II 

Calendar No. 660 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3663 

To protect the safety of children on the internet. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2022 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. ERNST, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. DAINES, Mr. PETERS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, 

and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 15, 2022 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To protect the safety of children on the internet. 

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 ‘‘Kids Online Safety Act’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Duty of care. 

Sec. 4. Safeguards for minors. 

Sec. 5. Disclosure. 

Sec. 6. Transparency. 

Sec. 7. Independent research. 

Sec. 8. Market research. 

Sec. 9. Age verification study and report. 

Sec. 10. Enforcement. 

Sec. 11. Kids Online Safety Council. 

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 13. Effective date. 

Sec. 14. Severability. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ALGORITHMIC RECOMMENDATION SYS6 TEM.—The term ‘‘algorithmic recommendation sys7 tem’’ means a fully or partially automated system 

8 used to suggest, promote, or rank information. 

9 (2) COVERED PLATFORM.—The term ‘‘covered 

10 platform’’ means a commercial software application 

11 or electronic service that connects to the internet 

12 and that is used, or is reasonably likely to be used, 

13 by a minor. 

14 (3) MINOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an indi15 vidual who is age 16 or younger. 

16 (4) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ includes a 

17 legal guardian or an individual with legal custody 

18 over a child. 


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1 (5) PERSONAL DATA.—The term ‘‘personal 

2 data’’ means information that identifies or is linked 

3 or reasonably linkable to an individual, household, or 

4 consumer device. 

5 SEC. 3. DUTY OF CARE. 

6 (a) BEST INTERESTS.—A covered platform has a 

7 duty to act in the best interests of a minor that uses the 

8 platform’s products or services. 

9 (b) PREVENTION OF HARM TO MINORS.—In acting 

10 in the best interests of minors, a covered platform has a 

11 duty to prevent and mitigate the heightened risks of phys12 ical, emotional, developmental, or material harms to mi13 nors posed by materials on, or engagement with, the plat14 form, including— 

15 (1) promotion of self-harm, suicide, eating dis16 orders, substance abuse, and other matters that pose 

17 a risk to physical and mental health of a minor; 

18 (2) patterns of use that indicate or encourage 

19 addiction-like behaviors; 

20 (3) physical harm, online bullying, and harass21 ment of a minor; 

22 (4) sexual exploitation, including enticement, 

23 grooming, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse of mi24 nors and trafficking of online child sexual abuse ma25 terial; 


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1 (5) promotion and marketing of products or 

2 services that are unlawful for minors, such as illegal 

3 drugs, tobacco, gambling, or alcohol; and 

4 (6) predatory, unfair, or deceptive marketing 

5 practices. 

6 SEC. 4. SAFEGUARDS FOR MINORS. 

7 (a) SAFEGUARDS FOR MINORS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered platform shall 

9 provide a minor, or a parent acting on a minor’s be10 half, with readily accessible and easy-to-use safe11 guards to control their experience and personal data 

12 on the covered platform, including settings to— 

13 (A) limit the ability of other individuals to 

14 contact or find a minor, in particular adults 

15 with no relationship to the minor; 

16 (B) prevent other individuals from viewing 

17 the minor’s personal data collected by or shared 

18 on the covered platform, in particular restrict19 ing public access to personal data; 

20 (C) limit features that increase, sustain, or 

21 extend use of the covered platform by a minor, 

22 such as automatic playing of media, rewards for 

23 time spent on the platform, and notifications; 

24 (D) opt out of algorithmic recommendation 

25 systems that use a minor’s personal data; 


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1 (E) delete the minor’s account and request 

2 removal of personal data; 

3 (F) restrict the sharing of the geolocation 

4 of a minor and to provide notice regarding the 

5 tracking of a minor’s geolocation; and 

6 (G) limit time spent by a minor on the cov7 ered platform. 

8 (2) DEFAULT SAFEGUARD SETTINGS FOR MI9 NORS.—A covered platform shall provide that, in the 

10 case of a user that the platform knows or reasonably 

11 believes to be a minor, the default setting for any 

12 safeguard described under paragraph (1) shall be 

13 the strongest option available. 

14 (3) ACCESSIBILITY FOR MINORS.—With respect 

15 to safeguards described under paragraph (1), a cov16 ered platform shall provide information and control 

17 options in a manner that is age appropriate and 

18 does not encourage minors to weaken or turn off 

19 safeguards. 

20 (b) PARENTAL TOOLS.— 

21 (1) PARENTAL TOOLS.—A covered platform 

22 shall provide readily accessible and easy-to-use pa23 rental tools for parents to appropriately supervise 

24 the use of the covered platform by a minor. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The parental tools pro2 vided by a covered platform shall include— 

3 (A) the ability to control privacy and ac4 count settings, including the safeguards estab5 lished under subsection (a)(1); 

6 (B) the ability to restrict purchases and fi7 nancial transactions by a minor; 

8 (C) the ability to track total time spent on 

9 the platform; 

10 (D) a clear and conspicuous mechanism for 

11 parents to opt out of or turn off any default pa12 rental tools put in place by the covered plat13 form; and 

14 (E) access to other information regarding 

15 a minor’s use of a covered platform and control 

16 options necessary to a parent’s ability to ad17 dress the harms described in section 3(b). 

18 (3) NOTICE TO MINORS.—A covered platform 

19 shall provide clear and conspicuous notice to a minor 

20 when parental tools are in effect. 

21 (4) DEFAULT PARENTAL TOOLS.—A covered 

22 platform shall provide that, in the case of a user 

23 that the platform knows or reasonably believes to be 

24 a minor, parental tools shall be enabled by default. 

25 (c) REPORTING MECHANISM.— 


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1 (1) PARENTAL REPORTS.—A covered platform 

2 shall provide minors and parents with— 

3 (A) a readily accessible and easy-to-use 

4 means to submit reports of harms to a minor, 

5 including harms described in section 3(b); 

6 (B) an electronic point of contact specific 

7 to matters involving harms to a minor; and 

8 (C) confirmation of the receipt of such a 

9 report and a means to track a submitted report. 

10 (2) TIMING.—A covered platform shall establish 

11 an internal process to receive and respond to reports 

12 in a reasonable and timely manner. 

13 (d) ILLEGAL CONTENT.—A covered platform shall 

14 not facilitate the advertising of products or services to mi15 nors that are illegal to sell to minors based on applicable 

16 State or Federal law. 

17 SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE. 

18 (a) NOTICE.— 

19 (1) REGISTRATION.—Prior to registration, use, 

20 or purchase of a covered platform by a minor, the 

21 platform shall provide clear, accessible, and easy-to22 understand— 

23 (A) notice of the policies and practices of 

24 the covered platform with respect to personal 

25 data and safeguards for minors; 


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1 (B) information about how to access the 

2 safeguards and parental tools required under 

3 section 4; and 

4 (C) notice about whether the covered plat5 form, including any algorithmic recommenda6 tion systems used by the platform, pose any 

7 heightened risks of harm to a minor, including 

8 harms described in section 3(b). 

9 (2) PARENTAL NOTIFICATION.—For a minor, or 

10 an individual that a covered platform reasonably be11 lieves is a minor, a covered platform shall addition12 ally provide the notice, information, and statement 

13 described in paragraph (1) to a parent of the minor. 

14 (3) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—After providing the 

15 notice, information, and statement described in 

16 paragraph (1), but prior to initial use of the covered 

17 platform, the covered platform shall obtain acknowl18 edgment from a minor, or a parent of the minor, of 

19 the receipt of information related to the heightened 

20 risks of harm to minors referenced in the statement 

21 in paragraph (1)(C). 

22 (b) ALGORITHMIC RECOMMENDATION SYSTEM.—A 

23 covered platform that uses an algorithmic recommenda24 tion system shall set out in its terms and conditions, in 

25 a clear, accessible, and easy-to-understand manner— 


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1 (1) an overview of how algorithmic rec2 ommendation systems are used by the covered plat3 form to provide information to users of the platform 

4 who are minors, including how such systems use per5 sonal data belonging to minors; and 

6 (2) options for minors or their parents to mod7 ify the results of the algorithmic recommendation 

8 system, including the right to opt out or down-rank 

9 types or categories of recommendations. 

