohibit an operator from discontinuing 

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


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1 the parent of the child, under the regulations pre2 scribed under paragraph (1)(C)(ii), to permit the 

3 further use or maintenance in retrievable form, or 

4 future collection, by the operator of personal infor5 mation collected from the child, to the extent that 

6 the operator is capable of providing such service 

7 without such information.’’; and 

8 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) RULE FOR TREATMENT OF USERS OF

10 WEBSITES, SERVICES, AND APPLICATIONS DIRECTED

11 TO CHILDREN.—An operator of a website, online 

12 service, online application, or mobile application that 

13 is directed to children shall treat all users of such 

14 website, service, or application as children for pur15 poses of this title, except as permitted by the Com16 mission by a regulation promulgated under this 

17 title.’’. 

18 (c) ADMINISTRATION AND APPLICABILITY OF ACT.— 

19 Section 1306 of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection 

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

21 (1) in subsection (b)— 

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

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

24 following: ‘‘by the appropriate Federal banking 

25 agency with respect to any insured depository 


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1 institution (as such terms are defined in section 

2 3 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1813));’’; and 

3 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and redesig4 nating paragraphs (3) through (6) as para5 graphs (2) through (5), respectively; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub7 section: 

8 ‘‘(f) TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS AND CABLE

9 OPERATORS.— 

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

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

12 Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(2)), compliance with the re13 quirements imposed under this title shall be enforced 

14 by the Commission with respect to any telecommuni15 cations carrier (as defined in section 3 of the Com16 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153)). 

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

18 extent that sections 222, 338(i), and 631 of the 

19 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222; 

20 338(i); 551) are inconsistent with this title, this title 

21 controls.’’. 

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

23 (a) ACTS PROHIBITED.—It is unlawful for— 

24 (1) an operator of a website, online service, on25 line application, or mobile application directed to 


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1 children, or an operator having actual knowledge 

2 that personal information being collected is from a 

3 child, to use, disclose to third parties, or compile 

4 personal information for targeted marketing pur5 poses without verifiable parental consent; or 

6 (2) an operator of a website, online service, on7 line application, or mobile application directed to mi8 nors, or an operator having actual knowledge that 

9 personal information being collected is from a minor, 

10 to use, disclose to third parties, or compile personal 

11 information for targeted marketing purposes without 

12 the consent of the minor. 

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

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

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

16 Code, regulations to implement this section. 

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

18 AND FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICES PRIN19 CIPLES. 

20 (a) ACTS PROHIBITED.—It is unlawful for an oper21 ator of a website, online service, online application, or mo22 bile application directed to minors, or an operator having 

23 actual knowledge that personal information being collected 

24 is from a minor, to collect personal information from a 

25 minor unless such operator has adopted and complies with 


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1 a Digital Marketing Bill of Rights for Teens that is con2 sistent with the Fair Information Practices Principles de3 scribed in subsection (b). 

4 (b) FAIR INFORMATION PRACTICES PRINCIPLES.— 

5 The Fair Information Practices Principles described in 

6 this subsection are the following: 

7 (1) COLLECTION LIMITATION PRINCIPLE.—Ex8 cept as provided in paragraph (3), personal informa9 tion should be collected from a minor only when col10 lection of the personal information is— 

11 (A) consistent with the context of a par12 ticular transaction or service or the relationship 

13 of the minor with the operator, including collec14 tion necessary to fulfill a transaction or provide 

15 a service requested by the minor; or 

16 (B) required or specifically authorized by 

17 law. 

18 (2) DATA QUALITY PRINCIPLE.—The personal 

19 information of a minor should be accurate, complete, 

20 and kept up-to-date to the extent necessary to fulfill 

21 the purposes described in subparagraphs (A) 

22 through (D) of paragraph (3). 

