II 

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 and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

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’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

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. 


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Sec. 10. Enforcement. 

Sec. 11. Kids Online Safety Council. 

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 13. Effective date. 

Sec. 14. Severability. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) ALGORITHMIC RECOMMENDATION SYS4 TEM.—The term ‘‘algorithmic recommendation sys5 tem’’ means a fully or partially automated system 

6 used to suggest, promote, or rank information. 

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

8 platform’’ means a commercial software application 

9 or electronic service that connects to the internet 

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

11 by a minor. 

12 (3) MINOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an indi13 vidual who is age 16 or younger. 

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

15 legal guardian or an individual with legal custody 

16 over a child. 

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

18 data’’ means information that identifies or is linked 

19 or reasonably linkable to an individual, household, or 

20 consumer device. 


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1 SEC. 3. DUTY OF CARE. 

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

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

4 platform’s products or services. 

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

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

7 duty to prevent and mitigate the heightened risks of phys8 ical, emotional, developmental, or material harms to mi9 nors posed by materials on, or engagement with, the plat10 form, including— 

11 (1) promotion of self-harm, suicide, eating dis12 orders, substance abuse, and other matters that pose 

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

14 (2) patterns of use that indicate or encourage 

15 addiction-like behaviors; 

16 (3) physical harm, online bullying, and harass17 ment of a minor; 

18 (4) sexual exploitation, including enticement, 

19 grooming, sex trafficking, and sexual abuse of mi20 nors and trafficking of online child sexual abuse ma21 terial; 

22 (5) promotion and marketing of products or 

23 services that are unlawful for minors, such as illegal 

24 drugs, tobacco, gambling, or alcohol; and 

25 (6) predatory, unfair, or deceptive marketing 

26 practices. 


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1 SEC. 4. SAFEGUARDS FOR MINORS. 

2 (a) SAFEGUARDS FOR MINORS.— 

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

4 provide a minor, or a parent acting on a minor’s be5 half, with readily accessible and easy-to-use safe6 guards to control their experience and personal data 

7 on the covered platform, including settings to— 

8 (A) limit the ability of other individuals to 

9 contact or find a minor, in particular adults 

10 with no relationship to the minor; 

11 (B) prevent other individuals from viewing 

12 the minor’s personal data collected by or shared 

13 on the covered platform, in particular restrict14 ing public access to personal data; 

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

16 extend use of the covered platform by a minor, 

17 such as automatic playing of media, rewards for 

18 time spent on the platform, and notifications; 

19 (D) opt out of algorithmic recommendation 

20 systems that use a minor’s personal data; 

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

22 removal of personal data; 

23 (F) restrict the sharing of the geolocation 

24 of a minor and to provide notice regarding the 

25 tracking of a minor’s geolocation; and 


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1 (G) limit time spent by a minor on the cov2 ered platform. 

3 (2) DEFAULT SAFEGUARD SETTINGS FOR MI4 NORS.—A covered platform shall provide that, in the 

5 case of a user that the platform knows or reasonably 

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

7 safeguard described under paragraph (1) shall be 

8 the strongest option available. 

9 (3) ACCESSIBILITY FOR MINORS.—With respect 

10 to safeguards described under paragraph (1), a cov11 ered platform shall provide information and control 

12 options in a manner that is age appropriate and 

13 does not encourage minors to weaken or turn off 

14 safeguards. 

15 (b) PARENTAL TOOLS.— 

16 (1) PARENTAL TOOLS.—A covered platform 

17 shall provide readily accessible and easy-to-use pa18 rental tools for parents to appropriately supervise 

19 the use of the covered platform by a minor. 

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The parental tools pro21 vided by a 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; 

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

4 the platform; 

5 (D) a clear and conspicuous mechanism for 

6 parents to opt out of or turn off any default pa7 rental tools put in place by the covered plat8 form; and 

9 (E) access to other information regarding 

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

11 options necessary to a parent’s ability to ad12 dress the harms described in section 3(b). 

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

14 shall provide clear and conspicuous notice to a minor 

15 when parental tools are in effect. 