10 (c) ADVERTISING AND MARKETING.—A covered plat11 form that facilitates advertising aimed at minors shall pro12 vide clear, accessible, and easy-to-understand information 

13 and labels regarding— 

14 (1) the name of the product, service, or brand 

15 and the subject matter of an advertisement or mar16 keting material; 

17 (2) why the minor is being targeted for a par18 ticular advertisement or marketing material if the 

19 covered platform engages in targeted advertising, in20 cluding meaningful information about how the per21 sonal data of the minor was used to target the ad22 vertisement or marketing material; and 

23 (3) whether particular media displayed to a 

24 user is an advertisement or marketing material, in25 cluding disclosure of endorsements of products, servVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Dec 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3663.RS S3663

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1 ices, or brands made for commercial consideration 

2 by other users of the platform. 

3 (d) RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND MINORS.—A cov4 ered platform shall provide to minors and parents clear, 

5 accessible, easy-to-understand, and comprehensive infor6 mation in a prominent location regarding— 

7 (1) its policies and practices with respect to 

8 personal data and safeguards for minors; and 

9 (2) how to access the safeguards and parental 

10 tools required under section 4. 

11 SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY. 

12 (a) AUDIT OF SYSTEMIC RISKS TO MINORS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

14 once a year, a covered platform shall issue a public 

15 report identifying the foreseeable risks of harm to 

16 minors based on an independent, third-party audit 

17 conducted through reasonable inspection of the cov18 ered platform and describe the prevention and miti19 gation measures taken to address such risks. 

20 (2) CONTENT.— 

21 (A) TRANSPARENCY.—The public reports 

22 required of a covered platform under this sec23 tion shall include— 


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1 (i) an assessment of whether the cov2 ered platform is reasonably likely to be 

3 accessed by minors; 

4 (ii) a description of the commercial in5 terests of the covered platform in use by 

6 minors; 

7 (iii) an accounting of the number of 

8 individuals using the covered platform rea9 sonably believed to be minors in the United 

10 States, disaggregated by the age ranges of 

11 0–5, 6–9, 10–12, and 13–16; 

12 (iv) an accounting of the time spent 

13 by the median and average minor in the 

14 United States on a daily, weekly, and 

15 monthly basis, disaggregated by the age 

16 ranges of 0–5, 6–9, 10–12, and 13–16; 

17 (v) an accounting, disaggregated by 

18 category of harm, of— 

19 (I) the total number of reports of 

20 the dissemination of illegal or harmful 

21 content involving minors; and 

22 (II) the prevalence of content 

23 that is illegal or harmful to minors; 

24 and 


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1 (vi) a description of any material 

2 breaches of parental tools or assurances re3 garding minors, unexpected use of the per4 sonal data of minors, and other matters re5 garding non-compliance. 

6 (B) SYSTEMIC RISKS ASSESSMENT.—The 

7 public reports required of a covered platform 

8 under this section shall include— 

9 (i) an audit of the known and emerg10 ing risks to minors posed by the covered 

11 platform, including the harms described in 

12 section 3(b); 

13 (ii) an assessment of how algorithmic 

14 recommendation systems and targeted ad15 vertising systems can contribute to harms 

16 to minors; 

17 (iii) a description of whether and how 

18 the covered platform uses system design 

19 features to increase, sustain, or extend use 

20 of a product or service by a minor, such as 

21 automatic playing of media, rewards for 

22 time spent, and notifications; 

23 (iv) a description of whether, how, 

24 and for what purpose the platform collects 

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1 tion, health data, or other categories of 

2 personal data of heightened concern re3 garding minors, as determined by the 

4 Commission; 

5 (v) an evaluation of the efficacy and 

6 any issues in delivering safeguards to mi7 nors under section 4; and 

8 (vi) an evaluation of any other rel9 evant matters of public concern over risks 

10 to minors. 

11 (C) MITIGATION.—The public reports re12 quired of a covered platform under this section 

13 shall include— 

14 (i) a description of the safeguards and 

15 parental tools available to minors and par16 ents on the covered platform; 

17 (ii) a description of interventions by 

18 the covered platform when it had or has 

19 reason to believe that harm could occur to 

20 minors; 

21 (iii) a description of the prevention 

22 and mitigation measures intended to be 

23 taken in response to the known and emerg24 ing risks identified in its audit of system 

25 risks, including steps taken to— 


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1 (I) adapt or remove system de2 sign features that expose minors to 

3 risks; 

4 (II) set safeguards to their most 

5 safe settings by default; 

6 (III) prevent the presence of ille7 gal and illicit content on the covered 

8 platform; and 

9 (IV) adapt algorithmic rec10 ommendation system to prioritize the 

11 best interests of users who are mi12 nors; 

13 (iv) a description of internal processes 

14 for handling reports and automated detec15 tion mechanisms for harms to minors, in16 cluding the rate, timeliness, and effective17 ness of responses under the requirement of 

18 section 4(c); 

19 (v) the status of implementing preven20 tion and mitigation measures identified in 

21 prior assessments; and 

22 (vi) a description of the additional 

23 measures to be taken by the covered plat24 form to address the circumvention of safe25 guards and parental tools. 


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1 (3) REASONABLE INSPECTION.—In conducting 

2 an inspection of the systemic risks of harm to mi3 nors, a covered platform shall— 

4 (A) take into consideration the function of 

5 algorithmic recommendation systems; 

6 (B) consult parents, experts, and civil soci7 ety with respect to the prevention of harms to 

8 minors; 

9 (C) conduct research based on experiences 

10 of minors that use the covered platform, includ11 ing harms reported under section 4(c); 

12 (D) take account of research, including re13 search regarding system design features, mar14 keting, or product integrity, industry best prac15 tices, or outside research; and 

16 (E) consider indicia or inferences of age of 

17 users, in addition to any self-declared informa18 tion about the age of individuals. 

19 (4) PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.—In issuing the pub20 lic reports required under this section, a covered 

21 platform shall take steps to safeguard the privacy of 

22 its users, including ensuring that data is presented 

23 in a de-anonymized, aggregated format. 

24 SEC. 7. INDEPENDENT RESEARCH. 

25 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist2 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

3 Commerce for Communications and Information. 

4 (2) ELIGIBLE RESEARCHER.—The term ‘‘eligi5 ble researcher’’ means an individual or group of in6 dividuals affiliated with or employed by— 

7 (A) an institution of higher education (as 

8 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

9 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); or 

10 (B) a nonprofit organization, including any 

11 organization described in section 501(c) of the 

12 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

13 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

14 the program established under subsection (b)(1). 

15 (4) PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH.—The term 

16 ‘‘public interest research’’ means the scientific or 

17 historical analysis of information that is performed 

18 for the primary purpose of advancing a broadly rec19 ognized public interest. 

20 (5) QUALIFIED RESEARCHER.—The term 

21 ‘‘qualified researcher’’ means an eligible researcher 

22 who is approved by the Assistant Secretary to con23 duct public interest research regarding harms to mi24 nors under the Program. 

25 (b) ACCESS TO DATA ON HARMS TO MINORS.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant Secretary 

2 shall establish a program under which an eligible re3 searcher may apply for, and a covered platform shall 

4 provide, access to data assets from the covered plat5 form for the sole purpose of conducting public inter6 est research regarding harms to the safety and well7 being of minors, including matters described in sec8 tion 3(b). 

9 (2) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In order to 

10 be approved to access data assets from a covered 

11 platform, an eligible researcher shall, in the applica12 tion submitted under paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) conduct the research for noncommer14 cial purposes; 

15 (B) demonstrate a proven record of exper16 tise on the proposed research topic and related 

17 research methodologies; and 

18 (C) commit to fulfill, and demonstrate a 

19 capacity to fulfill, the specific data security and 

20 confidentiality requirements corresponding to 

21 the application. 

22 (3) DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF COVERED PLAT23 FORMS.— 

24 (A) ACCESS TO DATA ASSETS.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Assistant 

2 Secretary approves an application under 

3 paragraph (1) with respect to a covered 

4 platform, the covered platform shall, in a 

5 timely manner, provide the qualified re6 searcher with access to data assets nec7 essary to conduct public interest research 

8 described in that paragraph. 

