I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3611 

To prohibit the discriminatory use of personal information by online platforms 

in any algorithmic process, to require transparency in the use of algorithmic processes and content moderation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 28, 2021 

Ms. MATSUI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To prohibit the discriminatory use of personal information 

by online platforms in any algorithmic process, to require 

transparency in the use of algorithmic processes and 

content moderation, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Algorithmic Justice 

5 and Online Platform Transparency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Online platforms have become integral to 

2 individuals’ full participation in economic, demo3 cratic, and societal processes. 

4 (2) Online platforms employ manipulative dark 

5 patterns, collect large amounts of personal informa6 tion from their users, and leverage that personal in7 formation for opaque algorithmic processes in ways 

8 that create vastly different experiences for different 

9 types of users. 

10 (3) Algorithmic processes are often used by on11 line platforms without adequate testing and in the 

12 absence of critical transparency requirements and 

13 other legally enforceable safety and efficacy stand14 ards, which has resulted in discrimination in hous15 ing, lending, job advertising, and other areas of op16 portunity. 

17 (4) The use of discriminatory algorithmic proc18 esses causes disproportionate harm to populations 

19 that already experience marginalization. 

20 (5) Online platforms constantly engage in con21 tent moderation decision making, resulting in highly 

22 influential outcomes regarding what content is visi23 ble and accessible to users. 

24 (6) Online platforms’ content moderation prac25 tices have disproportionately significant repercusVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3611.IH H3611

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1 sions for members of marginalized communities, who 

2 have historically been the target of nefarious online 

3 activity, including disinformation campaigns. 

4 (7) Users of online platforms should have ac5 cess to understandable information about how online 

6 platforms moderate content and use algorithmic 

7 processes to amplify or recommend content. 

8 (8) Users of online platforms should be able to 

9 easily move their data to alternative online plat10 forms, and the importance of this right is particu11 larly significant given certain online platforms’ use 

12 of harmful algorithmic processes and engagement in 

13 ineffective content moderation. 

14 (9) In a variety of sectors, algorithmic proc15 esses also facilitate discriminatory outcomes on on16 line platforms that individuals may not personally 

17 interact with, but which nonetheless process the per18 sonal information of such individuals and have sig19 nificant, negative consequences. 

20 (10) The people of the United States would 

21 benefit from the convening of experts from a diverse 

22 set of governmental positions to collectively study 

23 and report on discriminatory algorithmic processes 

24 across the United States economy and society, with 

25 particular attention to intersections of harm. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

3 (1) ALGORITHMIC PROCESS.—The term ‘‘algo4 rithmic process’’ means a computational process, in5 cluding one derived from machine learning or other 

6 artificial intelligence techniques, that processes per7 sonal information or other data for the purpose of 

8 determining the order or manner that a set of infor9 mation is provided, recommended to, or withheld 

10 from a user of an online platform, including the pro11 vision of commercial content, the display of social 

12 media posts, or any other method of automated deci13 sion making, content selection, or content amplifi14 cation. 

15 (2) BIOMETRIC INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘bio16 metric information’’— 

17 (A) means information regarding the phys18 iological or biological characteristics of an indi19 vidual that may be used, singly or in combina20 tion with each other or with other identifying 

21 data, to establish the identity of an individual; 

22 and 

23 (B) includes— 

24 (i) genetic information; 

25 (ii) imagery of the iris, retina, finger26 print, face, hand, palm, vein patterns, and 


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1 voice recordings, from which an identifier 

2 template, such as a faceprint, a minutiae 

3 template, or a voiceprint, can be extracted; 

4 (iii) keystroke patterns or rhythms, 

5 gait patterns or rhythms, and sleep, 

6 health, or exercise data that contain identi7 fying information; and 

8 (iv) any mathematical code, profile, or 

9 algorithmic model derived from informa10 tion regarding the physiological or biologi11 cal characteristics of an individual. 

12 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

13 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

14 (4) CONTENT MODERATION.—The term ‘‘con15 tent moderation’’ means— 

16 (A) the intentional deletion, labeling, or ed17 iting of user generated content or a process of 

18 purposefully decreasing access to such content 

19 through the human labor of any individual that 

20 is financially compensated by an online plat21 form, an automated process, or some combina22 tion thereof, pursuant to the online platform’s 

23 terms of service or stated community standards; 

24 and 


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1 (B) such other practices as the Commis2 sion may identify under regulations promul3 gated under section 553 of title 5, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (5) DE-IDENTIFIED.—The term ‘‘de-identified’’, 

6 with respect to personal information, means infor7 mation that has been altered, anonymized, or aggre8 gated so that it cannot reasonably identify, relate to, 

9 describe, or be capable of being associated with or 

10 linked to, directly or indirectly, a particular indi11 vidual or device. 

12 (6) DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION.—The term 

13 ‘‘demographic information’’ means information re14 garding an individual’s or class of individuals’ race, 

15 color, ethnicity, sex, religion, national origin, age, 

16 gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability 

17 status, familial status, immigration status, edu18 cational attainment, income, source of income, occu19 pation, employment status, biometric information, 

20 criminal record, credit rating, or any categorization 

21 used by the online platform derived from such infor22 mation. 