16 (4) DEFAULT PARENTAL TOOLS.—A covered 

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

18 that the platform knows or reasonably believes to be 

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

20 (c) REPORTING MECHANISM.— 

21 (1) PARENTAL REPORTS.—A covered platform 

22 shall provide minors and parents with— 

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

24 means to submit reports of harms to a minor, 

25 including harms described in section 3(b); 


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1 (B) an electronic point of contact specific 

2 to matters involving harms to a minor; and 

3 (C) confirmation of the receipt of such a 

4 report and a means to track a submitted report. 

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

6 an internal process to receive and respond to reports 

7 in a reasonable and timely manner. 

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

9 not facilitate the advertising of products or services to mi10 nors that are illegal to sell to minors based on applicable 

11 State or Federal law. 

12 SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE. 

13 (a) NOTICE.— 

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

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

16 platform shall provide clear, accessible, and easy-to17 understand— 

18 (A) notice of the policies and practices of 

19 the covered platform with respect to personal 

20 data and safeguards for minors; 

21 (B) information about how to access the 

22 safeguards and parental tools required under 

23 section 4; and 

24 (C) notice about whether the covered plat25 form, including any algorithmic recommendaVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Feb 19, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3663.IS S3663

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1 tion systems used by the platform, pose any 

2 heightened risks of harm to a minor, including 

3 harms described in section 3(b). 

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

5 an individual that a covered platform reasonably be6 lieves is a minor, a covered platform shall addition7 ally provide the notice, information, and statement 

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

9 (3) ACKNOWLEDGMENT.—After providing the 

10 notice, information, and statement described in 

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

12 platform, the covered platform shall obtain acknowl13 edgment from a minor, or a parent of the minor, of 

14 the receipt of information related to the heightened 

15 risks of harm to minors referenced in the statement 

16 in paragraph (1)(C). 

17 (b) ALGORITHMIC RECOMMENDATION SYSTEM.—A 

18 covered platform that uses an algorithmic recommenda19 tion system shall set out in its terms and conditions, in 

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

21 (1) an overview of how algorithmic rec22 ommendation systems are used by the covered plat23 form to provide information to users of the platform 

24 who are minors, including how such systems use per25 sonal data belonging to minors; and 


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1 (2) options for minors or their parents to mod2 ify the results of the algorithmic recommendation 

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

4 types or categories of recommendations. 

5 (c) ADVERTISING AND MARKETING.—A covered plat6 form that facilitates advertising aimed at minors shall pro7 vide clear, accessible, and easy-to-understand information 

8 and labels regarding— 

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

10 and the subject matter of an advertisement or mar11 keting material; 

12 (2) why the minor is being targeted for a par13 ticular advertisement or marketing material if the 

14 covered platform engages in targeted advertising, in15 cluding meaningful information about how the per16 sonal data of the minor was used to target the ad17 vertisement or marketing material; and 

18 (3) whether particular media displayed to a 

19 user is an advertisement or marketing material, in20 cluding disclosure of endorsements of products, serv21 ices, or brands made for commercial consideration 

22 by other users of the platform. 

23 (d) RESOURCES FOR PARENTS AND MINORS.—A cov24 ered platform shall provide to minors and parents clear, 


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1 accessible, easy-to-understand, and comprehensive infor2 mation in a prominent location regarding— 

3 (1) its policies and practices with respect to 

4 personal data and safeguards for minors; and 

5 (2) how to access the safeguards and parental 

6 tools required under section 4. 

7 SEC. 6. TRANSPARENCY. 

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

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

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

11 report identifying the foreseeable risks of harm to 

12 minors based on an independent, third-party audit 

13 conducted through reasonable inspection of the cov14 ered platform and describe the prevention and miti15 gation measures taken to address such risks. 

