II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4201 

To establish a new Federal body to provide reasonable oversight and 

regulation of digital platforms. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 12, 2022 

Mr. BENNET introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a new Federal body to provide reasonable 

oversight and regulation of digital platforms. 

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 ‘‘Digital Platform Commission Act of 2022’’. 

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. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Establishment of Federal Digital Platform Commission. 

Sec. 5. Jurisdiction. 

Sec. 6. Organization and general powers. 

Sec. 7. Organization and functioning of the Commission. 


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Sec. 8. Code Council. 

Sec. 9. Rulemaking authority, requirements, and considerations. 

Sec. 10. Systemically important digital platforms. 

Sec. 11. Inter-agency support. 

Sec. 12. Petitions. 

Sec. 13. Research. 

Sec. 14. Investigative authority. 

Sec. 15. HSR filings. 

Sec. 16. Enforcement by private persons and governmental entities. 

Sec. 17. Enforcement by Commission and Department of Justice. 

Sec. 18. Proceedings to enjoin, set aside, annul, or suspend orders of the Commission. 

Sec. 19. Report to Congress. 

Sec. 20. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In the United States and around the world, 

4 digital platforms and online services play a central 

5 role in modern life by providing new tools for com6 munication, commerce, entrepreneurship, and de7 bate. 

8 (2) The United States takes pride in the suc9 cess of its technology sector, which leads the world 

10 in innovation and dynamism, provides valuable serv11 ices to the people of the United States, and supports 

12 thousands of good-paying jobs in the United States. 

13 (3) In recent years, a few digital platforms have 

14 benefitted from the combination of economies of 

15 scale, network effects, and unique characteristics of 

16 the digital marketplace to achieve vast power over 

17 the economy, society, and democracy of the United 

18 States. 


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1 (4) The last time Congress enacted legislation 

2 to meaningfully regulate the technology or tele3 communications sector was the Telecommunications 

4 Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–104; 110 Stat 56.), 

5 years before many of today’s largest digital plat6 forms even existed. 

7 (5) Digital platforms remain largely unregu8 lated and are left to write their own rules without 

9 meaningful democratic input or accountability. 

10 (6) The unregulated policies and operations of 

11 some of the most powerful digital platforms have at 

12 times produced demonstrable harm, including— 

13 (A) undercutting small businesses; 

14 (B) abetting the collapse of trusted local 

15 journalism; 

16 (C) enabling addiction and other harms to 

17 the mental health of the people of the United 

18 States, especially minors; 

19 (D) disseminating disinformation and hate 

20 speech; 

21 (E) undermining privacy and monetizing 

22 the personal data of individuals in the United 

23 States without their informed consent; and 

24 (F) in some cases, radicalizing individuals 

25 to violence. 


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1 (7) The failure of the United States Govern2 ment to establish appropriate regulations for digital 

3 platforms cedes to foreign competitors the historic 

4 role played by the United States in setting reason5 able rules of the road and technical standards for 

6 emerging technologies. 

7 (8) Throughout the history of the United 

8 States, Congress has often responded to the emer9 gence of powerful and complex new sectors of the 

10 economy by empowering sector-specific expert Fed11 eral regulators. 

12 (9) Throughout the history of the United 

13 States, the Federal Government has established rea14 sonable regulation, consistent with the First Amend15 ment to the Constitution of the United States, to 

16 promote a diversity of viewpoints, support civic en17 gagement, and preserve the right of citizens to com18 municate with each other, which is foundational to 

19 self-governance. 

20 (10) The unique power and complexity of sev21 eral digital platforms, combined with the absence of 

22 modern Federal regulations, reinforces the need for 

23 a new Federal body equipped with the authorities, 

24 tools, and expertise to regulate digital platforms to 


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1 ensure their operations remain consistent, where ap2 propriate, with the public interest. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the Federal agency established under this Act 

5 should— 

6 (1) develop appropriate regulations and policies 

7 grounded in the common law principles of the duty 

8 of care and the duty to deal, insofar as those prin9 ciples are relevant and practical; and 

10 (2) adopt, where relevant and practical, a risk 

11 management regulatory approach that prioritizes an12 ticipating, limiting, and balancing against other in13 terests the broad economic, societal, and political 

14 risks of harm posed by the activities and operations 

15 of a person or class of persons. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) ALGORITHMIC PROCESS.—The term ‘‘algo19 rithmic process’’ means a computational process, in20 cluding one derived from machine learning or other 

21 artificial intelligence techniques, that processes per22 sonal information or other data for the purpose of 

23 determining the order or manner in which a set of 

24 information is provided, recommended to, or with25 held from a user of a digital platform, including— 


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1 (A) the provision of commercial content; 

2 (B) the display of social media posts; 

3 (C) the display of search results or 

4 rankings; or 

5 (D) any other method of automated deci6 sion making, content selection, or content am7 plification. 

8 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

9 means the Federal Digital Platform Commission es10 tablished under section 4. 

11 (3) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

12 Code Council established under section 8(a). 

13 (4) DIGITAL PLATFORM.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘digital plat15 form’’ means an online service that serves as an 

16 intermediary facilitating interactions— 

17 (i) between users; and 

18 (ii) between users and— 

19 (I) entities offering goods and 

20 services through the online service; or 

21 (II) the online service with re22 spect to goods and services offered di23 rectly by the online service. 

24 (B) DE MINIMIS EXCEPTION.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

2 subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), the term ‘‘digital 

3 platform’’ does not include an entity that 

4 offers goods and services to the public on5 line if the offering of goods and services 

6 online is a de minimis part of the entity’s 

7 overall business. 

8 (ii) ONLINE SERVICES THAT DO NOT

9 QUALIFY FOR DE MINIMIS EXCEPTION.— 

10 Notwithstanding clause (i), if an online 

11 service described in subparagraph 

12 (A)(ii)(II) is owned by an entity but is of13 fered through an affiliate, partnership, or 

14 joint venture of, or is otherwise segregable 

15 from, the entity— 

16 (I) the online service shall be 

17 considered a digital platform; and 

18 (II) the entity shall not be con19 sidered a digital platform. 

20 (C) SMALL DIGITAL PLATFORM BUSI21 NESSES.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘digital 

23 platform’’ does not include a small digital 

24 platform business, except as provided in 

25 clause (iii). 


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1 (ii) SBA RULEMAKING.—Not later 

2 than 180 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Administrator of the Small 

4 Business Administration shall by regula5 tion define the term ‘‘small digital plat6 form business’’ for purposes of clause (i). 

7 (iii) NON-APPLICABILITY TO SYSTEM8 ICALLY IMPORTANT DIGITAL PLAT9 FORMS.—Clause (i) shall not apply to a 

10 systemically important digital platform. 

11 (D) NEWS ORGANIZATIONS.—The term 

12 ‘‘digital platform’’ does not include an entity 

13 whose primary purpose is the delivery to the 

14 public of news that the entity writes, edits, and 

15 reports. 

16 (5) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.—The term 

17 ‘‘immediate family member’’, with respect to an indi18 vidual, means a spouse, parent, sibling, or child of 

19 the individual. 

20 (6) ONLINE SERVICE.—The term ‘‘online serv21 ice’’ includes a consumer-facing website, back-end 

22 online-support system, or other facilitator of online 

23 transactions and activities. 

24 (7) SYSTEMICALLY IMPORTANT DIGITAL PLAT25 FORM.—The term ‘‘systemically important digital 


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1 platform’’ means a digital platform that the Com2 mission has designated as a systemically important 

3 digital platform under section 10. 