23 (3) PURPOSE SPECIFICATION PRINCIPLE.—The 

24 purposes for which personal information is collected 

25 should be specified to the minor not later than at 


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1 the time of the collection of the information. The 

2 subsequent use or disclosure of the information 

3 should be limited to— 

4 (A) fulfillment of the transaction or service 

5 requested by the minor; 

6 (B) support for the internal operations of 

7 the website, service, or application, as described 

8 in section 312.2 of title 16, Code of Federal 

9 Regulations; 

10 (C) compliance with legal process or other 

11 purposes expressly authorized under specific 

12 legal authority; or 

13 (D) other purposes— 

14 (i) that are specified in a notice to the 

15 minor; and 

16 (ii) to which the minor has consented 

17 under paragraph (7) before the informa18 tion is used or disclosed for such other 

19 purposes. 

20 (4) RETENTION LIMITATION PRINCIPLE.—The 

21 personal information of a minor should not be re22 tained for longer than is necessary to fulfill a trans23 action or provide a service requested by the minor 

24 or such other purposes specified in subparagraphs 

25 (A) through (D) of paragraph (3). The operator 


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1 should implement a reasonable and appropriate data 

2 disposal policy based on the nature and sensitivity of 

3 such personal information. 

4 (5) SECURITY SAFEGUARDS PRINCIPLE.—The 

5 personal information of a minor should be protected 

6 by reasonable and appropriate security safeguards 

7 against risks such as loss or unauthorized access, 

8 destruction, use, modification, or disclosure. 

9 (6) OPENNESS PRINCIPLE.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The operator should 

11 maintain a general policy of openness about de12 velopments, practices, and policies with respect 

13 to the personal information of a minor. The op14 erator should provide each minor using the 

15 website, online service, online application, or 

16 mobile application of the operator with a clear 

17 and prominent means to do the following: 

18 (i) Identify and contact the operator. 

19 At minimum, the operator should disclose, 

20 clearly and prominently, the identity of the 

21 operator and— 

22 (I) in the case of an operator 

23 who is an individual, the address of 

24 the principal residence of the operator 


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1 and an email address and telephone 

2 number for the operator; or 

3 (II) in the case of any other op4 erator, the address of the principal 

5 place of business of the operator and 

6 an email address and telephone num7 ber for the operator. 

8 (ii) Determine whether the operator 

9 possesses any personal information of the 

10 minor, the nature of any such information, 

11 and the purposes for which the information 

12 was collected and is being retained. 

13 (iii) Obtain any personal information 

14 of the minor that is in the possession of 

15 the operator from the operator, or from a 

16 person specified by the operator, within a 

17 reasonable time after making a request, at 

18 a charge (if any) that is not excessive, in 

19 a reasonable manner, and in a form that 

20 is readily intelligible to the minor. 

21 (iv) Challenge the accuracy of per22 sonal information of the minor that is in 

23 the possession of the operator. 

24 (v) If the minor establishes the inac25 curacy of personal information in a chalVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:49 Nov 15, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3481.IH H3481

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1 lenge under clause (iv), have such informa2 tion erased, corrected, completed, or other3 wise amended. 

4 (B) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this para5 graph shall be construed to permit an operator 

6 to erase or otherwise modify personal informa7 tion requested by a law enforcement agency 

8 pursuant to legal authority. 

9 (7) INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPATION PRINCIPLE.— 

10 The operator should— 

11 (A) obtain consent from a minor before 

12 using or disclosing the personal information of 

13 the minor for any purpose other than those de14 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of 

15 paragraph (3); and 

16 (B) obtain affirmative express consent 

17 from a minor before using or disclosing pre18 viously collected personal information of the 

19 minor for purposes that constitute a material 

20 change in practice from the original purposes 

21 specified to the minor under paragraph (3). 

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

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

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

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1 ulations further defining the Fair Information Practices 

2 Principles described in subsection (b). 

3 SEC. 6. ONLINE COLLECTION OF GEOLOCATION INFORMA4 TION OF CHILDREN AND MINORS. 

5 (a) ACTS PROHIBITED.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for an oper7 ator of a website, online service, online application, 

8 or mobile application directed to children or minors, 

9 or an operator having actual knowledge that 

10 geolocation information being collected is from a 

11 child or minor, to collect geolocation information 

12 from a child or minor in a manner that violates the 

13 regulations prescribed under subsection (b). 