16 (2) CONTENT.— 

17 (A) TRANSPARENCY.—The public reports 

18 required of a covered platform under this sec19 tion shall include— 

20 (i) an assessment of whether the cov21 ered platform is reasonably likely to be 

22 accessed by minors; 

23 (ii) a description of the commercial in24 terests of the covered platform in use by 

25 minors; 


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1 (iii) an accounting of the number of 

2 individuals using the covered platform rea3 sonably believed to be minors in the United 

4 States, disaggregated by the age ranges of 

5 0–5, 6–9, 10–12, and 13–16; 

6 (iv) an accounting of the time spent 

7 by the median and average minor in the 

8 United States on a daily, weekly, and 

9 monthly basis, disaggregated by the age 

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

11 (v) an accounting, disaggregated by 

12 category of harm, of— 

13 (I) the total number of reports of 

14 the dissemination of illegal or harmful 

15 content involving minors; and 

16 (II) the prevalence of content 

17 that is illegal or harmful to minors; 

18 and 

19 (vi) a description of any material 

20 breaches of parental tools or assurances re21 garding minors, unexpected use of the per22 sonal data of minors, and other matters re23 garding non-compliance. 


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1 (B) SYSTEMIC RISKS ASSESSMENT.—The 

2 public reports required of a covered platform 

3 under this section shall include— 

4 (i) an audit of the known and emerg5 ing risks to minors posed by the covered 

6 platform, including the harms described in 

7 section 3(b); 

8 (ii) an assessment of how algorithmic 

9 recommendation systems and targeted ad10 vertising systems can contribute to harms 

11 to minors; 

12 (iii) a description of whether and how 

13 the covered platform uses system design 

14 features to increase, sustain, or extend use 

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

16 automatic playing of media, rewards for 

17 time spent, and notifications; 

18 (iv) a description of whether, how, 

19 and for what purpose the platform collects 

20 or processes geolocation, contact informa21 tion, health data, or other categories of 

22 personal data of heightened concern re23 garding minors, as determined by the 

24 Commission; 


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1 (v) an evaluation of the efficacy and 

2 any issues in delivering safeguards to mi3 nors under section 4; and 

4 (vi) an evaluation of any other rel5 evant matters of public concern over risks 

6 to minors. 

7 (C) MITIGATION.—The public reports re8 quired of a covered platform under this section 

9 shall include— 

10 (i) a description of the safeguards and 

11 parental tools available to minors and par12 ents on the covered platform; 

13 (ii) a description of interventions by 

14 the covered platform when it had or has 

15 reason to believe that harm could occur to 

16 minors; 

17 (iii) a description of the prevention 

18 and mitigation measures intended to be 

19 taken in response to the known and emerg20 ing risks identified in its audit of system 

21 risks, including steps taken to— 

22 (I) adapt or remove system de23 sign features that expose minors to 

24 risks; 


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1 (II) set safeguards to their most 

2 safe settings by default; 

3 (III) prevent the presence of ille4 gal and illicit content on the covered 

5 platform; and 

6 (IV) adapt algorithmic rec7 ommendation system to prioritize the 

8 best interests of users who are mi9 nors; 

10 (iv) a description of internal processes 

11 for handling reports and automated detec12 tion mechanisms for harms to minors, in13 cluding the rate, timeliness, and effective14 ness of responses under the requirement of 

15 section 4(c); 

16 (v) the status of implementing preven17 tion and mitigation measures identified in 

18 prior assessments; and 

19 (vi) a description of the additional 

20 measures to be taken by the covered plat21 form to address the circumvention of safe22 guards and parental tools. 

23 (3) REASONABLE INSPECTION.—In conducting 

24 an inspection of the systemic risks of harm to mi25 nors, a covered platform shall— 


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1 (A) take into consideration the function of 

2 algorithmic recommendation systems; 

3 (B) consult parents, experts, and civil soci4 ety with respect to the prevention of harms to 

5 minors; 

6 (C) conduct research based on experiences 

7 of minors that use the covered platform, includ8 ing harms reported under section 4(c); 

9 (D) take account of research, including re10 search regarding system design features, mar11 keting, or product integrity, industry best prac12 tices, or outside research; and 

13 (E) consider indicia or inferences of age of 

14 users, in addition to any self-declared informa15 tion about the age of individuals. 

16 (4) PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS.—In issuing the pub17 lic reports required under this section, a covered 

18 platform shall take steps to safeguard the privacy of 

19 its users, including ensuring that data is presented 

20 in a de-anonymized, aggregated format. 