4 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF FEDERAL DIGITAL PLATFORM 

5 COMMISSION. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com7 mission to be known as the ‘‘Federal Digital Platform 

8 Commission’’, which shall— 

9 (1) be constituted as provided in this Act; and 

10 (2) execute and enforce the provisions of this 

11 Act. 

12 (b) PURPOSES OF COMMISSION.—The purpose of the 

13 Commission is to regulate digital platforms, consistent 

14 with the public interest, convenience, and necessity, to pro15 mote to all the people of the United States, so far as pos16 sible, the following: 

17 (1) Access to digital platforms for civic engage18 ment and economic and educational opportunities. 

19 (2) Access to government services and public 

20 safety. 

21 (3) Competition to encourage the creation of 

22 new online services and innovation, and to provide to 

23 consumers benefits such as lower prices and better 

24 quality of service. 


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1 (4) Prevention of harmful levels of concentra2 tion of private power over critical digital infrastruc3 ture. 

4 (5) A robust and competitive marketplace of 

5 ideas with a diversity of views at the local, State, 

6 and national levels. 

7 (6) Protection for consumers from deceptive, 

8 unfair, unjust, unreasonable, or abusive practices 

9 committed by digital platforms. 

10 (7) Assurance that the algorithmic processes of 

11 digital platforms are fair, transparent, and safe. 

12 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act, 

13 or any amendment made by this Act, shall be construed 

14 to modify, impair, or supersede the applicability of any 

15 antitrust laws. 

16 SEC. 5. JURISDICTION. 

17 (a) PLENARY JURISDICTION.—The Commission shall 

18 have jurisdiction over any digital platform, the services of 

19 which— 

20 (1) originate or are received within the United 

21 States; and 

22 (2) affect interstate or foreign commerce. 

23 (b) PROVISIONS RELATIVE TO SYSTEMICALLY IM24 PORTANT DIGITAL PLATFORMS.—Not later than 180 days 

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1 missioners have been confirmed, the Commission shall de2 termine whether to issue rules, with input from the Code 

3 Council as appropriate, to establish for systemically impor4 tant digital platforms— 

5 (1) commercial and technical standards for— 

6 (A) data portability; and 

7 (B) interoperability, which shall be defined 

8 as the functionality of information systems to— 

9 (i) exchange data; and 

10 (ii) enable sharing of information; 

11 (2) requirements for recommendation systems 

12 and other algorithmic processes of systemically im13 portant digital platforms to ensure that the algo14 rithmic processes are fair, transparent, and without 

15 harmful, abusive, anticompetitive, or deceptive bias; 

16 (3) transparency requirements for terms of 

17 service, including content moderation policies; 

18 (4) requirements for regular public risk assess19 ments of the distribution of harmful content on a 

20 systemically important digital platform and steps the 

21 systemically important digital platform has taken, or 

22 plans to take, to mitigate those harms; 

23 (5) transparency and disclosure obligations to 

24 enable— 

25 (A) oversight by the Commission; 


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1 (B) third-party audits to ensure the accu2 racy of any public risk assessments required 

3 under paragraph (4); and 

4 (C) trusted third-party research in the 

5 public interest; and 

6 (6) commercial and technical standards to en7 sure accessibility to individuals with a disability, as 

8 defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabil9 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102), including to 

10 provide the ability for an individual who has a hear11 ing impairment, speech impairment, or vision im12 pairment to engage with systemically important dig13 ital platforms in a manner that is functionally equiv14 alent to the ability of an individual who does not 

15 have a hearing impairment, speech impairment, or 

16 vision impairment to engage with systemically im17 portant digital platforms. 

18 (c) FORBEARANCE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may for20 bear from exercising jurisdiction over a digital plat21 form or class of digital platforms based on size, rev22 enue, market share, or other attributes the Commis23 sion determines appropriate. 

24 (2) FLEXIBILITY.—The Commission may re25 assert jurisdiction over a digital platform or class of 


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1 digital platform over which the Commission forbore 

2 from exercising jurisdiction under paragraph (1). 

3 SEC. 6. ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL POWERS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com5 posed of 5 Commissioners appointed by the President, by 

6 and with the advice and consent of the Senate, one of 

7 whom the President shall designate as chair. 

8 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

9 (1) CITIZENSHIP.—Each member of the Com10 mission shall be a citizen of the United States. 

11 (2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graphs (B) and (C), no member of the Commis14 sion or person employed by the Commission, 

15 and no immediate family member thereof, 

16 shall— 

17 (i) be financially interested in— 

18 (I) any person significantly regu19 lated by the Commission under this 

20 Act; or 

21 (II) a third party in direct and 

22 substantial competition with a person 

23 described in subclause (I); or 

24 (ii) be employed by, hold any official 

25 relation to, or own any stocks, bonds, or 


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1 other securities of, any person or third 

2 party described in clause (i). 

3 (B) SIGNIFICANT INTEREST.—The prohibi4 tions under subparagraph (A) shall apply only 

5 to financial interests in any company or other 

6 entity that has a significant interest in activi7 ties subject to regulation by the Commission. 

8 (C) WAIVER.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 

10 208 of title 18, United States Code, the 

11 Commission may waive, from time to time, 

12 the application of the prohibitions under 

13 subparagraph (A) to persons employed by 

14 the Commission, or immediate family 

15 members thereof, if the Commission deter16 mines that the financial interests of a per17 son that are involved in a particular case 

18 are minimal. 

19 (ii) NO WAIVER FOR COMMIS20 SIONERS.—The waiver authority under 

21 clause (i) shall not apply with respect to 

22 members of the Commission. 

23 (iii) PUBLICATION.—If the Commis24 sion exercises the waiver authority under 

25 clause (i), the Commission shall publish 


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1 notice of that action in the Federal Reg2 ister. 

3 (3) DETERMINATION OF SIGNIFICANT INTER4 EST.—The Commission, in determining for purposes 

5 of paragraph (2) whether a company or other entity 

6 has a significant interest in activities that are sub7 ject to regulation by the Commission, shall consider, 

8 without excluding other relevant factors— 

9 (A) the revenues, investments, profits, and 

10 managerial efforts directed to the related activi11 ties of the company or other entity, as com12 pared to the other aspects of the business of the 

13 company or other entity; 

14 (B) the extent to which the Commission 

15 regulates and oversees the activities of the com16 pany or other entity; 

17 (C) the degree to which the economic inter18 ests of the company or other entity may be af19 fected by any action of the Commission; and 

20 (D) the perceptions held by the public re21 garding the business activities of the company 

22 or other entity. 

23 (4) NO OTHER EMPLOYMENT.—A member of 

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1 ness, vocation, profession, or employment while serv2 ing as a member of the Commission. 

3 (5) POLITICAL PARTIES.—The maximum num4 ber of commissioners who may be members of the 

5 same political party shall be a number equal to the 

6 least number of commissioners that constitutes a 

7 majority of the full membership of the Commission. 

8 (c) TERM.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—A commissioner— 

10 (A) shall be appointed for a term of 5 

11 years; and 

12 (B) may continue to serve after the expira13 tion of the fixed term of office of the commis14 sioner until a successor is appointed and has 

15 been confirmed and taken the oath of office. 

16 (2) FILLING OF VACANCIES.—Any person cho17 sen to fill a vacancy in the Commission— 

18 (A) shall be appointed for the unexpired 

19 term of the commissioner that the person suc20 ceeds; 

21 (B) except as provided in subparagraph 

22 (C), may continue to serve after the expiration 

23 of the fixed term of office of the commissioner 

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1 pointed and has been confirmed and taken the 

2 oath of office; and 

3 (C) may not continue to serve after the ex4 piration of the session of Congress that begins 

5 after the expiration of the fixed term of office 

6 of the commissioner that the person succeeds. 