9 (ii) FORM OF ACCESS.—A covered 

10 platform shall provide to a qualified re11 searcher access to data assets under clause 

12 (i) through online databases, application 

13 programming interfaces, and data files as 

14 appropriate for the qualified researcher to 

15 undertake public interest research. 

16 (B) NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT.—A 

17 covered platform may require, as a condition of 

18 access to the data assets of the covered plat19 form, that a qualified researcher enter into a 

20 nondisclosure agreement regarding the release 

21 of data assets, provided that— 

22 (i) the agreement does not restrict the 

23 publication of the qualified researcher’s 

24 findings; and 


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1 (ii) the terms of the agreement allow 

2 the qualified researcher to provide the 

3 original agreement or a copy of the agree4 ment to the Assistant Secretary. 

5 (C) APPEAL.—A covered platform may ap6 peal the granting of an application under para7 graph (1) on the grounds that, and the Assist8 ant Secretary shall grant such appeal if— 

9 (i) the covered platform does not have 

10 access to the requested data assets; or 

11 (ii) providing access to the data assets 

12 will lead to significant vulnerabilities in the 

13 security of the covered platform’s service. 

14 (4) PROCESSES, PROCEDURES, AND STAND15 ARDS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en16 actment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall es17 tablish— 

18 (A)(i) a process by which an eligible re19 searcher may submit an application described in 

20 paragraph (1); and 

21 (ii) an appeals process for eligible research22 ers to appeal adverse decisions on applications 

23 described in paragraph (1) (including a decision 

24 to grant an appeal under paragraph (3)(C)); 


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1 (B) procedures for implementation of the 

2 Program, including methods for— 

3 (i) participation by covered platforms; 

4 and 

5 (ii) verification by the Assistant Sec6 retary of the credentials of eligible re7 searchers; 

8 (C) standards for privacy, security, and 

9 confidentiality required to participate in the 

10 Program; and 

11 (D) standards for transparency regarding 

12 the operation and administration of the Pro13 gram. 

14 (5) DUTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY.—To protect 

15 user privacy, a qualified researcher shall have a duty 

16 of confidentiality with respect to data assets pro17 vided by a covered platform, which may be defined 

18 by the Assistant Secretary. 

19 (6) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this sub20 section shall be construed to authorize a Federal 

21 agency to seek access to the data of a covered plat22 form through the Program. 

23 (c) SAFE HARBOR FOR INDEPENDENT COLLEC24 TION.—With respect to public interest research conducted 

25 regarding harms to minors, including matters described 


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1 in section 3(b), no cause of action related to terms of serv2 ice violations undertaken while collecting data assets in 

3 the course of such research shall lie or be maintained in 

4 any court against the researcher conducting the research. 

5 (d) RULEMAKING.—The Assistant Secretary, in con6 sultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Director 

7 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

8 shall promulgate rules in accordance with section 553 of 

9 title 5, United States Code, as necessary to implement this 

10 section. 

11 SEC. 8. MARKET RESEARCH. 

12 (a) MARKET RESEARCH BY COVERED PLATFORMS.— 

13 The Federal Trade Commission, in coordination with the 

14 Secretary of Commerce, shall establish guidelines for cov15 ered platforms seeking to conduct market- and product16 focused research on minors or individuals it reasonably be17 lieves to be minors. Such guidelines shall include— 

18 (1) a standard consent form that provides mi19 nors and their parents a clear and easy-to-under20 stand explanation of the scope and purpose of the 

21 research to be conducted, and provides an oppor22 tunity for informed consent; and 

23 (2) recommendations for research practices for 

24 studies that may include minors, disaggregated by 


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1 the age ranges of 0–5, 6–9, 10–12, 13–15, and 16– 

2 17. 

3 (b) GUIDELINES.—The Federal Trade Commission 

4 shall promulgate such guidelines not later than 18 months 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act. In doing so, they 

6 shall seek input from members of the public and the rep7 resentatives of the Kids Online Safety Council established 

8 under section 11. 

9 SEC. 9. AGE VERIFICATION STUDY AND REPORT. 

10 (a) STUDY.—The Director of the National Institute 

11 of Standards and Technology, in coordination with the 

12 Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade 

13 Commission, and the Secretary of Commerce, shall con14 duct a study evaluating the most technologically feasible 

15 options for developing systems to verify age at the device 

16 or operating system level. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—Such study shall consider— 

18 (1) the benefits of creating a device or oper19 ating system level age verification system; 

20 (2) what information may need to be collected 

21 to create this type of age verification system; 

22 (3) the accuracy of such systems and their im23 pact or steps to improve accessibility, including for 

24 individuals with disabilities; 


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1 (4) how such a system or systems could verify 

2 age while mitigating risks to user privacy and data 

3 security and safeguarding minors’ personal data; 

4 and 

5 (5) the technical feasibility, including the need 

6 for potential hardware and software changes, includ7 ing for devices currently in commerce and owned by 

8 consumers. 

9 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, the agencies described in sub11 section (a) shall submit a report containing the results of 

12 the study conducted under such subsection to the Com13 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

14 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

15 the House of Representatives. 

16 SEC. 10. ENFORCEMENT. 

17 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS18 SION.— 

19 (1) UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC20 TICES.—A violation of this Act or a regulation pro21 mulgated under this Act by any person shall be 

22 treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or 

23 deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 

24 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

25 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 


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1 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

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

3 subparagraph (B) and subsection (b), the Fed4 eral Trade Commission (referred to in this sec5 tion as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall enforce this 

6 Act and any regulation promulgated under this 

7 Act in the same manner, by the same means, 

8 and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and du9 ties as though all applicable terms and provi10 sions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

11 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and 

12 made a part of this Act. 

13 (B) APPLICATION TO COMMON CARRIERS

14 AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—Notwith15 standing section 4, 5(a)(2), or 6 of the Federal 

16 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44, 45(a)(2), 

17 46) or any jurisdictional limitation of the Com18 mission, the Commission shall also enforce this 

19 Act and the regulations promulgated under this 

20 Act, in the manner provided under this sub21 section, with respect to— 

22 (i) common carriers subject to the 

23 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

24 151 et seq.) and all Acts amendatory 

25 thereof and supplementary thereto; and 


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1 (ii) organizations not organized to 

2 carry on business for their own profit or 

3 that of their members. 

4 (C) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 

5 person that violates this Act or a regulation 

6 promulgated under this Act shall be subject to 

7 the penalties, and entitled to the privileges and 

8 immunities, provided in the Federal Trade 

9 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

10 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Commission may pro11 mulgate regulations under section 553 of title 5, 

12 United States Code, to carry out sections 4, 5, and 

13 6 of this Act. 

14 (4) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 

15 section shall be construed to limit the authority of 

16 the Commission under any other provision of law. 

17 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN18 ERAL.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

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

21 the attorney general of a State has reason to 

22 believe that an interest of the residents of that 

23 State has been or is threatened or adversely af24 fected by the engagement of any person in a 

25 practice that violates this Act or a regulation 


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1 promulgated under this Act, the State, as 

2 parens patriae, may bring a civil action on be3 half of the residents of the State in a district 

4 court of the United States or a State court of 

5 appropriate jurisdiction to— 

6 (i) enjoin that practice; 

7 (ii) enforce compliance with this Act 

8 or such regulation; 

9 (iii) on behalf of residents of the 

10 State, obtain damages, statutory damages, 

11 restitution, or other compensation, each of 

12 which shall be distributed in accordance 

13 with State law; or 

14 (iv) obtain such other relief as the 

15 court may consider to be appropriate. 

16 (B) NOTICE.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an ac18 tion under subparagraph (A), the attorney 

19 general of the State involved shall provide 

20 to the Commission— 

21 (I) written notice of that action; 

22 and 

23 (II) a copy of the complaint for 

24 that action. 

25 (ii) EXEMPTION.— 


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1 (I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

2 shall not apply with respect to the fil3 ing of an action by an attorney gen4 eral of a State under this paragraph 

5 if the attorney general of the State 

6 determines that it is not feasible to 

7 provide the notice described in that 

8 clause before the filing of the action. 