21 SEC. 7. INDEPENDENT RESEARCH. 

22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist24 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 

25 Commerce for Communications and Information. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE RESEARCHER.—The term ‘‘eligi2 ble researcher’’ means an individual or group of in3 dividuals affiliated with or employed by— 

4 (A) an institution of higher education (as 

5 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

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

7 (B) a nonprofit organization, including any 

8 organization described in section 501(c) of the 

9 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

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

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

12 (4) PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH.—The term 

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

14 historical analysis of information that is performed 

15 for the primary purpose of advancing a broadly rec16 ognized public interest. 

17 (5) QUALIFIED RESEARCHER.—The term 

18 ‘‘qualified researcher’’ means an eligible researcher 

19 who is approved by the Assistant Secretary to con20 duct public interest research regarding harms to mi21 nors under the Program. 

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

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant Secretary 

24 shall establish a program under which an eligible re25 searcher may apply for, and a covered platform shall 


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1 provide, access to data assets from the covered plat2 form for the sole purpose of conducting public inter3 est research regarding harms to the safety and well4 being of minors, including matters described in sec5 tion 3(b). 

6 (2) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—In order to 

7 be approved to access data assets from a covered 

8 platform, an eligible researcher shall, in the applica9 tion submitted under paragraph (1)— 

10 (A) conduct the research for noncommer11 cial purposes; 

12 (B) demonstrate a proven record of exper13 tise on the proposed research topic and related 

14 research methodologies; and 

15 (C) commit to fulfill, and demonstrate a 

16 capacity to fulfill, the specific data security and 

17 confidentiality requirements corresponding to 

18 the application. 

19 (3) DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF COVERED PLAT20 FORMS.— 

21 (A) ACCESS TO DATA ASSETS.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Assistant 

23 Secretary approves an application under 

24 paragraph (1) with respect to a covered 

25 platform, the covered platform shall, in a 


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1 timely manner, provide the qualified re2 searcher with access to data assets nec3 essary to conduct public interest research 

4 described in that paragraph. 

5 (ii) FORM OF ACCESS.—A covered 

6 platform shall provide to a qualified re7 searcher access to data assets under clause 

8 (i) through online databases, application 

9 programming interfaces, and data files as 

10 appropriate for the qualified researcher to 

11 undertake public interest research. 

12 (B) NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT.—A 

13 covered platform may require, as a condition of 

14 access to the data assets of the covered plat15 form, that a qualified researcher enter into a 

16 nondisclosure agreement regarding the release 

17 of data assets, provided that— 

18 (i) the agreement does not restrict the 

19 publication of the qualified researcher’s 

20 findings; and 

21 (ii) the terms of the agreement allow 

22 the qualified researcher to provide the 

23 original agreement or a copy of the agree24 ment to the Assistant Secretary. 


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1 (C) APPEAL.—A covered platform may ap2 peal the granting of an application under para3 graph (1) on the grounds that, and the Assist4 ant Secretary shall grant such appeal if— 

5 (i) the covered platform does not have 

6 access to the requested data assets; or 

7 (ii) providing access to the data assets 

8 will lead to significant vulnerabilities in the 

9 security of the covered platform’s service. 

10 (4) PROCESSES, PROCEDURES, AND STAND11 ARDS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en12 actment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall es13 tablish— 

14 (A)(i) a process by which an eligible re15 searcher may submit an application described in 

16 paragraph (1); and 

17 (ii) an appeals process for eligible research18 ers to appeal adverse decisions on applications 

19 described in paragraph (1) (including a decision 

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

21 (B) procedures for implementation of the 

22 Program, including methods for— 

23 (i) participation by covered platforms; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) verification by the Assistant Sec2 retary of the credentials of eligible re3 searchers; 

4 (C) standards for privacy, security, and 

5 confidentiality required to participate in the 

6 Program; and 

7 (D) standards for transparency regarding 

8 the operation and administration of the Pro9 gram. 

10 (5) DUTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY.—To protect 

11 user privacy, a qualified researcher shall have a duty 

12 of confidentiality with respect to data assets pro13 vided by a covered platform, which may be defined 

14 by the Assistant Secretary. 