7 (3) EFFECT OF VACANCY ON POWERS OF COM8 MISSION.—Except as provided in section 9(e) (relat9 ing to repeal of prior rules), no vacancy in the Com10 mission shall impair the right of the remaining com11 missioners to exercise all the powers of the Commis12 sion. 

13 (d) SALARY OF COMMISSIONERS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Commissioner shall re15 ceive an annual salary at the annual rate payable 

16 from time to time for grade 16 of the pay scale of 

17 the Securities and Exchange Commission, payable in 

18 monthly installments. 

19 (2) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Commission, 

20 during the period of service as Chair, shall receive 

21 an annual salary at the annual rate payable from 

22 time to time for grade 17 of the pay scale of the Se23 curities and Exchange Commission. 

24 (e) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.— 


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1 (1) GENERAL SESSIONS.—The principal office 

2 of the Commission shall be in the District of Colum3 bia, where its general sessions shall be held. 

4 (2) SPECIAL SESSIONS.—Whenever the conven5 ience of the public or of the parties may be pro6 moted or delay or expense prevented thereby, the 

7 Commission may hold special sessions in any part of 

8 the United States. 

9 (f) EMPLOYEES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, sub11 ject to the civil service laws and the Classification 

12 Act of 1949, as amended, appoint such officers, en13 gineers, accountants, attorneys, inspectors, exam14 iners, and other employees as are necessary in the 

15 exercise of its functions. 

16 (2) ASSISTANTS.— 

17 (A) PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANTS; SEC18 RETARY.—Without regard to the civil-service 

19 laws, but subject to the Classification Act of 

20 1949, each commissioner may appoint profes21 sional assistants and a secretary, each of whom 

22 shall perform such duties as the commissioner 

23 shall direct. 

24 (B) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO

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1 paragraph (A), the Chair of the Commission 

2 may appoint, without regard to the civil-service 

3 laws, but subject to the Classification Act of 

4 1949, an administrative assistant who shall per5 form such duties as the Chair shall direct. 

6 (3) USE OF VOLUNTEERS TO MONITOR VIOLA7 TIONS RELATING TO ONLINE SERVICES.— 

8 (A) RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING OF VOL9 UNTEERS.—The Commission, for purposes of 

10 monitoring violations of any provision of this 

11 Act (and of any regulation prescribed by the 

12 Commission under this Act), may— 

13 (i) recruit and train any software en14 gineer, computer scientist, data scientist, 

15 or other individual with skills or expertise 

16 relevant to the responsibilities of the Com17 mission; and 

18 (ii) accept and employ the voluntary 

19 and uncompensated services of individuals 

20 described in clause (i). 

21 (B) NO LIMITATIONS ON VOLUNTARY

22 SERVICES.—The authority of the Commission 

23 under subparagraph (A) shall not be subject to 

24 or affected by— 


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1 (i) part III of title 5, United States 

2 Code; or 

3 (ii) section 1342 of title 31, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (C) NO FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT.—Any in6 dividual who provides services under this para7 graph or who provides goods in connection with 

8 such services shall not be considered a Federal 

9 or special government employee. 

10 (D) BROAD REPRESENTATION.—The Com11 mission, in accepting and employing services of 

12 individuals under subparagraph (A), shall seek 

13 to achieve a broad representation of individuals 

14 and organizations. 

15 (E) RULES OF CONDUCT.—The Commis16 sion may establish rules of conduct and other 

17 regulations governing the service of individuals 

18 under this paragraph. 

19 (F) REGULATIONS FOR PERSONNEL PRAC20 TICES.—The Commission may prescribe regula21 tions to select, oversee, sanction, and dismiss 

22 any individual authorized under this paragraph 

23 to be employed by the Commission. 

24 (g) EXPENDITURES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may make 

2 such expenditures (including expenditures for rent 

3 and personal services at the seat of government and 

4 elsewhere, for office supplies, online subscriptions, 

5 electronics, law books, periodicals, subscriptions, and 

6 books of reference), as may be necessary for the exe7 cution of the functions vested in the Commission 

8 and as may be appropriated for by Congress in ac9 cordance with the authorizations of appropriations 

10 under section 20. 

11 (2) REIMBURSEMENT.—All expenditures of the 

12 Commission, including all necessary expenses for 

13 transportation incurred by the commissioners or by 

14 their employees, under their orders, in making any 

15 investigation or upon any official business in any 

16 other places than in the city of Washington, shall be 

17 allowed and paid on the presentation of itemized 

18 vouchers therefor approved by the Chair of the Com19 mission or by such other members or officer thereof 

20 as may be designated by the Commission for that 

21 purpose. 

22 (3) GIFTS.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 

24 other provision of law, in furtherance of its 

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1 cept, hold, administer, and use unconditional 

2 gifts, donations, and bequests of real, personal, 

3 and other property (including voluntary and un4 compensated services, as authorized by section 

5 3109 of title 5, United States Code). 

6 (B) TAXES.—For the purpose of Federal 

7 law on income taxes, estate taxes, and gift 

8 taxes, property or services accepted under the 

9 authority of subparagraph (A) shall be deemed 

10 to be a gift, bequest, or devise to the United 

11 States. 

12 (C) REGULATIONS.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

14 shall promulgate regulations to carry out 

15 this paragraph. 

16 (ii) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—The 

17 regulations promulgated under clause (i) 

18 shall include provisions to preclude the ac19 ceptance of any gift, bequest, or donation 

20 that would create a conflict of interest or 

21 the appearance of a conflict of interest. 

22 (h) QUORUM; SEAL.— 

23 (1) QUORUM.—Three members of the Commis24 sion shall constitute a quorum thereof. 


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1 (2) SEAL.—The Commission shall have an offi2 cial seal which shall be judicially noticed. 

3 (i) DUTIES AND POWERS.—The Commission may 

4 perform any and all acts, including collection of any infor5 mation from digital platforms under the jurisdiction of the 

6 Commission as the Commission determines necessary, 

7 without regard to any final determination of the Office 

8 on Management and Budget under chapter 35 of title 44, 

9 United States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Paper10 work Reduction Act’’), make such rules and regulations, 

11 and issue such orders, not inconsistent with this Act, as 

12 may be necessary in the execution of its functions. 

13 (j) CONDUCT OF PROCEEDINGS; HEARINGS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may con15 duct its proceedings in such manner as will best con16 duce to the proper dispatch of business and to the 

17 ends of justice. 

18 (2) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No commissioner 

19 shall participate in any hearing or proceeding in 

20 which he has a pecuniary interest. 

21 (3) OPEN TO ALL PARTIES.—Any party may 

22 appear before the Commission and be heard in per23 son or by attorney. 

24 (4) RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B)— 

3 (i) every vote and official act of the 

4 Commission shall be entered of record; and 

5 (ii) the Commission shall endeavor to 

6 make each proceeding public, while recog7 nizing the occasional need for private con8 vening and deliberation. 

9 (B) DEFENSE INFORMATION.—The Com10 mission may withhold publication of records or 

11 proceedings containing secret information af12 fecting the national defense. 

13 (k) RECORD OF REPORTS.—All reports of investiga14 tions made by the Commission shall be entered of record, 

15 and a copy thereof shall be furnished to the party who 

16 may have complained, and to any digital platform or li17 censee that may have been complained of. 

18 (l) PUBLICATION OF REPORTS; ADMISSIBILITY AS

19 EVIDENCE.—The Commission shall provide for the publi20 cation of its reports and decisions in such form and man21 ner as may be best adapted for public information and 

22 use, and such authorized publications shall be competent 

23 evidence of the reports and decisions of the Commission 

24 therein contained in all courts of the United States and 


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1 of the several States without any further proof or authen2 tication thereof. 