9 (II) NOTIFICATION.—In an ac10 tion described in subclause (I), the at11 torney general of a State shall provide 

12 notice and a copy of the complaint to 

13 the Commission at the same time as 

14 the attorney general files the action. 

15 (2) INTERVENTION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 

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

18 have the right to intervene in the action that is 

19 the subject of the notice. 

20 (B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 

21 Commission intervenes in an action under para22 graph (1), it shall have the right— 

23 (i) to be heard with respect to any 

24 matter that arises in that action; and 

25 (ii) to file a petition for appeal. 


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1 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing 

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

3 Act shall be construed to prevent an attorney gen4 eral of a State from exercising the powers conferred 

5 on the attorney general by the laws of that State 

6 to— 

7 (A) conduct investigations; 

8 (B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 

9 (C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 

10 the production of documentary and other evi11 dence. 

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

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

14 of the Commission for violation of this Act or a reg15 ulation promulgated under this Act, no State may, 

16 during the pendency of that action, institute an ac17 tion under paragraph (1) against any defendant 

18 named in the complaint in the action instituted by 

19 or on behalf of the Commission for that violation. 

20 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

21 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

22 paragraph (1) may be brought in— 

23 (i) the district court of the United 

24 States that meets applicable requirements 


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1 relating to venue under section 1391 of 

2 title 28, United States Code; or 

3 (ii) a State court of competent juris4 diction. 

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

6 brought under paragraph (1) in a district court 

7 of the United States, process may be served 

8 wherever defendant— 

9 (i) is an inhabitant; or 

10 (ii) may be found. 

11 SEC. 11. KIDS ONLINE SAFETY COUNCIL. 

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

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Com14 merce shall establish and convene the Kids Online Safety 

15 Council for the purpose of providing advice on the imple16 mentation of this Act. 

17 (b) PARTICIPATION.—The Kids Online Safety Coun18 cil shall include participation from— 

19 (1) parents, academic experts, health profes20 sionals, and members of civil society with respect to 

21 the prevention of harms to minors; 

22 (2) youth representation; 

23 (3) representatives of covered platforms; 

24 (4) representatives of the National Tele25 communications and Information Administration, 


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1 the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

2 the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department 

3 of Justice; and 

4 (5) State attorneys general or their representa5 tives. 

6 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

7 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fed8 eral Trade Commission such sums as may be necessary 

9 to carry out this Act. 

10 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act 

12 shall take effect on the date that is 18 months after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 14. SEVERABILITY. 

15 If any provision of this Act, or an amendment made 

16 by this Act, is determined to be unenforceable or invalid, 

17 the remaining provisions of this Act and the amendments 

18 made by this Act shall not be affected. 

19 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

21 ‘‘Kids Online Safety Act’’. 

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

23 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Duty of care. 

Sec. 4. Safeguards for minors. 

Sec. 5. Disclosure. 


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Sec. 6. Transparency. 

Sec. 7. Independent research. 

Sec. 8. Market research. 

Sec. 9. Age verification study and report. 

Sec. 10. Guidance. 

Sec. 11. Enforcement. 

Sec. 12. Kids online safety council. 

Sec. 13. Effective date. 

Sec. 14. Relationship to other laws. 

Sec. 15. Severability. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ALGORITHMIC RECOMMENDATION SYSTEM.— 

4 The term ‘‘algorithmic recommendation system’’ 

5 means a fully or partially automated system used to 

6 suggest, promote, or rank information. 

7 (2) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an indi8 vidual who is age 12 or younger. 

9 (3) COVERED PLATFORM.—The term ‘‘covered 

10 platform’’ means a social media service, social net11 work, video game, messaging application, video 

12 streaming service, educational service, or an online 

13 platform that connects to the internet and that is 

14 used, or is reasonably likely to be used, by a minor. 

15 (4) MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER.—The term 

16 ‘‘mental health disorder’’ has the meaning given such 

17 term in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of 

18 Mental Health Disorders, 5th Edition (or a successor 

19 edition). 


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1 (5) MINOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an indi2 vidual who is age 16 or younger. 

3 (6) ONLINE PLATFORM.—The term ‘‘online plat4 form’’ means any public-facing website, online serv5 ice, online application, or mobile application that 

6 primarily provides a community forum for user gen7 erated content, including sharing videos, images, 

8 games, audio files, or other content. 

9 (7) PARENT.—The term ‘‘parent’’ includes a 

10 legal guardian or an individual with legal custody 

11 over a minor. 

12 (8) PERSONAL DATA.—The term ‘‘personal data’’ 

13 means information that identifies or is linked or rea14 sonably linkable to an individual, household, or con15 sumer device. 

16 (9) COMPULSIVE USAGE.—The term ‘‘compulsive 

17 usage’’ means any response stimulated by external 

18 factors that causes an individual to engage in repet19 itive behavior reasonably likely to cause psychological 

20 distress, loss of control, anxiety, depression, or harm21 ful stress responses. 

22 SEC. 3. DUTY OF CARE. 

23 (a) BEST INTERESTS.—A covered platform shall act 

24 in the best interests of a minor that uses the platform’s 

25 products or services, as described in subsection (b). 


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1 (b) PREVENTION OF HARM TO MINORS.—In acting in 

2 the best interests of minors, a covered platform shall take 

3 reasonable measures in its design and operation of products 

4 and services to prevent and mitigate— 

5 (1) mental health disorders or associated behav6 iors, including the promotion or exacerbation of self7 harm, suicide, eating disorders, and substance use 

8 disorders; 

9 (2) patterns of use that indicate or encourage ad10 diction-like behaviors; 

11 (3) physical violence, online bullying, and har12 assment of a minor; 

13 (4) sexual exploitation, including enticement, 

14 grooming, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse of minors 

15 and trafficking of online child sexual abuse material; 

16 (5) promotion and marketing of narcotic drugs 

17 (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Sub18 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), tobacco products, gam19 bling, or alcohol; and 

20 (6) predatory, unfair, or deceptive marketing 

21 practices, or other financial harms. 

22 SEC. 4. SAFEGUARDS FOR MINORS. 

23 (a) SAFEGUARDS FOR MINORS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A covered platform shall pro2 vide a minor with readily-accessible and easy-to-use 

3 safeguards to, as applicable— 

4 (A) limit the ability of other individuals to 

5 contact or find a minor, in particular individ6 uals aged 17 or over with no relationship to the 

7 minor; 

8 (B) prevent other users, whether registered 

9 or not, from viewing the minor’s personal data 

10 collected by or shared on the covered platform, in 

11 particular restricting public access to personal 

12 data; 

13 (C) limit features that increase, sustain, or 

14 extend use of the covered platform by a minor, 

15 such as automatic playing of media, rewards for 

16 time spent on the platform, notifications, and 

17 other features that result in compulsive usage of 

18 the covered platform by a minor; 

19 (D) control algorithmic recommendation 

20 systems that use a minor’s personal data, includ21 ing the right to— 

22 (i) opt out of such algorithmic rec23 ommendation systems; or 

24 (ii) limit types or categories of rec25 ommendations from such systems; 


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1 (E) delete the minor’s account and delete 

2 their personal data; 

3 (F) restrict the sharing of the geolocation of 

4 a minor and provide notice regarding the track5 ing of a minor’s geolocation; and 

6 (G) limit the amount of time spent by a 

7 minor on the covered platform. 

8 (2) DEFAULT SAFEGUARD SETTINGS FOR MI9 NORS.—A covered platform shall provide that, in the 

10 case of a user that the platform knows or reasonably 

11 believes to be a minor, the default setting for any safe12 guard described under paragraph (1) shall be the op13 tion available on the platform that provides the most 

14 protective level of control that is offered by the plat15 form over privacy and safety for that user. 

16 (b) PARENTAL TOOLS.— 

17 (1) TOOLS.—A covered platform shall provide 

18 readily-accessible and easy-to-use tools for parents to 

19 supervise the use of the covered platform by a minor. 