14 (2) DISCLOSURE TO PARENT OR MINOR PRO15 TECTED.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), neither 

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

17 be liable under any Federal or State law for any dis18 closure made in good faith and following reasonable 

19 procedures in responding to a request for disclosure 

20 of geolocation information under subparagraph 

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

22 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

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

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis25 sion shall promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, 


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1 United States Code, regulations that require an op2 erator of a website, online service, online application, 

3 or mobile application directed to children or minors, 

4 or an operator having actual knowledge that 

5 geolocation information being collected is from a 

6 child or minor— 

7 (A) to provide clear and conspicuous notice 

8 in clear and plain language of any geolocation 

9 information the operator collects, how the oper10 ator uses such information, and whether the op11 erator discloses such information; 

12 (B) to establish procedures or mechanisms 

13 to ensure that geolocation information is not 

14 collected from children or minors except in ac15 cordance with regulations promulgated under 

16 this paragraph; 

17 (C) in the case of collection of geolocation 

18 information from a child— 

19 (i) prior to collecting such informa20 tion, to obtain verifiable parental consent; 

21 and 

22 (ii) after collecting such information, 

23 to provide to the parent of the child, upon 

24 request by and proper identification of the 

25 parent— 


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1 (I) a description of the 

2 geolocation information collected from 

3 the child by the operator; 

4 (II) the opportunity at any time 

5 to refuse to permit the further use or 

6 maintenance in retrievable form, or 

7 future collection, by the operator of 

8 geolocation information from the 

9 child; and 

10 (III) a means that is reasonable 

11 under the circumstances for the par12 ent to obtain any geolocation informa13 tion collected from the child, if such 

14 information is available to the oper15 ator at the time the parent makes the 

16 request; and 

17 (D) in the case of collection of geolocation 

18 information from a minor— 

19 (i) prior to collecting such informa20 tion, to obtain affirmative express consent 

21 from such minor; and 

22 (ii) after collecting such information, 

23 to provide to the minor, upon request— 


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1 (I) a description of the 

2 geolocation information collected from 

3 the minor by the operator; 

4 (II) the opportunity at any time 

5 to refuse to permit the further use or 

6 maintenance in retrievable form, or 

7 future collection, by the operator of 

8 geolocation information from the 

9 minor; and 

10 (III) a means that is reasonable 

11 under the circumstances for the minor 

12 to obtain any geolocation information 

13 collected from the minor, if such in14 formation is available to the operator 

15 at the time the minor makes the re16 quest. 

17 (2) WHEN CONSENT NOT REQUIRED.—The reg18 ulations promulgated under paragraph (1) shall pro19 vide that verifiable parental consent under subpara20 graph (C)(i) of such paragraph or affirmative ex21 press consent under subparagraph (D)(i) of such 

22 paragraph is not required when the collection of the 

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1 ment agencies or for an investigation on a matter re2 lated to public safety. 

3 (3) CONTINUATION OF SERVICE.—The regula4 tions promulgated under paragraph (1) shall pro5 hibit an operator from discontinuing service provided 

6 to— 

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

8 parent of the child, under subparagraph 

9 (C)(ii)(II) of such paragraph, to permit the fur10 ther use or maintenance in retrievable form, or 

11 future online collection, of geolocation informa12 tion from the child by the operator, to the ex13 tent that the operator is capable of providing 

14 such service without such information; or 

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

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

17 paragraph, to permit the further use or mainte18 nance in retrievable form, or future online col19 lection, of geolocation information from the 

20 minor by the operator, to the extent that the 

21 operator is capable of providing such service 

22 without such information. 

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

24 government may impose any liability for commercial ac25 tivities or actions by operators in interstate or foreign 


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1 commerce in connection with an activity or action de2 scribed in this section that is inconsistent with the treat3 ment of those activities or actions under this section. 