3 (m) COMPENSATION OF APPOINTEES.—Rates of 

4 compensation of persons appointed under this section shall 

5 be subject to the reduction applicable to officers and em6 ployees of the Federal Government generally. 

7 (n) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Com8 mission shall enter into memoranda of understanding with 

9 the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal 

10 Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice to en11 sure, to the greatest extent possible, coordination, collabo12 ration, and the effective use of Federal resources con13 cerning areas of overlapping jurisdiction. 

14 SEC. 7. ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE COM15 MISSION. 

16 (a) CHAIR; DUTIES; VACANCY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The member of the Commis18 sion designated by the President as Chair shall be 

19 the chief executive officer of the Commission. 

20 (2) DUTIES.—The Chair of the Commission 

21 shall— 

22 (A) preside at all meetings and sessions of 

23 the Commission; 

24 (B) represent the Commission in all mat25 ters relating to legislation and legislative reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 17, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4201.IS S4201

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1 ports, except that any commissioner may 

2 present the commissioner’s own or minority 

3 views or supplemental reports; 

4 (C) represent the Commission in all mat5 ters requiring conferences or communications 

6 with other governmental officers, departments, 

7 or agencies; and 

8 (D) generally coordinate and organize the 

9 work of the Commission in such manner as to 

10 promote prompt and efficient disposition of all 

11 matters within the jurisdiction of the Commis12 sion. 

13 (3) VACANCY.—In the case of a vacancy in the 

14 office of the Chair of the Commission, or the ab15 sence or inability of the Chair to serve, the Commis16 sion may temporarily designate a member of the 

17 Commission to act as Chair until the cause or cir18 cumstance requiring the designation is eliminated or 

19 corrected. 

20 (b) ORGANIZATION OF STAFF.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—From time to time as the 

22 Commission may find necessary, the Commission 

23 shall organize its staff into— 


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1 (A) bureaus, to function on the basis of 

2 the Commission’s principal workload operations; 

3 and 

4 (B) such other divisional organizations as 

5 the Commission may determine necessary. 

6 (2) INTEGRATION.—The Commission, to the ex7 tent practicable, shall organize the bureaus and 

8 other divisions of the Commission to— 

9 (A) promote collaboration and cross-cut10 ting subject matter and technical expertise; and 

11 (B) avoid organization silos. 

12 (3) PERSONNEL.—Each bureau established 

13 under paragraph (1)(A) shall include such legal, en14 gineering, accounting, administrative, clerical, and 

15 other personnel as the Commission may determine to 

16 be necessary to perform its functions. 

17 (4) EXPERT PERSONNEL.—The Commission 

18 shall prioritize, to the extent practicable, the hiring 

19 of staff with a demonstrated academic or profes20 sional background in computer science, data science, 

21 application development, technology policy, and 

22 other areas the Commission may determine nec23 essary to perform its functions. 

24 (c) DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS; EXCEPTIONS TO

25 INITIAL ORDERS; FORCE, EFFECT, AND ENFORCEMENT


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1 OF ORDERS; ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW; 

2 QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPENSATION OF DELEGATES; 

3 ASSIGNMENT OF CASES; SEPARATION OF REVIEW AND

4 INVESTIGATIVE OR PROSECUTING FUNCTIONS; SEC5 RETARY; SEAL.— 

6 (1) DELEGATION OF FUNCTIONS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—When necessary to the 

8 proper functioning of the Commission and the 

9 prompt and orderly conduct of its business, the 

10 Commission may, by published rule or by order, 

11 delegate any of its functions to a panel of com12 missioners, an individual commissioner, an em13 ployee board, or an individual employee, includ14 ing functions with respect to hearing, deter15 mining, ordering, certifying, reporting, or other16 wise acting as to any work, business, or matter; 

17 except that in delegating review functions to 

18 employees in cases of adjudication (as defined 

19 in the Administrative Procedure Act), the dele20 gation in any such case may be made only to 

21 an employee board consisting of 2 or more em22 ployees referred to in paragraph (7). 

23 (B) MINIMUM VOTE.—Any rule or order 

24 described in subparagraph (A) may be adopted, 

25 amended, or rescinded only by a vote of a maVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 17, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4201.IS S4201

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1 jority of the members of the Commission then 

2 holding office. 

3 (2) FORCE, EFFECT, AND ENFORCEMENT OF

4 ORDERS.—Any order, decision, report, or action 

5 made or taken pursuant to a delegation under para6 graph (1), unless reviewed as provided in paragraph 

7 (3), shall have the same force and effect, and shall 

8 be made, evidenced, and enforced in the same man9 ner, as orders, decisions, reports, or other actions of 

10 the Commission. 

11 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

12 (A) AGGRIEVED PERSONS.—Any person 

13 aggrieved by an order, decision, report, or ac14 tion described in paragraph (1) may file an ap15 plication for review by the Commission within 

16 such time and in such manner as the Commis17 sion shall prescribe, and every such application 

18 shall be passed upon by the Commission. 

19 (B) INITIATIVE OF COMMISSION.—The 

20 Commission, on its own initiative, may review 

21 in whole or in part, at such time and in such 

22 manner as it shall determine, any order, deci23 sion, report, or action made or taken pursuant 

24 to any delegation under paragraph (1). 

25 (4) REVIEW.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In passing upon an ap2 plication for review filed under paragraph (3), 

3 the Commission may grant, in whole or in part, 

4 or deny the application without specifying any 

5 reasons therefor. 

6 (B) QUESTIONS OF FACT OR LAW.—No ap7 plication for review filed under paragraph 

8 (3)(A) shall rely on questions of fact or law 

9 upon which the panel of commissioners, indi10 vidual commissioner, employee board, or indi11 vidual employee has been afforded no oppor12 tunity to pass. 

13 (5) GRANT OF APPLICATION.—If the Commis14 sion grants an application for review filed under 

15 paragraph (3)(A), the Commission may— 

16 (A) affirm, modify, or set aside the order, 

17 decision, report, or action; or 

18 (B) order a rehearing upon the order, deci19 sion, report, or action. 

20 (6) APPLICATION REQUIRED FOR JUDICIAL RE21 VIEW.—The filing of an application for review under 

22 paragraph (3)(A) shall be a condition precedent to 

23 judicial review of any order, decision, report, or ac24 tion made or taken pursuant to a delegation under 

25 paragraph (1). 


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1 (7) QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPENSATION OF

2 DELEGATES; ASSIGNMENT OF CASES; SEPARATION

3 OF REVIEW AND INVESTIGATIVE OR PROSECUTING

4 FUNCTIONS.— 

5 (A) QUALIFICATIONS OF DELEGATES.— 

6 The employees to whom the Commission may 

7 delegate review functions in any case of adju8 dication (as defined in the Administrative Pro9 cedure Act)— 

10 (i) shall be qualified, by reason of 

11 their training, experience, and competence, 

12 to perform such review functions; and 

13 (ii) shall perform no duties incon14 sistent with such review functions. 

15 (B) COMPENSATION.—An employee de16 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be in a grade 

17 classification or salary level commensurate with 

18 the important duties of the employee, and in no 

19 event less than the grade classification or salary 

20 level of the employee or employees whose ac21 tions are to be reviewed. 

22 (C) SEPARATION.—In the performance of 

23 review functions described in subparagraph (A), 

24 employees described in that subparagraph— 


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1 (i) shall be assigned to cases in rota2 tion so far as practicable; and 

3 (ii) shall not be responsible to or sub4 ject to the supervision or direction of any 

5 officer, employee, or agent engaged in the 

6 performance of investigative or prosecuting 

7 functions for any agency. 