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The tools provided by a 

21 covered platform shall include— 

22 (A) the ability to control privacy and ac23 count settings, including the safeguards estab24 lished under subsection (a)(1); 


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1 (B) the ability to restrict purchases and fi2 nancial transactions by a minor, where applica3 ble; 

4 (C) the ability to track metrics of total time 

5 spent on the platform; and 

6 (D) control options that allow parents to 

7 address the harms described in section 3(b). 

8 (3) NOTICE TO MINORS.—A covered platform 

9 shall provide clear and conspicuous notice to a minor 

10 when tools described in this subsection are in effect. 

11 (4) DEFAULT TOOLS.—A covered platform shall 

12 provide that, in the case of a user that the platform 

13 knows or reasonably believes to be a child, the tools 

14 described in this subsection shall be enabled by de15 fault. 

16 (c) REPORTING MECHANISM.— 

17 (1) REPORTS SUBMITTED BY PARENTS, MINORS, 

18 AND SCHOOLS.—A covered platform shall provide— 

19 (A) a readily-accessible and easy-to-use 

20 means to submit reports to the covered platform 

21 of harms to minors; 

22 (B) an electronic point of contact specific to 

23 matters involving harms to a minor; and 

24 (C) confirmation of the receipt of such a re25 port and a means to track a submitted report. 


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1 (2) TIMING.—A covered platform shall establish 

2 an internal process to receive and substantively re3 spond to reports in a reasonable and timely manner, 

4 but in no case later than 14 days after the receipt of 

5 a report. 

6 (d) ADVERTISING OF ILLEGAL PRODUCTS.—A covered 

7 platform shall not facilitate the advertising of narcotic 

8 drugs (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Sub9 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), tobacco products, gambling, 

10 or alcohol to minors. 

11 (e) APPLICATION.— 

12 (1) ACCESSIBILITY.—With respect to safeguards 

13 and parental controls described under subsections (a) 

14 and (b), a covered platform shall provide— 

15 (A) information and control options in a 

16 clear and conspicuous manner that takes into 

17 consideration the differing ages, capacities, and 

18 developmental needs of the minors most likely to 

19 access the covered platform and does not encour20 age minors or parents to weaken or disable safe21 guards or parental controls; 

22 (B) readily-accessible and easy-to-use con23 trols to enable or disable safeguards or parental 

24 controls, as appropriate; and 


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1 (C) information and control options in the 

2 same language, form, and manner as the covered 

3 platform provides any product or service used by 

4 minors. 

5 (2) DARK PATTERNS PROHIBITION.—For pur6 poses of this section, it shall be unlawful for any cov7 ered platform to design, modify, or manipulate a user 

8 interface of a covered platform with the purpose or 

9 substantial effect of subverting or impairing user au10 tonomy, decision-making, or choice in order to weak11 en or disable safeguards or parental controls. 

12 (3) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

13 section shall be construed to— 

14 (A) prevent a covered platform from— 

15 (i) taking reasonable measures to limit 

16 algorithmic recommendation systems from 

17 distributing unlawful, obscene, or harmful 

18 material to minors as described in section 

19 3(b); or 

20 (ii) implementing measures to block or 

21 filter spam, prevent criminal activity, or 

22 protect the security of a platform or service; 

23 (B) require the disclosure of a minor’s 

24 browsing behavior, search history, messages, or 

25 other content of their communications; or 


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1 (C) restrict a covered platform’s ability to— 

2 (i) cooperate with law enforcement 

3 agencies regarding activity that the oper4 ator reasonably and in good faith believes 

5 may violate Federal, State, or local laws, 

6 rules, or regulations; 

7 (ii) comply with a civil, criminal, or 

8 regulatory inquiry or any investigation, 

9 subpoena, or summons by Federal, State, 

10 local, or other government authorities; or 

11 (iii) exercise, respond to, or defend 

12 against legal claims. 

13 SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE. 

14 (a) NOTICE.— 

15 (1) REGISTRATION.—Prior to registration, use, 

16 or purchase of a covered platform by a minor, the 

17 platform shall provide clear, conspicuous, and easy18 to-understand— 

19 (A) notice of the policies and practices of 

20 the covered platform with respect to personal 

21 data and safeguards for minors; 

22 (B) information about how to access the 

23 safeguards and parental tools required under sec24 tion 4; and 


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1 (C) notice about whether the covered plat2 form, including any algorithmic recommenda3 tion systems used by the platform, pose any 

4 heightened risks of harms to minors. 

5 (2) PARENTAL NOTIFICATION.—For a minor, or 

6 an individual that a covered platform reasonably be7 lieves is a minor, a covered platform shall addition8 ally provide the notice, information, and statement 

9 described in paragraph (1) to a parent of the minor. 

10 (3) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—After providing the no11 tice, information, and statement described in para12 graph (1), but prior to initial use of the covered plat13 form, the covered platform shall take reasonable steps 

14 to obtain express affirmative acknowledgment from a 

15 parent of the minor of the receipt of information re16 lated to the heightened risks of harm to minors ref17 erenced in the statement in paragraph (1)(C). 

18 (4) RULEMAKING.—The Commission may issue 

19 rules pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United States 

20 Code, to establish standards for covered platforms to 

21 comply with this subsection, including— 

22 (A) a minimum level of information covered 

23 platforms must provide pursuant to paragraph 

24 (1), where applicable; and 


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1 (B) processes for parental notification, 

2 which may include templates or models of short3 form notices. 

4 (b) ALGORITHMIC RECOMMENDATION SYSTEM.—A 

5 covered platform that operates algorithmic recommendation 

6 systems that use minors’ personal data shall set out in its 

7 terms and conditions, in a clear, conspicuous, and easy8 to-understand manner— 

9 (1) an overview of how those algorithmic rec10 ommendation systems are used by the covered plat11 form to provide information to users of the platform 

12 who are minors, including how such systems use the 

13 personal data of minors; and 

14 (2) information about options for minors or 

15 their parents to control algorithmic recommendation 

16 systems that use a minor’s personal data (including 

17 by opting out of such systems). 

18 (c) ADVERTISING AND MARKETING INFORMATION AND

19 LABELS.— 

20 (1) INFORMATION AND LABELS.—A covered plat21 form that facilitates advertising aimed at minors 

22 shall provide clear, conspicuous, and easy-to-under23 stand information and labels on advertisements and 

24 marketing material regarding— 


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1 (A) the name of the product, service, or 

2 brand and the subject matter of an advertisement 

3 or marketing material; 

4 (B) why the minor is being targeted for a 

5 particular advertisement or marketing material 

6 if the covered platform engages in targeted adver7 tising, including material information about 

8 how the minor’s personal data was used to target 

9 the advertisement or marketing material; and 

10 (C) whether particular media displayed to 

11 a user is an advertisement or marketing mate12 rial, including disclosure of endorsements of 

13 products, services, or brands made for commer14 cial consideration by other users of the platform. 

15 (2) RULEMAKING.—The Commission may issue 

16 rules pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United States 

17 Code, to implement this subsection, specifically estab18 lishing the minimum level of information and labels 

19 necessary for the disclosures required under para20 graph (1), which may include templates or models of 

21 short-form notices. 

22 (d) RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND MINORS.—A cov23 ered platform shall provide to minors and parents clear, 

24 conspicuous, easy-to-understand, and comprehensive infor25 mation in a prominent location regarding— 


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1 (1) its policies and practices with respect to per2 sonal data and safeguards for minors; and 

3 (2) how to access the safeguards and tools re4 quired under section 4. 

5 (e) RESOURCES IN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES.—A cov6 ered platform shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that 

7 the disclosures required by this section are made available 

8 in the same language, form, and manner as the covered 

9 platform provides any product or service used by minors. 

10 SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), not less 

12 frequently than once a year, a covered platform shall issue 

13 a public report identifying the reasonably foreseeable risk 

14 of harms to minors and describing the prevention and miti15 gation measures taken to address such risk based on an 

16 independent, third-party audit conducted through reason17 able inspection of the covered platform. 