15 (6) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this sub16 section shall be construed to authorize a Federal 

17 agency to seek access to the data of a covered plat18 form through the Program. 

19 (c) SAFE HARBOR FOR INDEPENDENT COLLEC20 TION.—With respect to public interest research conducted 

21 regarding harms to minors, including matters described 

22 in section 3(b), no cause of action related to terms of serv23 ice violations undertaken while collecting data assets in 

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

25 any court against the researcher conducting the research. 


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1 (d) RULEMAKING.—The Assistant Secretary, in con2 sultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the Director 

3 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

4 shall promulgate rules in accordance with section 553 of 

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

6 section. 

7 SEC. 8. MARKET RESEARCH. 

8 (a) MARKET RESEARCH BY COVERED PLATFORMS.— 

9 The Federal Trade Commission, in coordination with the 

10 Secretary of Commerce, shall establish guidelines for cov11 ered platforms seeking to conduct market- and product12 focused research on minors or individuals it reasonably be13 lieves to be minors. Such guidelines shall include— 

14 (1) a standard consent form that provides mi15 nors and their parents a clear and easy-to-under16 stand explanation of the scope and purpose of the 

17 research to be conducted, and provides an oppor18 tunity for informed consent; and 

19 (2) recommendations for research practices for 

20 studies that may include minors, disaggregated by 

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

22 17. 

23 (b) GUIDELINES.—The Federal Trade Commission 

24 shall promulgate such guidelines not later than 18 months 

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


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1 shall seek input from members of the public and the rep2 resentatives of the Kids Online Safety Council established 

3 under section 11. 

4 SEC. 9. AGE VERIFICATION STUDY AND REPORT. 

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

6 of Standards and Technology, in coordination with the 

7 Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade 

8 Commission, and the Secretary of Commerce, shall con9 duct a study evaluating the most technologically feasible 

10 options for developing systems to verify age at the device 

11 or operating system level. 

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

13 (1) the benefits of creating a device or oper14 ating system level age verification system; 

15 (2) what information may need to be collected 

16 to create this type of age verification system; 

17 (3) the accuracy of such systems and their im18 pact or steps to improve accessibility, including for 

19 individuals with disabilities; 

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

21 age while mitigating risks to user privacy and data 

22 security and safeguarding minors’ personal data; 

23 and 

24 (5) the technical feasibility, including the need 

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1 ing for devices currently in commerce and owned by 

2 consumers. 

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

4 of enactment of this Act, the agencies described in sub5 section (a) shall submit a report containing the results of 

6 the study conducted under such subsection to the Com7 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

8 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

9 the House of Representatives. 

10 SEC. 10. ENFORCEMENT. 

11 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS12 SION.— 

13 (1) UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC14 TICES.—A violation of this Act or a regulation pro15 mulgated under this Act by any person shall be 

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

17 deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 

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

19 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

20 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

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

22 subparagraph (B) and subsection (b), the Fed23 eral Trade Commission (referred to in this sec24 tion as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall enforce this 

25 Act and any regulation promulgated under this 


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

2 and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and du3 ties as though all applicable terms and provi4 sions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 

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

6 made a part of this Act. 

7 (B) APPLICATION TO COMMON CARRIERS

8 AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—Notwith9 standing section 4, 5(a)(2), or 6 of the Federal 

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

11 46) or any jurisdictional limitation of the Com12 mission, the Commission shall also enforce this 

13 Act and the regulations promulgated under this 

14 Act, in the manner provided under this sub15 section, with respect to— 

16 (i) common carriers subject to the 

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

18 151 et seq.) and all Acts amendatory 

19 thereof and supplementary thereto; and 

20 (ii) organizations not organized to 

21 carry on business for their own profit or 

22 that of their members. 

23 (C) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 

24 person that violates this Act or a regulation 

25 promulgated under this Act shall be subject to 


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1 the penalties, and entitled to the privileges and 

2 immunities, provided in the Federal Trade 

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

4 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Commission may pro5 mulgate regulations under section 553 of title 5, 

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

7 6 of this Act. 

