IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 538 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To require the disclosure of a camera or recording capability 

in certain internet-connected devices. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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HR 538 RFS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Informing Consumers 

3 about Smart Devices Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE OF A CAMERA OR RECORD5 ING CAPABILITY IN CERTAIN INTERNET-CON6 NECTED DEVICES. 

7 Each manufacturer of a covered device shall disclose 

8 whether the covered device manufactured by the manufac9 turer contains a camera or microphone as a component 

10 of the covered device. 

11 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS12 SION. 

13 (a) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES.— 

14 A violation of section 2 shall be treated as a violation of 

15 a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice pre16 scribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 

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

18 (b) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade Commis20 sion shall enforce this Act in the same manner, by 

21 the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

22 powers, and duties as though all applicable terms 

23 and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

24 (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and 

25 made a part of this Act. 


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HR 538 RFS

1 (2) PENALTIES AND PRIVILEGES.—Any person 

2 who violates this Act or a regulation promulgated 

3 under this Act shall be subject to the penalties and 

4 entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in 

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

6 seq.). 

7 (c) COMMISSION GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 

8 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis9 sion, through outreach to relevant private entities, shall 

10 issue guidance to assist manufacturers in complying with 

11 the requirements of this Act, including guidance about 

12 best practices for making the disclosure required by sec13 tion 2 as clear and conspicuous as practicable. 

14 (d) TAILORED GUIDANCE.—A manufacturer of a cov15 ered device may petition the Commission, in a manner 

16 consistent with the rules of the Commission, for tailored 

17 guidance as to how to meet the requirements of section 

18 2. 

19 (e) LIMITATION ON COMMISSION GUIDANCE.—No 

20 guidance issued by the Commission with respect to this 

21 Act shall confer any rights on any person, State, or local22 ity, nor shall operate to bind the Commission or any per23 son to the approach recommended in such guidance. In 

24 any enforcement action brought pursuant to this Act, the 

25 Commission shall allege a specific violation of a provision 


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HR 538 RFS

1 of this Act. The Commission may not base an enforcement 

2 action on, or execute a consent order based on, practices 

3 that are alleged to be inconsistent with any such guide4 lines, unless the Commission determines such practices ex5 pressly violate section 2. 

6 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF COVERED DEVICE. 

7 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘covered device’’— 

8 (1) means a consumer product, as defined by 

9 section 3(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act 

10 (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)) that is capable of connecting to 

11 the internet, a component of which is a camera or 

12 microphone; and 

13 (2) does not include— 

14 (A) a telephone (including a mobile phone), 

15 a laptop, tablet, or any device that a consumer 

16 would reasonably expect to have a microphone 

17 or camera; 

18 (B) any device that is specifically marketed 

19 as a camera, telecommunications device, or 

20 microphone; or 

21 (C) any device or apparatus described in 

22 sections 255, 716, and 718, and subsections 

23 (aa) and (bb) of section 303 of the Communica24 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 255; 617; 619; 


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HR 538 RFS

1 and 303(aa) and (bb)), and any regulations 

2 promulgated thereunder. 

3 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

4 This Act shall apply to all covered devices manufac5 tured after the date that is 180 days after the date on 

6 which guidance is issued by the Commission under section 

7 3(c), and shall not apply to covered devices manufactured 

8 or sold before such date, or otherwise introduced into 

9 interstate commerce before such date. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 27, 

2023. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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