18 (b) SCOPE OF APPLICATION.—The requirements of this 

19 section shall not apply to a covered platform if, for the most 

20 recent calendar year, the platform averaged less than 

21 10,000,000 active users on a monthly basis in the United 

22 States. 

23 (c) CONTENT.— 


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1 (1) TRANSPARENCY.—The public reports re2 quired of a covered platform under this section shall 

3 include— 

4 (A) an assessment of the extent to which the 

5 platform is likely to be accessed by minors; 

6 (B) a description of the commercial inter7 ests of the covered platform in use by minors; 

8 (C) an accounting of the number of individ9 uals using the covered platform reasonably be10 lieved to be minors in the United States, 

11 disaggregated by the age ranges of 0-5, 6-9, 10- 

12 12, and 13-16; 

13 (D) an accounting of the median and mean 

14 amounts of time spent on the platform by minors 

15 in the United States who have accessed the plat16 form during the reporting year on a daily, week17 ly, and monthly basis, disaggregated by the age 

18 ranges of 0-5, 6-9, 10-12, and 13-16; 

19 (E) an accounting of total reports received 

20 regarding, and the prevalence of content related 

21 to, the harms described in section 3(b), 

22 disaggregated by category of harm; and 

23 (F) a description of any material breaches 

24 of parental tools or assurances regarding minors, 

25 representations regarding the use of the personal 


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1 data of minors, and other matters regarding 

2 non-compliance. 

3 (2) SYSTEMIC RISKS ASSESSMENT.—The public 

4 reports required of a covered platform under this sec5 tion shall include— 

6 (A) an audit of the reasonably foreseeable 

7 risk of harms to minors posed by the covered 

8 platform, including identifying any other phys9 ical, mental, developmental, or financial harms 

10 in addition to those described in section 3(b); 

11 (B) an assessment of how algorithmic rec12 ommendation systems and targeted advertising 

13 systems can contribute to harms to minors; 

14 (C) a description of whether and how the 

15 covered platform uses system design features to 

16 increase, sustain, or extend use of a product or 

17 service by a minor, such as automatic playing of 

18 media, rewards for time spent, and notifications; 

19 (D) a description of whether, how, and for 

20 what purpose the platform collects or processes 

21 categories of personal data that may cause rea22 sonably foreseeable risk of harms to minors; 

23 (E) an evaluation of the efficacy of safe24 guards for minors under section 4, and any 


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1 issues in delivering such safeguards and the asso2 ciated parental tools; and 

3 (F) an evaluation of any other relevant 

4 matters of public concern over risk of harms to 

5 minors. 

6 (3) MITIGATION.—The public reports required of 

7 a covered platform under this section shall include— 

8 (A) a description of the safeguards and pa9 rental tools available to minors and parents on 

10 the covered platform; 

11 (B) a description of interventions by the 

12 covered platform when it had or has reason to 

13 believe that harms to minors could occur; 

14 (C) a description of the prevention and 

15 mitigation measures intended to be taken in re16 sponse to the known and emerging risks identi17 fied in its audit of system risks, including steps 

18 taken to— 

19 (i) prevent harms to minors, including 

20 adapting or removing system design fea21 tures; 

22 (ii) provide the most protective level of 

23 control over privacy and safety by default; 

24 and 


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1 (iii) adapt algorithmic recommenda2 tion systems to prioritize the best interests 

3 of users who are minors, as described in sec4 tion 3(b); 

5 (D) a description of internal processes for 

6 handling reports and automated detection mech7 anisms for harms to minors, including the rate, 

8 timeliness, and effectiveness of responses under 

9 the requirement of section 4(c); 

10 (E) the status of implementing prevention 

11 and mitigation measures identified in prior as12 sessments; and 

13 (F) a description of the additional measures 

14 to be taken by the covered platform to address the 

15 circumvention of safeguards for minors and pa16 rental tools. 

17 (d) REASONABLE INSPECTION.—In conducting an in18 spection of the systemic risks of harm to minors under this 

19 section, an independent, third-party auditor shall— 

20 (1) take into consideration the function of algo21 rithmic recommendation systems; 

22 (2) consult parents and youth experts, including 

23 public health and mental health nonprofit organiza24 tions, child and adolescent health and development orVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Dec 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3663.RS S3663

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1 ganizations, and civil society with respect to the pre2 vention of harms to minors; 

3 (3) conduct research based on experiences of mi4 nors that use the covered platform, including reports 

5 under section 4(c) and information provided by law 

6 enforcement; 

7 (4) take account of research, including research 

8 regarding system design features, marketing, or prod9 uct integrity, industry best practices, or outside re10 search; and 

11 (5) consider indicia or inferences of age of users, 

12 in addition to any self-declared information about the 

13 age of individuals. 

14 (e) COOPERATION WITH INDEPENDENT, THIRD-PARTY

15 AUDIT.—To facilitate the report required by subsection (c), 

16 a covered platform shall— 

17 (1) provide or otherwise make available to the 

18 independent third-party conducting the audit all in19 formation and material in its possession, custody, or 

20 control that is relevant to the audit; 

21 (2) provide or otherwise make available to the 

22 independent third-party conducting the audit access 

23 to all network, systems, and assets relevant to the 

24 audit; and 


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1 (3) disclose all relevant facts to the independent 

2 third-party conducting the audit, and not misrepre3 sent in any manner, expressly or by implication, any 

4 relevant fact. 

5 (f) PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In issuing the public reports 

7 required under this section, a covered platform shall 

8 take steps to safeguard the privacy of its users, in9 cluding ensuring that data is presented in a de-iden10 tified, aggregated format. 

11 (2) CLARIFICATION.—The section shall not be 

12 construed to require— 

13 (A) the affirmative collection of any per14 sonal data with respect to the age of users that 

15 a covered platform is not already collecting in 

16 the normal course of business; or 

17 (B) the covered platform to implement an 

18 age gating functionality. 

19 (g) LOCATION.—The public reports required under this 

20 section should be posted by a covered platform on an easy 

21 to find location on a publicly-available website. 

22 (h) RULEMAKING.—The Commission may issue rules 

23 pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United States Code to 

24 implement this section, specifically establishing processes 


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1 and minimum standards for third-party auditors to iden2 tify and assess— 

3 (1) known and emerging risks to minors; and 

4 (2) how algorithmic recommendation systems 

5 and targeted advertising systems can contribute to 

6 harms to minors as described in section 3(b). 

7 SEC. 7. INDEPENDENT RESEARCH. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist10 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of Com11 merce for Communications and Information. 

12 (2) DE-IDENTIFIED DATA.—The term ‘‘de-identi13 fied data’’ means information— 

14 (A) that does not identify and is not linked 

15 or reasonably linkable to an individual or an in16 dividual’s device; and 

17 (B) with respect to which a covered plat18 form or researcher takes reasonable technical and 

19 contractual measures to ensure that the informa20 tion is not used to re-identify any individual or 

21 individual’s device. 

22 (3) ELIGIBLE RESEARCHER.—The term ‘‘eligible 

23 researcher’’ means an individual or group of individ24 uals affiliated with or employed by— 


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1 (A) an institution of higher education (as 

2 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

3 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); or 

4 (B) a nonprofit organization described in 

5 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

6 1986. 

7 (4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means the 

8 program established under subsection (b)(1). 

9 (5) PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH.—The term 

10 ‘‘public interest research’’ means the scientific or his11 torical analysis of information that is performed for 

12 the primary purpose of advancing a broadly recog13 nized public interest. 

14 (6) QUALIFIED RESEARCHER.—The term ‘‘quali15 fied researcher’’ means an eligible researcher who is 

16 approved by the Assistant Secretary to conduct public 

17 interest research regarding harms to minors under the 

18 Program. 

19 (b) PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH PROGRAM RELAT20 ING TO IDENTIFIED HARMS TO MINORS.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

22 the Assistant Secretary shall establish a program, 

23 with public notice and an opportunity to comment, 

24 under which an eligible researcher may apply for, 

25 and a covered platform shall provide, access to data 


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1 assets from the covered platform for the sole purpose 

2 of conducting public interest research regarding the 

3 harms described in section 3(b). 

4 (2) SCOPE OF APPLICATION.—The requirements 

5 of this subsection shall not apply to a covered plat6 form if, for the most recent calendar year, the plat7 form averaged less than 10,000,000 active users on a 

8 monthly basis in the United States. 