8 (8) SECRETARY; SEAL.—The secretary and seal 

9 of the Commission shall be the secretary and seal of 

10 each panel of the Commission, each individual com11 missioner, and each employee board or individual 

12 employee exercising functions delegated pursuant to 

13 paragraph (1) of this subsection. 

14 (d) MEETINGS.—Meetings of the Commission shall 

15 be held at regular intervals, not less frequently than once 

16 each calendar month, at which times the functioning of 

17 the Commission and the handling of its workload shall be 

18 reviewed and such orders shall be entered and other action 

19 taken as may be necessary or appropriate to expedite the 

20 prompt and orderly conduct of the business of the Com21 mission with the objective of rendering a final decision in 

22 a timely fashion. 

23 (e) MANAGING DIRECTOR.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall have 

2 a Managing Director who shall be appointed by the 

3 Chair subject to the approval of the Commission. 

4 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Managing Director, 

5 under the supervision and direction of the Chair, 

6 shall perform such administrative and executive 

7 functions as the Chair shall delegate. 

8 (3) PAY.—The Managing Director shall be paid 

9 at a rate equal to the rate then payable for grade 

10 15 of the pay scale of the Securities and Exchange 

11 Commission. 

12 SEC. 8. CODE COUNCIL. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commission shall estab14 lish a Code Council that shall develop proposed voluntary 

15 or enforceable behavioral codes, technical standards, or 

16 other policies for digital platforms through the code proc17 ess under subsection (e). 

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall consist of 

20 18 members, of whom— 

21 (A) 6 shall be representatives of digital 

22 platforms or associations of digital platforms, 

23 not fewer than 3 of whom shall be representa24 tives of systemically important digital platforms 


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1 or associations that include systemically impor2 tant digital platforms; 

3 (B) 6 shall be representatives of nonprofit 

4 public interest groups, academics, and other ex5 perts not affiliated with commercial enterprises, 

6 with demonstrated expertise in technology pol7 icy, law, consumer protection, privacy, competi8 tion, disinformation, or another area the Chair 

9 determines relevant; and 

10 (C) 6 shall be technical experts in engi11 neering, application development, computer 

12 science, data science, machine learning, commu13 nications, media studies, and any other dis14 cipline the Chair determines relevant. 

15 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Chair shall appoint 

16 each member of the Council, subject to approval by 

17 the Commission. 

18 (3) TERMS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Coun20 cil shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. 

21 (B) STAGGERED TERMS.—The terms of 

22 members of the Council shall be staggered such 

23 that one-third of the membership of the Council 

24 changes each year. 


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1 (c) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet publicly not 

2 less frequently than once a month. 

3 (d) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be a Chair and 

5 Vice Chair of the Council— 

6 (A) one of whom shall be a member de7 scribed in subparagraph (A) of subsection 

8 (b)(1); and 

9 (B) one of whom shall be a member de10 scribed in subparagraph (B) of subsection 

11 (b)(1). 

12 (2) ANNUAL ROTATION.—The Chair or Vice 

13 Chair for a calendar year shall be a member de14 scribed in a different subparagraph of subsection 

15 (b)(1) than the member who served as Chair or Vice 

16 Chair, respectively, for the preceding calendar year. 

17 (e) CODE PROCESS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, at 

19 any time, initiate a process to develop a voluntary or 

20 enforceable behavioral code, technical standard, or 

21 other policy for digital platforms or a class of digital 

22 platforms. 

23 (2) INITIATION BASED ON PETITION OR COUN24 CIL VOTE.—The Commission may initiate the proc25 ess described in paragraph (1) if— 


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•S 4201 IS

1 (A) the Commission receives a petition 

2 from the public, including from a digital plat3 form or an association of digital platforms; or 

4 (B) the Council votes to initiate the proc5 ess. 

6 (3) COUNCIL EXAMINATION AND VOTE.—If the 

7 process described in paragraph (1) is initiated, the 

8 Council— 

9 (A) shall consider and develop, if appro10 priate, a proposed behavioral code, technical 

11 standard, or other policy for digital platforms 

12 or a class of digital platforms; 

13 (B) in considering and developing a pro14 posed code, standard, or policy under subpara15 graph (A), shall— 

16 (i) allow for submission of feedback by 

17 any interested party; and 

18 (ii) make available to the public a fac19 tual record, developed during the consider20 ation and development of the proposed 

21 code, standard, or policy, that includes any 

22 submission received under clause (i); 

23 (C) not earlier than 180 days and not later 

24 than 360 days after the date on which the proc25 ess is initiated, shall vote on whether to submit 


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1 a recommendation for the proposed code, stand2 ard, or policy to the Commission; and 

3 (D) may submit minority views along with 

4 a recommendation under subparagraph (C), as 

5 appropriate. 

6 (4) PUBLIC REVIEW; COMMISSION EXAMINATION

7 AND VOTE.—Upon receipt of a recommendation for 

8 a proposed behavioral code, technical standard, or 

9 other policy from the Council under paragraph (3), 

10 the Commission shall— 

11 (A) allow for submission of comments on 

12 the proposed code, standard, or policy by any 

13 interested party for a period of not fewer than 

14 45 days and not more than 90 days, and pub15 licly disclose any comments received; 

16 (B) examine the proposed code, standard, 

17 or policy, along with comments received under 

18 subparagraph (A); 

19 (C) determine whether to adopt, reject, or 

20 adopt with modifications the proposed code, 

21 standard, or policy; 

22 (D) provide a public rationale for the de23 termination under subparagraph (C); and 

24 (E) promulgate rules to carry out the de25 termination under subparagraph (C) in accordVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 17, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4201.IS S4201

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•S 4201 IS

1 ance with section 553 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (5) UPDATES.—Not less frequently than once 

4 every 5 years, the Commission shall review and up5 date, as necessary, any behavioral code, technical 

6 standard, or other policy established by rule under 

7 paragraph (4). 

8 (6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

9 subsection shall be construed to affect the authority 

10 of the Commission to promulgate rules under section 

11 9. 

12 (f) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

13 (1) CITIZENSHIP.—Each member of the Council 

14 shall be a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 

15 admitted for permanent residence to the United 

16 States. 

17 (2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara19 graphs (B) and (C), no member of the Council 

20 other than a member appointed under sub21 section (b)(1)(A) shall— 

22 (i) be financially interested in any 

23 company or other entity engaged in the 

24 business of providing online services; 


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•S 4201 IS

1 (ii) be financially interested in any 

2 company or other entity that controls any 

3 company or other entity specified in clause 

4 (i), or that derives a significant portion of 

5 its total income from ownership of stocks, 

6 bonds, or other securities of any such com7 pany or other entity; or 

8 (iii) be employed by, hold any official 

9 relation to, or own any stocks, bonds, or 

10 other securities of, any person significantly 

11 regulated by the Commission under this 

12 Act. 

13 (B) SIGNIFICANT INTEREST.—The prohibi14 tions under subparagraph (A) shall apply only 

15 to financial interests in any company or other 

16 entity that has a significant interest in activi17 ties subject to regulation by the Commission. 

18 (C) WAIVER.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 

20 208 of title 18, United States Code, the 

21 Commission may waive, from time to time, 

22 the application of the prohibitions under 

23 subparagraph (A) to a member of the 

24 Council if the Commission determines that 

25 the financial interests of the member that 


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•S 4201 IS

1 are involved in a particular case are mini2 mal. 

3 (ii) PUBLICATION.—If the Commis4 sion exercises the waiver authority under 

5 clause (i), the Commission shall publish 

6 notice of that action in the Federal Reg7 ister. 