4 SEC. 7. REMOVAL OF CONTENT. 

5 (a) ACTS PROHIBITED.—It is unlawful for an oper6 ator of a website, online service, online application, or mo7 bile application to make publicly available through the 

8 website, service, or application content or information that 

9 contains or displays personal information of children or 

10 minors in a manner that violates the regulations pre11 scribed under subsection (b). 

12 (b) REGULATIONS.— 

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

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis15 sion shall promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, 

16 United States Code, regulations that require an op17 erator— 

18 (A) to the extent technologically feasible, 

19 to implement mechanisms that permit a user of 

20 the website, service, or application of the oper21 ator to erase or otherwise eliminate content or 

22 information submitted to the website, service, or 

23 application by such user that is publicly avail24 able through the website, service, or application 


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1 and contains or displays personal information of 

2 children or minors; and 

3 (B) to take appropriate steps to make 

4 users aware of such mechanisms and to provide 

5 notice to users that such mechanisms do not 

6 necessarily provide comprehensive removal of 

7 the content or information submitted by such 

8 users. 

9 (2) EXCEPTION.—The regulations promulgated 

10 under paragraph (1) may not require an operator or 

11 third party to erase or otherwise eliminate content 

12 or information that— 

13 (A) any other provision of Federal or State 

14 law requires the operator or third party to 

15 maintain; or 

16 (B) was submitted to the website, service, 

17 or application of the operator by any person 

18 other than the user who is attempting to erase 

19 or otherwise eliminate such content or informa20 tion, including content or information submitted 

21 by such user that was republished or resub22 mitted by another person. 

23 (3) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall 

24 be construed to limit the authority of a law enforce25 ment agency to obtain any content or information 


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1 from an operator as authorized by law or pursuant 

2 to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction. 

3 SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT AND APPLICABILITY. 

4 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro6 vided, this Act and the regulations prescribed under 

7 this Act shall be enforced by the Commission under 

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

9 seq.). 

10 (2) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC11 TICES.—Subject to subsection (b), a violation of this 

12 Act or a regulation prescribed under this Act shall 

13 be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair 

14 or deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 

15 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

16 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

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

18 subsection (b), and except as provided in subsection 

19 (d)(1), the Commission shall prevent any person 

20 from violating this Act or a regulation prescribed 

21 under this Act in the same manner, by the same 

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

23 duties as though all applicable terms and provisions 

24 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 

25 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of 


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1 this Act, and any person who violates this Act or 

2 such regulation shall be subject to the penalties and 

3 entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in 

4 the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

5 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY CERTAIN OTHER AGEN6 CIES.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), compliance with 

7 the requirements imposed under this Act shall be enforced 

8 as follows: 

9 (1) Under section 8 of the Federal Deposit In10 surance Act (12 U.S.C. 1818) by the appropriate 

11 Federal banking agency, with respect to an insured 

12 depository institution (as such terms are defined in 

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

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

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

16 Administration Board, with respect to any Federal 

17 credit union. 

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

19 United States Code, by the Secretary of Transpor20 tation, with respect to any air carrier or foreign air 

21 carrier subject to such part. 

22 (4) Under the Packers and Stockyards Act, 

23 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) (except as provided in 

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


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1 Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to any activi2 ties subject to such Act. 

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

4 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.) by the Farm Credit Adminis5 tration, with respect to any Federal land bank, Fed6 eral land bank association, Federal intermediate 

7 credit bank, or production credit association. 

8 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN9 ERAL.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

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

12 the attorney general of a State has reason to 

13 believe that an interest of the residents of that 

14 State has been or is threatened or adversely af15 fected by the engagement of any person in a 

16 practice that violates this Act or a regulation 

17 prescribed under this Act, the State, as parens 

18 patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of 

19 the residents of the State in a district court of 

20 the United States of appropriate jurisdiction 

21 to— 

22 (i) enjoin that practice; 

23 (ii) enforce compliance with this Act 

24 or such regulation; 


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1 (iii) obtain damages, restitution, or 

2 other compensation on behalf of residents 

3 of the State; or 

4 (iv) obtain such other relief as the 

5 court may consider to be appropriate. 