9 (3) PROCESSES, PROCEDURES, AND STAND10 ARDS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact11 ment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall estab12 lish for the program established under this sub13 section— 

14 (A) definitions for data assets (related to 

15 harms described in section 3(b)) that qualify for 

16 disclosure to researchers under the program and 

17 standards of access for data assets to be provided 

18 under the program; 

19 (B) a process by which an eligible re20 searcher may submit an application described in 

21 paragraph (1); 

22 (C) an appeals process for eligible research23 ers to appeal adverse decisions on applications 

24 described in paragraph (1) (including a decision 

25 to grant an appeal under paragraph (4)(C)); 


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1 (D) procedures for implementation of the 

2 program, including methods for— 

3 (i) participation by covered platforms; 

4 and 

5 (ii) verification by the Assistant Sec6 retary of the credentials of eligible research7 ers and processes for the application or dis8 qualification to participate in the program; 

9 (E) standards for privacy, security, and 

10 confidentiality required to participate in the 

11 program; 

12 (F) a mechanism to allow individuals to 

13 control the use of their personal data under the 

14 program, including the ability to opt out of the 

15 program; 

16 (G) standards for transparency regarding 

17 the operation and administration of the pro18 gram; and 

19 (H) rules to prevent requests for data assets 

20 that present financial conflicts of interest, in21 cluding efforts by covered platforms to gain a 

22 competitive advantage by directly funding data 

23 access requests, the use of qualified researcher 

24 status for commercial gain, or efforts by covered 


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1 platforms to obtain access to intellectual prop2 erty that is otherwise protected by law. 

3 (4) DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF COVERED PLAT4 FORMS.— 

5 (A) ACCESS TO DATA ASSETS.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Assistant Sec7 retary approves an application under para8 graph (1) with respect to a covered plat9 form, the covered platform shall, in a timely 

10 manner, provide the qualified researcher 

11 with access to data assets necessary to con12 duct public interest research described in 

13 that paragraph. 

14 (ii) LIMITATIONS.—Nothing in this 

15 section shall be construed to require a cov16 ered platform to provide access to data as17 sets that are intellectual property protected 

18 by Federal law, trade secrets, or commercial 

19 or financial information. 

20 (iii) FORM OF ACCESS.—A covered 

21 platform shall provide to a qualified re22 searcher access to data assets under clause 

23 (i) through online databases, application 

24 programming interfaces, and data files as 

25 appropriate. 


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1 (B) NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT.—A cov2 ered platform may require, as a condition of ac3 cess to the data assets of the covered platform, 

4 that a qualified researcher enter into a non5 disclosure agreement restricting the release of 

6 data assets, provided that— 

7 (i) the agreement does not restrict the 

8 publication or discussion regarding the 

9 qualified researcher’s findings; and 

10 (ii) the terms of the agreement allow 

11 the qualified researcher to provide the origi12 nal agreement or a copy of the agreement to 

13 the Assistant Secretary. 

14 (C) APPEAL.— 

15 (i) AGENCY APPEAL.—A covered plat16 form may appeal the granting of an appli17 cation under paragraph (1) on the grounds 

18 that, and the Assistant Secretary shall 

19 grant such appeal if— 

20 (I) the covered platform does not 

21 have access to the requested data assets 

22 or the requested data assets are not 

23 reasonably tailored to application; or 

24 (II) providing access to the data 

25 assets will lead to material 


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1 vulnerabilities for the privacy of users 

2 or the security of the covered platform’s 

3 service or create a significant risk of 

4 the violation of Federal or state law. 

5 (ii) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A decision of 

6 the Assistant Secretary with respect to an 

7 appeal under clause (i) shall be considered 

8 to be a final agency action for purposes of 

9 judicial review under chapter 7 of title 5, 

10 United States Code. 

11 (D) TIMING.—A covered platform for which 

12 this provision applies shall participate no later 

13 than two years after enactment of this Act. 

14 (5) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In order to 

15 be approved to access data assets from a covered plat16 form, an eligible researcher shall, in the application 

17 submitted under paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) commit to conduct the research for non19 commercial purposes; 

20 (B) demonstrate a proven record of exper21 tise on the proposed research topic and related 

22 research methodologies; 

23 (C) if the eligible researcher is seeking ac24 cess to data assets that include personal data, 

25 show a reasonable need for access to data assets 


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1 that would be considered personal data, such as 

2 by demonstrating that the research cannot rea3 sonably be accomplished using de-identified data 

4 or aggregated information; and 

5 (D) commit to fulfill, and demonstrate a ca6 pacity to fulfill, the specific data security and 

7 confidentiality requirements corresponding to the 

8 application. 

9 (6) PRIVACY AND DUTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

10 (A) RESEARCHER CONFIDENTIALITY.—To 

11 protect user privacy, a qualified researcher shall 

12 keep data assets provided by a covered platform 

13 under the program confidential and secure. 

14 (B) PLATFORM CONFIDENTIALITY.—A cov15 ered platform shall use reasonable measures to 

16 enable researcher access to data assets under the 

17 program in a secure and privacy-protective 

18 manner, including through the de-identification 

19 of personal data or use of other privacy-enhanc20 ing technologies. 

21 (C) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this 

22 subsection shall be construed to authorize a Fed23 eral agency to seek access to the data of a covered 

24 platform through the program. 


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1 (c) SAFE HARBOR FOR COLLECTION OF DATA FOR

2 PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH REGARDING IDENTIFIED

3 HARMS TO MINORS.—If, in the course of conducting public 

4 interest research regarding harms described in section 3(b) 

5 (without regard to whether such research is conducted under 

6 the program), an eligible researcher collects or uses data 

7 from a covered platform in a manner that violates the terms 

8 of service of the platform, no cause of action based on such 

9 violation shall lie or be maintained in any court against 

10 such researcher unless the violation relates to the failure of 

11 the researcher to take reasonable measures to protect user 

12 privacy and security. 

13 (d) RULEMAKING.—The Assistant Secretary, in con14 sultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of 

15 the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Di16 rector of the National Science Foundation, and the Director 

17 of the National Institutes of Health shall promulgate rules 

18 in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States 

19 Code, as necessary to implement this section. 

20 SEC. 8. MARKET RESEARCH. 

21 (a) MARKET RESEARCH BY COVERED PLATFORMS.— 

22 The Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with the 

23 Secretary of Commerce, shall establish guidance for covered 

24 platforms seeking to conduct market- and product-focused 


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1 research on minors or individuals it reasonably believes to 

2 be minors. Such guidance shall include— 

3 (1) a standard consent form that provides mi4 nors and their parents a clear, conspicuous, and easy5 to-understand explanation of the scope and purpose of 

6 the research to be conducted, and provides an oppor7 tunity for informed consent; and 

8 (2) recommendations for research practices for 

9 studies that may include minors, disaggregated by the 

10 age ranges of 0-5, 6-9, 10-12, and 13-16. 

11 (b) GUIDELINES.—The Federal Trade Commission 

12 shall promulgate such guidelines not later than 18 months 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act. In doing so, they 

14 shall seek input from members of the public and the rep15 resentatives of the Kids Online Safety Council established 

16 under section 12. 

17 SEC. 9. AGE VERIFICATION STUDY AND REPORT. 

18 (a) STUDY.—The Director of the National Institute of 

19 Standards and Technology, in coordination with the Fed20 eral Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commis21 sion, and the Secretary of Commerce, shall conduct a study 

22 evaluating the most technologically feasible methods and op23 tions for developing systems to verify age at the device or 

24 operating system level. 

25 (b) CONTENTS.—Such study shall consider — 


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1 (1) the benefits of creating a device or operating 

2 system level age verification system; 

3 (2) what information may need to be collected to 

4 create this type of age verification system; 

5 (3) the accuracy of such systems and their im6 pact or steps to improve accessibility, including for 

7 individuals with disabilities; 

8 (4) how such a system or systems could verify 

9 age while mitigating risks to user privacy and data 

10 security and safeguarding minors’ personal data, em11 phasizing minimizing the amount of data collected 

12 and processed by covered platforms for such a system; 

13 and 

14 (5) the technical feasibility, including the need 

15 for potential hardware and software changes, includ16 ing for devices currently in commerce and owned by 

17 consumers. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

19 enactment of this Act, the agencies described in subsection 

20 (a) shall submit a report containing the results of the study 

21 conducted under such subsection to the Committee on Com22 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the 

23 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep24 resentatives. 