8 (3) DETERMINATION OF SIGNIFICANT INTER9 EST.—The Commission, in determining for purposes 

10 of paragraph (2) whether a company or other entity 

11 has a significant interest in activities that are sub12 ject to regulation by the Commission, shall consider, 

13 without excluding other relevant factors— 

14 (A) the revenues, investments, profits, and 

15 managerial efforts directed to the related activi16 ties of the company or other entity, as com17 pared to the other aspects of the business of the 

18 company or other entity; 

19 (B) the extent to which the Commission 

20 regulates and oversees the activities of the com21 pany or other entity; 

22 (C) the degree to which the economic inter23 ests of the company or other entity may be af24 fected by any action of the Commission; and 


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•S 4201 IS

1 (D) the perceptions held by the public re2 garding the business activities of the company 

3 or other entity. 

4 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion shall be construed to authorize the Council to promul6 gate rules. 

7 SEC. 9. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY, REQUIREMENTS, AND 

8 CONSIDERATIONS. 

9 The Commission— 

10 (1) may promulgate rules to carry out this Act 

11 in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United 

12 States Code; and 

13 (2) shall tailor the rules promulgated under 

14 paragraph (1), as appropriate, based on the size, 

15 dominance, and other attributes of particular digital 

16 platforms. 

17 SEC. 10. SYSTEMICALLY IMPORTANT DIGITAL PLATFORMS. 

18 (a) DESIGNATION OF SIDPS; RULEMAKING AUTHOR19 ITY.—The Commission may— 

20 (1) designate systemically important digital 

21 platforms in accordance with this section; and 

22 (2) promulgate rules specific to systemically im23 portant digital platforms, consistent with the pur24 poses of the Commission under section 4(b). 


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1 (b) MANDATORY CRITERIA.—The Commission shall 

2 designate a digital platform a systemically important dig3 ital platform if the platform— 

4 (1) is open to the public on one side; 

5 (2) has significant engagement among users, 

6 which may take the form of private groups, public 

7 groups, and the sharing of posts visible to some or 

8 all users; 

9 (3) conducts business primarily at the inter10 state or international level, as opposed to the intra11 state level; and 

12 (4) has operations with significant nationwide 

13 economic, social, or political impacts, as defined by 

14 the Commission for purposes of this paragraph 

15 through notice-and-comment rulemaking under sec16 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code, which may 

17 include— 

18 (A) the ability of the platform to signifi19 cantly shape the national dissemination of 

20 news; 

21 (B) the ability of the platform to cause a 

22 person significant, immediate, and demon23 strable economic, social, or political harm by ex24 clusion from the platform; 

25 (C) the market power of the platform; 


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1 (D) the number of unique daily users of 

2 the platform; and 

3 (E) the dependence of business users, espe4 cially small business users, on the platform to 

5 reach customers. 

6 (c) ANNUAL AND OTHER REPORTS.— 

7 (1) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE REPORTS.—The 

8 Commission may— 

9 (A) require annual reports from system10 ically important digital platforms subject to this 

11 Act, and from persons directly or indirectly con12 trolling or controlled by, or under direct or indi13 rect control with, any such platform; 

14 (B) prescribe the content expected in such 

15 reports; 

16 (C) prescribe the manner in which such re17 ports shall be made; and 

18 (D) require from such persons specific an19 swers to all questions upon which the Commis20 sion may need information. 

21 (2) ADMINISTRATION.— 

22 (A) TIME PERIOD COVERED; FILING.—A 

23 report under paragraph (1)— 

24 (i) shall be for such 12 months’ period 

25 as the Commission shall designate; and 


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1 (ii) shall be filed with the Commission 

2 at its office in Washington not later than 

3 3 months after the close of the year for 

4 which the report is made, unless additional 

5 time is granted in any case by the Com6 mission. 

7 (B) FAILURE TO MEET DEADLINE.—If a 

8 person subject to this subsection fails to make 

9 and file an annual report within the time speci10 fied under subparagraph (A), or within the time 

11 extended by the Commission, for making and 

12 filing the report, or fails to make specific an13 swer to any question authorized by this sub14 section within 30 days after the time the person 

15 is lawfully required so to do, the person shall 

16 forfeit to the United States— 

17 (i) $10,000 for each day the person 

18 continues to be in default with respect 

19 thereto, for the first 30 days of such de20 fault; and 

21 (ii) an amount determined appropriate 

22 by the Commission for each subsequent 

23 day that the person continues to be in de24 fault with respect thereto, which may not 


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1 exceed 1 percent of the total global revenue 

2 of the person during the preceding year. 

3 SEC. 11. INTER-AGENCY SUPPORT. 

4 (a) EXPERT SUPPORT.—Upon request from any 

5 other Federal agency for expertise, technical assistance, 

6 or other support from the Commission, the Commission 

7 shall provide that support. 

8 (b) REQUIRED CONSULTATION BY OTHER FEDERAL

9 AGENCIES.—Any Federal agency, including the Federal 

10 Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the De11 partment of Justice, engaged in investigation, regulation, 

12 or oversight with respect to the impact of digital platforms 

13 on consumer protection, competition, civic engagement, or 

14 democratic values and institutions shall consult with the 

15 Commission in carrying out that investigation, regulation, 

16 or oversight. 

17 (c) REQUIRED CONSULTATION WITH OTHER FED18 ERAL AGENCIES.—The Commission, in carrying out inves19 tigation, regulation, or oversight with respect to the im20 pact of digital platforms on consumer protection, competi21 tion, civic engagement, or democratic values and institu22 tions, shall consult with each other Federal agency, includ23 ing the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Divi24 sion of the Department of Justice, that is engaged in in25 vestigation, regulation, or oversight with respect to the imVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 17, 2022 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4201.IS S4201

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1 pact of digital platforms on consumer protection, competi2 tion, civic engagement, or democratic values and institu3 tions. 

4 SEC. 12. PETITIONS. 

5 (a) PETITION FOR FORBEARANCE.— 

6 (1) SUBMISSION.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any digital platform or 

8 association of digital platforms may submit a 

9 petition to the Commission requesting that the 

10 Commission forbear the application and en11 forcement of a rule promulgated under this Act, 

12 including a behavioral code of conduct, tech13 nical standard, or other policy established by 

14 rule under section 8. 

15 (B) PUBLICATION.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

17 (ii), the Commission shall make a petition 

18 submitted under subparagraph (A) avail19 able to the public. 

20 (ii) WAIVER.—The Commission may 

21 waive the requirement under clause (i) if 

22 the Commission makes the rationale for 

23 the waiver available to the public. 

24 (2) DISMISSAL WITHOUT PREJUDICE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any petition submitted 

2 under paragraph (1) shall be deemed dismissed 

3 without prejudice if the Commission does not 

4 grant the petition within 18 months after the 

5 date on which the Commission receives the peti6 tion, unless the Commission extends the 18- 

7 month period under subparagraph (B) of this 

8 paragraph. 

9 (B) EXTENSION.—The Commission may 

10 extend the initial 18-month period under sub11 paragraph (A) by an additional 3 months. 

12 (3) SCOPE OF GRANT AUTHORITY; WRITTEN

13 EXPLANATION.—The Commission may grant or deny 

14 a petition submitted under paragraph (1) in whole 

15 or in part and shall explain its decision in writing. 

16 (4) NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 Section 553 of title 5, United States Code, shall 

18 apply to any determination of the Commission to 

19 forbear the application and enforcement of a rule 

20 under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 

21 (b) STATE ENFORCEMENT AFTER COMMISSION FOR22 BEARANCE.—A State commission may not continue to 

23 apply or enforce any rule, including any behavioral code, 

24 technical standard, or other policy established by rule, that 


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1 the Commission has determined to forbear from applying 

2 under subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 13. RESEARCH. 