8 (4) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this 

9 section shall be construed to limit the authority of 

10 the Commission under any other provision of law. 

11 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN12 ERAL.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

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

15 the attorney general of a State has reason to 

16 believe that an interest of the residents of that 

17 State has been or is threatened or adversely af18 fected by the engagement of any person in a 

19 practice that violates this Act or a regulation 

20 promulgated under this Act, the State, as 

21 parens patriae, may bring a civil action on be22 half of the residents of the State in a district 

23 court of the United States or a State court of 

24 appropriate jurisdiction to— 

25 (i) enjoin that practice; 


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1 (ii) enforce compliance with this Act 

2 or such regulation; 

3 (iii) on behalf of residents of the 

4 State, obtain damages, statutory damages, 

5 restitution, or other compensation, each of 

6 which shall be distributed in accordance 

7 with State law; or 

8 (iv) obtain such other relief as the 

9 court may consider to be appropriate. 

10 (B) NOTICE.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an ac12 tion under subparagraph (A), the attorney 

13 general of the State involved shall provide 

14 to the Commission— 

15 (I) written notice of that action; 

16 and 

17 (II) a copy of the complaint for 

18 that action. 

19 (ii) EXEMPTION.— 

20 (I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

21 shall not apply with respect to the fil22 ing of an action by an attorney gen23 eral of a State under this paragraph 

24 if the attorney general of the State 

25 determines that it is not feasible to 


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1 provide the notice described in that 

2 clause before the filing of the action. 

3 (II) NOTIFICATION.—In an ac4 tion described in subclause (I), the at5 torney general of a State shall provide 

6 notice and a copy of the complaint to 

7 the Commission at the same time as 

8 the attorney general files the action. 

9 (2) INTERVENTION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 

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

12 have the right to intervene in the action that is 

13 the subject of the notice. 

14 (B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 

15 Commission intervenes in an action under para16 graph (1), it shall have the right— 

17 (i) to be heard with respect to any 

18 matter that arises in that action; and 

19 (ii) to file a petition for appeal. 

20 (3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing 

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

22 Act shall be construed to prevent an attorney gen23 eral of a State from exercising the powers conferred 

24 on the attorney general by the laws of that State 

25 to— 


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1 (A) conduct investigations; 

2 (B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 

3 (C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 

4 the production of documentary and other evi5 dence. 

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

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

8 of the Commission for violation of this Act or a reg9 ulation promulgated under this Act, no State may, 

10 during the pendency of that action, institute an ac11 tion under paragraph (1) against any defendant 

12 named in the complaint in the action instituted by 

13 or on behalf of the Commission for that violation. 

14 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

15 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

16 paragraph (1) may be brought in— 

17 (i) the district court of the United 

18 States that meets applicable requirements 

19 relating to venue under section 1391 of 

20 title 28, United States Code; or 

21 (ii) a State court of competent juris22 diction. 

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

24 brought under paragraph (1) in a district court 


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1 of the United States, process may be served 

2 wherever defendant— 

3 (i) is an inhabitant; or 

4 (ii) may be found. 

5 SEC. 11. KIDS ONLINE SAFETY COUNCIL. 

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

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Com8 merce shall establish and convene the Kids Online Safety 

9 Council for the purpose of providing advice on the imple10 mentation of this Act. 

11 (b) PARTICIPATION.—The Kids Online Safety Coun12 cil shall include participation from— 

13 (1) parents, academic experts, health profes14 sionals, and members of civil society with respect to 

15 the prevention of harms to minors; 

16 (2) youth representation; 

17 (3) representatives of covered platforms; 

18 (4) representatives of the National Tele19 communications and Information Administration, 

20 the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

21 the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department 

22 of Justice; and 

23 (5) State attorneys general or their representa24 tives. 


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1 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fed3 eral Trade Commission such sums as may be necessary 

4 to carry out this Act. 

5 SEC. 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act 

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

8 date of enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 14. SEVERABILITY. 

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

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

12 the remaining provisions of this Act and the amendments 

13 made by this Act shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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