6 (B) NOTICE.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an ac8 tion under subparagraph (A), the attorney 

9 general of the State involved shall provide 

10 to the Commission— 

11 (I) written notice of that action; 

12 and 

13 (II) a copy of the complaint for 

14 that action. 

15 (ii) EXEMPTION.— 

16 (I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

17 shall not apply with respect to the fil18 ing of an action by an attorney gen19 eral of a State under this paragraph, 

20 if the attorney general determines 

21 that it is not feasible to provide the 

22 notice described in that clause before 

23 the filing of the action. 

24 (II) NOTIFICATION.—In an ac25 tion described in subclause (I), the atVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:49 Nov 15, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3481.IH H3481

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1 torney general of a State shall provide 

2 notice and a copy of the complaint to 

3 the Commission at the same time as 

4 the attorney general files the action. 

5 (2) INTERVENTION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 

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

8 have the right to intervene in the action that is 

9 the subject of the notice. 

10 (B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 

11 Commission intervenes in an action under para12 graph (1), it shall have the right— 

13 (i) to be heard with respect to any 

14 matter that arises in that action; and 

15 (ii) to file a petition for appeal. 

16 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing 

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

18 Act shall be construed to prevent an attorney gen19 eral of a State from exercising the powers conferred 

20 on the attorney general by the laws of that State 

21 to— 

22 (A) conduct investigations; 

23 (B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 


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1 (C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 

2 the production of documentary and other evi3 dence. 

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

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

6 of the Commission for violation of this Act or a reg7 ulation prescribed under this Act, no State may, 

8 during the pendency of that action, institute an ac9 tion under paragraph (1) against any defendant 

10 named in the complaint in the action instituted by 

11 or on behalf of the Commission for that violation. 

12 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

13 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

14 paragraph (1) may be brought in the district 

15 court of the United States that meets applicable 

16 requirements relating to venue under section 

17 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 

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

19 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 

20 served in any district in which the defendant— 

21 (i) is an inhabitant; or 

22 (ii) may be found. 

23 (d) TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS AND CABLE

24 OPERATORS.— 


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1 (1) ENFORCEMENT BY FTC.—Notwithstanding 

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

3 Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(2)), compliance with the re4 quirements imposed under this Act shall be enforced 

5 by the Commission with respect to any telecommuni6 cations carrier (as defined in section 3 of the Com7 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153)). 

8 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—To the ex9 tent that sections 222, 338(i), and 631 of the Com10 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 222; 338(i); 

11 551) are inconsistent with this Act, this Act con12 trols. 

13 SEC. 9. RULE FOR TREATMENT OF USERS OF WEBSITES, 

14 SERVICES, AND APPLICATIONS DIRECTED TO 

15 CHILDREN OR MINORS. 

16 An operator of a website, online service, online appli17 cation, or mobile application that is directed to children 

18 or minors shall treat all users of such website, service, or 

19 application as children or minors (as the case may be) for 

20 purposes of this Act, except as permitted by the Commis21 sion by a regulation promulgated under this Act. 

22 SEC. 10. 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 16. 


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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, except to the extent the Com5 mission provides otherwise by regulations issued under 

6 section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

7 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATES. 

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

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

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

11 date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 (b) AUTHORITY TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS.— 

13 The following shall take effect on the date of the enact14 ment of this Act: 

15 (1) The amendments made by subsections 

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

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

18 (3) Subsections (b) and (c) of section 10. 

19 (c) DIGITAL MARKETING BILL OF RIGHTS FOR

20 TEENS.—Section 5, except for subsection (c) of such sec21 tion, shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after 

22 the promulgation of regulations under such subsection. 

Æ 


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