4 (a) RESEARCH OFFICE.—In order to carry out the 

5 purposes of this Act, the Commission shall establish an 

6 office with not fewer than 20 dedicated employees to con7 duct internal research, and collaborate with outside aca8 demics and experts, as appropriate, to further the pur9 poses of the Commission under section 4(b). 

10 (b) RESEARCH GRANTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The office established under 

12 subsection (a) may competitively award grants to 

13 academic institutions and experts to conduct re14 search consistent with the purposes of the Commis15 sion under section 4(b). 

16 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—A recipient of a 

17 grant awarded under paragraph (1) shall make the 

18 findings of the research conducted using the grant 

19 publicly available. 

20 (c) PILOT RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR SENSITIVE

21 DATA.—The Commission shall by rule establish a pilot 

22 program that allows vetted, nonprofit, financially disin23 terested academic institutions and experts to access data 

24 and other information collected from a digital platform by 


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1 the Commission for the purposes of research and analysis 

2 consistent with the public interest, while— 

3 (1) ensuring that no personally identifiable in4 formation of any user of the digital platform is pub5 licly available; and 

6 (2) making every effort to— 

7 (A) avoid harm to the business interests of 

8 the digital platform; and 

9 (B) ensure the safety and security of the 

10 private data and other information of the dig11 ital platform. 

12 SEC. 14. INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may inquire into 

14 the management of the business of digital platforms sub15 ject to this Act, and shall keep itself informed as to the 

16 manner and method in which that management is con17 ducted and as to technical and business developments in 

18 the provision of online services. 

19 (b) INFORMATION.—The Commission may obtain 

20 from digital platforms subject to this Act and from per21 sons directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by, or 

22 under direct or indirect control with, those platforms full 

23 and complete information necessary, including data flows, 

24 to enable the Commission to perform the duties and carry 

25 out the objects for which it was created. 


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1 SEC. 15. HSR FILINGS. 

2 Section 7A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a) is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(l)(1) In this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) the terms ‘Commission’ and ‘systemically 

6 important digital platform’ have the meanings given 

7 the terms in section 3 of the Digital Platform Com8 mission Act of 2022; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the term ‘covered acquisition’ means an 

10 acquisition— 

11 ‘‘(i) subject to this section; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) in which the acquiring person or the 

13 person whose voting securities or assets are 

14 being acquired is a systemically important dig15 ital platform. 

16 ‘‘(2) Any notification required under subsection (a) 

17 for a covered acquisition shall be submitted to the Com18 mission. 

19 ‘‘(3) The Commission may request the submission of 

20 additional information or documentary material relevant 

21 to a covered acquisition. 

22 ‘‘(4) The Commission may submit a recommendation 

23 to the Federal Trade Commission and the Assistant Attor24 ney General on whether the covered acquisition violates 

25 any of the purposes of the Commission under section 4(b) 

26 of the Digital Platform Commission Act of 2022. 


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1 ‘‘(5) The Federal Trade Commission and the Assist2 ant Attorney General— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall cooperate with the Commission in de4 termining whether a covered acquisition, if con5 summated, would violate the antitrust laws or the 

6 purposes of the Commission under section 4(b) of 

7 the Digital Platform Commission Act of 2022; 

8 ‘‘(B) may use the recommendation of the Com9 mission as a basis for rejecting the covered acquisi10 tion, or for imposing additional requirements to con11 summate the acquisition, even if the covered acquisi12 tion does not violate the antitrust laws but violates 

13 other purposes of the Commission under section 4(b) 

14 of the Digital Platform Commission Act of 2022; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(C) in making a determination described in 

17 subparagraphs (A), shall give substantial weight to 

18 the recommendation of the Commission.’’. 

19 SEC. 16. ENFORCEMENT BY PRIVATE PERSONS AND GOV20 ERNMENTAL ENTITIES. 

21 (a) RECOVERY OF DAMAGES.—Any person claiming 

22 to be damaged by any digital platform subject to this Act 

23 may— 

24 (1) make complaint to the Commission under 

25 subsection (b); or 


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1 (2) bring a civil action for enforcement of this 

2 Act, including the rules promulgated under this Act, 

3 in any district court of the United States of com4 petent jurisdiction. 

5 (b) COMPLAINTS TO THE COMMISSION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

7 (A) APPLICATION.—Any person, any body 

8 politic or municipal organization, or any State 

9 attorney general or State commission, com10 plaining of anything done or omitted to be done 

11 by any digital platform subject to this Act, in 

12 contravention of the provisions thereof, may 

13 apply to the Commission by petition which shall 

14 briefly state the facts, whereupon a statement 

15 of the complaint thus made shall be forwarded 

16 by the Commission to the digital platform, 

17 which shall be called upon to satisfy the com18 plaint or to answer the complaint in writing 

19 within a reasonable time to be specified by the 

20 Commission. 

21 (B) RELIEF OF LIABILITY.—If a digital 

22 platform described in subparagraph (A) within 

23 the time specified makes reparation for the in24 jury alleged to have been caused, the platform 

25 shall be relieved of liability to the complainant 


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1 only for the particular violation of law thus 

2 complained of. 

3 (C) INVESTIGATION.—If a digital platform 

4 described in subparagraph (A) does not satisfy 

5 the complaint within the time specified or there 

6 shall appear to be any reasonable ground for in7 vestigating the complaint, the Commission shall 

8 investigate the matters complained of in such 

9 manner and by such means as the Commission 

10 determines proper. 

11 (D) DIRECT DAMAGE NOT REQUIRED.—No 

12 complaint shall at any time be dismissed be13 cause of the absence of direct damage to the 

14 complainant. 

15 (2) ORDER.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall, 

17 with respect to any investigation under this 

18 subsection of the lawfulness of a charge, classi19 fication, regulation, or practice, issue an order 

20 concluding the investigation not later than 180 

21 days after the date on which the complaint was 

22 filed. 

23 (B) FINAL ORDER.—Any order concluding 

24 an investigation under subparagraph (A) shall 


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1 be a final order and may be appealed under sec2 tion 18. 

3 (3) ORDERS FOR PAYMENT OF MONEY.—If, 

4 after hearing on a complaint under this paragraph, 

5 the Commission determines that any party complain6 ant is entitled to an award of damages under this 

7 Act, the Commission shall make an order directing 

8 the digital platform to pay to the complainant the 

9 sum to which the complainant is entitled on or be10 fore a day named. 

11 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN12 ERAL.—If the attorney general of a State has reason to 

13 believe that an interest of the residents of the State has 

14 been or is threatened or adversely affected by any person 

15 who violates this Act or a rule promulgated under this Act, 

16 the attorney general of the State, as parens patrie, may 

17 bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State 

18 in any district court of the United States of competent 

19 jurisdiction for enforcement of this Act, including the rules 

20 promulgated under this Act. 

21 (d) LIABILITY OF DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR ACTS

22 AND OMISSIONS OF AGENTS.—In construing and enforc23 ing the provisions of this Act, the act, omission, or failure 

24 of any officer, agent, or other person acting for or em25 ployed by any digital platform or user, acting within the 


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1 scope of his employment, shall in every case be also 

2 deemed to be the act, omission, or failure of the platform 

3 or user as well as that of the person. 

4 SEC. 17. ENFORCEMENT BY COMMISSION AND DEPART5 MENT OF JUSTICE. 

6 (a) ORDERS.— 

7 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER.—If the Commis8 sion believes that a person has violated or will vio9 late this Act, the Commission may issue and cause 

10 to be served on the person an order requiring the 

11 person, as applicable— 

12 (A) to cease and desist, or refrain, from 

13 the violation; or 

14 (B) to pay restitution to any victim of the 

15 violation. 