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1 SEC. 10. GUIDANCE. 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, the Federal Trade Commission, in consultation 

4 with the Kids Online Safety Council established under sec5 tion 12, shall issue guidance to— 

6 (1) assist elementary or secondary schools in 

7 using the notice, safeguards and tools provided under 

8 this Act and facilitate compliance with student pri9 vacy laws; and 

10 (2) provide information and examples for cov11 ered platforms and auditors regarding— 

12 (A) identifying features that are used to in13 crease, sustain, or extend use of the covered plat14 form by a minor; 

15 (B) safeguarding minors against the pos16 sible misuse of parental tools; 

17 (C) best practices in providing minors and 

18 parents the most protective level of control over 

19 privacy and safety; 

20 (D) using indicia or inferences of age of 

21 users for assessing use of the covered platform by 

22 minors; 

23 (E) methods for evaluating the efficacy of 

24 safeguards; and 


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1 (F) providing additional control options 

2 that allow parents to address the harms de3 scribed in section 3(b); and 

4 (3) outline conduct that does not have the pur5 pose or substantial effect of subverting or impairing 

6 user autonomy, decision-making, or choice, or of caus7 ing, increasing, or encouraging compulsive usage for 

8 a minor, such as— 

9 (A) de minimis user interface changes de10 rived from testing consumer preferences, includ11 ing different styles, layouts, or text, where such 

12 changes are not done with the purpose of weak13 ening or disabling safeguards or parental con14 trols; 

15 (B) algorithms or data outputs outside the 

16 control of a covered platform; and 

17 (C) establishing default settings that provide 

18 enhanced privacy protection to users or otherwise 

19 enhance their autonomy and decision-making 

20 ability. 

21 SEC. 11. ENFORCEMENT. 

22 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS23 SION.— 

24 (1) UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC25 TICES.—A violation of this Act or a regulation proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Dec 16, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3663.RS S3663

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1 mulgated under this Act shall be treated as a viola2 tion of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or 

3 practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 

4 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

5 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

6 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

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

8 subsection (b), the Federal Trade Commission 

9 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Commission’’) 

10 shall enforce this Act and any regulation pro11 mulgated under this Act in the same manner, by 

12 the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

13 powers, and duties as though all applicable 

14 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Com15 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor16 porated into and made a part of this Act. 

17 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 

18 person that violates this Act or a regulation pro19 mulgated under this Act shall be subject to the 

20 penalties, and entitled to the privileges and im21 munities, provided in the Federal Trade Com22 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

23 (3) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 

24 Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the 

25 Commission under any other provision of law. 


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1 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

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

4 the attorney general of a State has reason to be5 lieve that an interest of the residents of that 

6 State has been or is threatened or adversely af7 fected by the engagement of any person in a 

8 practice that violates this Act or a regulation 

9 promulgated under this Act, the State, as parens 

10 patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of the 

11 residents of the State in a district court of the 

12 United States or a State court of appropriate ju13 risdiction to— 

14 (i) enjoin that practice; 

15 (ii) enforce compliance with this Act or 

16 such regulation; 

17 (iii) on behalf of residents of the State, 

18 obtain damages, restitution, or other com19 pensation, each of which shall be distributed 

20 in accordance with State law; or 

21 (iv) obtain such other relief as the 

22 court may consider to be appropriate. 

23 (B) NOTICE.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an ac25 tion under subparagraph (A), the attorney 


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1 general of the State involved shall provide 

2 to the Commission— 

3 (I) written notice of that action; 

4 and 

5 (II) a copy of the complaint for 

6 that action. 

7 (ii) EXEMPTION.— 

8 (I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) shall 

9 not apply with respect to the filing of 

10 an action by an attorney general of a 

11 State under this paragraph if the at12 torney general of the State determines 

13 that it is not feasible to provide the no14 tice described in that clause before the 

15 filing of the action. 

16 (II) NOTIFICATION.—In an action 

17 described in subclause (I), the attorney 

18 general of a State shall provide notice 

19 and a copy of the complaint to the 

20 Commission at the same time as the 

21 attorney general files the action. 

22 (2) INTERVENTION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 

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


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1 have the right to intervene in the action that is 

2 the subject of the notice. 

3 (B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 

4 Commission intervenes in an action under para5 graph (1), it shall have the right— 

6 (i) to be heard with respect to any 

7 matter that arises in that action; and 

8 (ii) to file a petition for appeal. 

9 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing 

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

11 Act shall be construed to prevent an attorney general 

12 of a State from exercising the powers conferred on the 

13 attorney general by the laws of that State to— 

14 (A) conduct investigations; 

15 (B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 

16 (C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 

17 the production of documentary and other evi18 dence. 

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

20 in which an action is instituted by or on behalf of the 

21 Commission for violation of this Act or a regulation 

22 promulgated under this Act, no State may, during the 

23 pendency of that action, institute a separate action 

24 under paragraph (1) against any defendant named in 


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1 the complaint in the action instituted by or on behalf 

2 of the Commission for that violation. 

3 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

4 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

5 paragraph (1) may be brought in— 

6 (i) the district court of the United 

7 States that meets applicable requirements 

8 relating to venue under section 1391 of title 

9 28, United States Code; or 

10 (ii) a State court of competent juris11 diction. 

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

13 brought under paragraph (1) in a district court 

14 of the United States, process may be served wher15 ever defendant— 

16 (i) is an inhabitant; or 

17 (ii) may be found. 

18 SEC. 12. KIDS ONLINE SAFETY COUNCIL. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce 

21 shall establish and convene the Kids Online Safety Council 

22 for the purpose of providing advice on matters related to 

23 this Act. 

24 (b) PARTICIPATION.—The Kids Online Safety Council 

25 shall include diverse participation from— 


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1 (1) academic experts, health professionals, and 

2 members of civil society with expertise in mental 

3 health and the prevention of harms to minors; 

4 (2) representatives in academia and civil society 

5 with specific expertise in privacy and civil liberties; 

6 (3) parents and youth representation; 

7 (4) representatives of covered platforms; 

8 (5) representatives of the National Telecommuni9 cations and Information Administration, the Na10 tional Institute of Standards and Technology, the 

11 Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Jus12 tice, and the Department of Health and Human Serv13 ices; 

14 (6) State attorneys general or their designees act15 ing in State or local government; and 

16 (7) representatives of communities of socially 

17 disadvantaged individuals (as defined in section 8 of 

18 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637)). 

19 (c) ACTIVITIES.—The matters to be addressed by the 

20 Kids Online Safety Council shall include— 

21 (1) identifying emerging or current risks of 

22 harms to minors associated with online platforms; 

23 (2) recommending measures and methods for as24 sessing, preventing, and mitigating harms to minors 

25 online; 


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1 (3) recommending methods and themes for con2 ducting research regarding online harms to minors; 

3 and 

4 (4) recommending best practices and clear, con5 sensus-based technical standards for transparency re6 ports and audits, as required under this Act. 

7 The recommended standards for reports and audits under 

8 paragraph (4) shall include methods, criteria, and scope to 

9 promote overall accountability. 

10 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act shall 

12 take effect on the date that is 18 months after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 14. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 

15 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to— 

16 (1) preempt section 444 of the General Edu17 cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g, commonly 

18 known as the ‘‘Family Educational Rights and Pri19 vacy Act of 1974’’) or other Federal or State laws 

20 governing student privacy; or 

21 (2) authorize any action that would conflict with 

22 section 18(h) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

23 (15 U.S.C. 57a(h)). 


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1 SEC. 15. SEVERABILITY. 

2 If any provision of this Act, or an amendment made 

3 by this Act, is determined to be unenforceable or invalid, 

4 the remaining provisions of this Act and the amendments 

5 made by this Act shall not be affected. 


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Calendar No. 660 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3663 

A BILL 

To protect the safety of children on the internet. 

DECEMBER 15, 2022 

Reported with an amendment 


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