16 (2) CIVIL ACTION TO ENFORCE ORDER.—The 

17 Commission or the Attorney General may bring a 

18 civil action in an appropriate district court of the 

19 United States to enforce an order issued under para20 graph (1). 

21 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any digital platform that 

23 knowingly violates this Act shall be liable to the 

24 United States for a civil penalty. 


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1 (2) SEPARATE OFFENSES.—Each distinct viola2 tion described in paragraph (1) shall be a separate 

3 offense, and in case of continuing violation each day 

4 shall be deemed a separate offense. 

5 (3) DETERRENCE.—The Commission shall es6 tablish a civil penalty for a violation of this Act in 

7 an amount that the Commission determines appro8 priate to deter future violations of this Act. 

9 (4) ANNUAL CAP.—The total amount of civil 

10 penalties imposed on a digital platform during a 

11 year under paragraph (1) may not exceed 15 percent 

12 of the total global revenue of the digital platform 

13 during the preceding year. 

14 SEC. 18. PROCEEDINGS TO ENJOIN, SET ASIDE, ANNUL, OR 

15 SUSPEND ORDERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

16 (a) RIGHT TO APPEAL.—An appeal may be taken 

17 from any decision or order of the Commission, by any per18 son who is aggrieved or whose interests are adversely af19 fected by the decision or order, to the United States Court 

20 of Appeals for the District of Columbia or the United 

21 States court of appeals for the circuit in which the person 

22 resides. 

23 (b) FILING NOTICE OF APPEAL; CONTENTS; JURIS24 DICTION; TEMPORARY ORDERS.— 


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1 (1) FILING NOTICE OF APPEAL.—An appeal de2 scribed in subsection (a) shall be taken by filing a 

3 notice of appeal with the appropriate United States 

4 court of appeals not later than 30 days after the 

5 date on which public notice is given of the decision 

6 or order complained of. 

7 (2) CONTENTS.—A notice of appeal filed under 

8 paragraph (1) shall contain— 

9 (A) a concise statement of the nature of 

10 the proceedings as to which the appeal is taken; 

11 (B) a concise statement of the reasons on 

12 which the appellant intends to rely, separately 

13 stated and numbered; and 

14 (C) proof of service of a true copy of the 

15 notice and statements upon the Commission. 

16 (3) JURISDICTION.—Upon the filing of a notice 

17 of appeal with a United States court of appeals 

18 under paragraph (1), the court— 

19 (A) shall have jurisdiction of the pro20 ceedings and of the questions determined there21 in; and 

22 (B) shall have power, by order, directed to 

23 the Commission or any other party to the ap24 peal, to grant such temporary relief as the 

25 court may deem just and proper. 


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1 (4) TEMPORARY ORDERS.—An order granting 

2 temporary relief issued by the court under para3 graph (3)— 

4 (A) may be affirmative or negative in scope 

5 and application so as to permit— 

6 (i) the maintenance of the status quo 

7 in the matter in which the appeal is taken; 

8 or 

9 (ii) the restoration of a position or 

10 status terminated or adversely affected by 

11 the order appealed from; and 

12 (B) shall, unless otherwise ordered by the 

13 court, be effective pending hearing and deter14 mination of the appeal and compliance by the 

15 Commission with the final judgment of the 

16 court rendered in the appeal. 

17 (c) NOTICE TO INTERESTED PARTIES; FILING OF

18 RECORD.— 

19 (1) NOTICE TO INTERESTED PARTIES.—Not 

20 later than 5 days after filing a notice of appeal 

21 under subsection (b), the appellant shall provide, to 

22 each person shown by the records of the Commission 

23 to be interested in the appeal, notice of— 

24 (A) the filing; and 

25 (B) the pendency of the appeal. 


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1 (2) FILING OF RECORD.—The Commission shall 

2 file with the court the record upon which the order 

3 complained of was entered, as provided in section 

4 2112 of title 28, United States Code. 

5 (d) INTERVENTION.— 

6 (1) RIGHT TO INTERVENE.—Not later than 30 

7 days after the filing of an appeal described in sub8 section (a), any interested party may intervene and 

9 participate in the proceedings had upon the appeal 

10 by filing with the court— 

11 (A) a notice of intention to intervene and 

12 a verified statement showing the nature of the 

13 interest of the person; and 

14 (B) proof of service of true copies of the 

15 notice and statement described in subparagraph 

16 (A) upon— 

17 (i) the appellant; and 

18 (ii) the Commission. 

19 (2) INTERESTED PARTY.—For purposes of 

20 paragraph (1), any person who would be aggrieved 

21 or whose interest would be adversely affected by a 

22 reversal or modification of the order of the Commis23 sion complained of shall be considered an interested 

24 party. 


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1 (e) RECORD AND BRIEFS.—The record and briefs 

2 upon which an appeal described in subsection (a) shall be 

3 heard and determined by the court shall contain such in4 formation and material, and shall be prepared within such 

5 time and in such manner, as the court may by rule pre6 scribe. 

7 (f) TIME OF HEARING; PROCEDURE.—The court 

8 shall hear and determine an appeal described in subsection 

9 (a) upon the record before it in the manner prescribed by 

10 section 706 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 (g) REMAND.—If the court renders a decision and en12 ters an order reversing the order of the Commission— 

13 (1) the court shall remand the case to the Com14 mission to carry out the judgment of the court; and 

15 (2) the Commission, in the absence of pro16 ceedings to review the judgment under paragraph 

17 (1) or (2) of subsection (i), shall forthwith give ef18 fect to the judgment, and unless otherwise ordered 

19 by the court, shall do so upon the basis of— 

20 (A) the proceedings already had; and 

21 (B) the record upon which the appeal was 

22 heard and determined. 

23 (h) JUDGMENT FOR COSTS.—The court may, in its 

24 discretion, enter judgment for costs in favor of or against 

25 an appellant, or other interested parties intervening in the 


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1 appeal, but not against the Commission, depending upon 

2 the nature of the issues involved in the appeal and the 

3 outcome of the appeal. 

4 (i) FINALITY OF DECISION; REVIEW BY SUPREME

5 COURT.—The judgment of a court of appeals under this 

6 section shall be final, subject to review by the Supreme 

7 Court of the United States— 

8 (1) upon writ of certiorari on petition therefor 

9 under section 1254 of title 28, United States Code, 

10 by— 

11 (A) the appellant; 

12 (B) the Commission; or 

13 (C) any interested party intervening in the 

14 appeal; or 

15 (2) by certification by the court of appeals 

16 under such section 1254. 

17 SEC. 19. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not earlier than 5 years after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the President shall establish 

20 an independent panel to— 

21 (1) comprehensively study the policies, oper22 ations, and regulations of the Commission; and 

23 (2) submit an in-depth report to the congres24 sional committees of jurisdiction, including the Com25 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 


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1 the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Com2 merce of the House of Representatives, that in3 cludes— 

4 (A) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 

5 the Commission in achieving the purposes 

6 under section 4(b); 

7 (B) recommended reforms to strengthen 

8 the Commission; and 

9 (C) a recommendation regarding whether 

10 the Commission should continue in effect. 

11 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The independent panel estab12 lished under subsection (a) shall consist of 10 members, 

13 of whom— 

14 (1) 2 shall be appointed by the President; 

15 (2) 2 shall be appointed by the majority leader 

16 of the Senate; 

17 (3) 2 shall be appointed by the minority leader 

18 of the Senate; 

19 (4) 2 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 

20 House of Representatives; and 

21 (5) 2 shall be appointed by the minority leader 

22 of the House of Representatives. 

23 SEC. 20. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com25 mission to carry out the functions of the Commission— 


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1 (1) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

2 (2) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

3 (3) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

4 (4) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; and 

5 (5) $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 

6 through 2032. 

Æ 


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