23 (7) GROUP.—The term ‘‘group’’ means a page 

24 or other subdivision of an online platform that func25 tions as a forum for users to post or otherwise disVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jul 07, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3611.IH H3611

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1 tribute content to, or communicate with, other users 

2 of such page or other subdivision. 

3 (8) NON-PRECISE GEOLOCATION INFORMA4 TION.—The term ‘‘non-precise geolocation informa5 tion’’ means information regarding a country, State, 

6 county, city, or ZIP code. 

7 (9) ONLINE PLATFORM.—The term ‘‘online 

8 platform’’ means any public-facing website, online 

9 service, online application, or mobile application 

10 which is operated for commercial purposes and pro11 vides a community forum for user generated content, 

12 including a social network site, content aggregation 

13 service, or service for sharing videos, images, games, 

14 audio files, or other content. 

15 (10) PERSONAL INFORMATION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘personal in17 formation’’ means information that directly or 

18 indirectly identifies, or could be reasonably 

19 linked to, a particular individual or device. 

20 (B) REASONABLY LINKED.—For purposes 

21 of subparagraph (A), information could be rea22 sonably linked to an individual or device if such 

23 information can be used on its own or in com24 bination with other information held by, or 


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1 readily accessible to, a person to identify an in2 dividual or device. 

3 (11) PLACE OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘place of public accommodation’’ means— 

5 (A) any entity considered a place of public 

6 accommodation under section 201(b) of the 

7 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a(b)) 

8 or section 301 of the Americans with Disabil9 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12181); or 

10 (B) any commercial entity that offers 

11 goods or services through the internet to the 

12 general public. 

13 (12) SMALL BUSINESS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘small busi15 ness’’ means a commercial entity that estab16 lishes, with respect to the 3 preceding calendar 

17 years (or since the inception of such entity if 

18 such period is less than 3 calendar years), that 

19 the entity— 

20 (i) maintains an average annual gross 

21 revenue of less than $25,000,000; 

22 (ii) on average, annually processes the 

23 personal information of less than 100,000 

24 individuals, households, or devices used by 

25 individuals or households; 


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1 (iii) on average, derives 50 percent or 

2 less of its annual revenue from transfer3 ring the personal information of individ4 uals; and 

5 (iv) has less than 50 workers at any 

6 time during such period. 

7 (B) COMMON CONTROL OR BRANDING.— 

8 For purposes of subparagraph (A), the amounts 

9 at issue shall include the activity of any person 

10 that controls, is controlled by, is under common 

11 control with, or shares common branding with 

12 such commercial entity. 

13 (13) USER GENERATED CONTENT.—The term 

14 ‘‘user generated content’’ means any content, includ15 ing text, images, videos, reviews, profiles, games, or 

16 audio content, that is made or created (including 

17 through a form, template, or other process provided 

18 by the online platform) and posted on an online plat19 form by a user of the online platform. 

20 SEC. 4. TRANSPARENCY. 

21 (a) NOTICE AND REVIEW OF ALGORITHMIC PROC22 ESS.—Beginning 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

23 Act, any online platform that employs, operates, or other24 wise utilizes an algorithmic process to withhold, amplify, 

25 recommend, or promote content (including a group) to a 


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1 user of the online platform shall comply with the following 

2 requirements: 

3 (1) REQUIRED NOTICE.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each 

5 type of algorithmic process utilized by an online 

6 platform, such online platform shall disclose the 

7 following information to users of the online 

8 platform in conspicuous, accessible, and plain 

9 language that is not misleading: 

10 (i) The categories of personal infor11 mation the online platform collects or cre12 ates for purposes of the type of algorithmic 

13 process. 

14 (ii) The manner in which the online 

15 platform collects or creates such personal 

16 information. 

17 (iii) How the online platform uses 

18 such personal information in the type of 

19 algorithmic process. 

20 (iv) The method by which the type of 

21 algorithmic process prioritizes, assigns 

22 weight to, or ranks different categories of 

23 personal information to withhold, amplify, 

24 recommend, or promote content (including 

25 a group) to a user. 


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1 (B) LANGUAGE OF REQUIRED NOTICE.— 

2 Such online platform shall make available the 

3 notice described in subparagraph (A) in each 

4 language in which the online platform provides 

5 services. 

6 (C) RULEMAKING.—The Commission shall 

7 conduct a rulemaking to identify each type of 

8 algorithmic process for which an online plat9 form is required to disclose the information de10 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

11 (2) REVIEW OF ALGORITHMIC PROCESS.— 

12 (A) RECORD OF ALGORITHMIC PROCESS.— 

13 Subject to subparagraph (B), such online plat14 form shall, for 5 years, retain a record that de15 scribes— 

16 (i) the categories of personal informa17 tion used by the type of algorithmic proc18 ess; 

19 (ii) the method by which the type of 

20 algorithmic process weighs or ranks certain 

21 categories of personal information; 

22 (iii) the method by which the online 

23 platform develops its type of algorithmic 

24 process, including— 


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1 (I) a description of any personal 

2 information or other data used in 

3 such development; 

4 (II) an explanation of any per5 sonal information or other data used 

6 to train the type of algorithmic proc7 ess on an ongoing basis; and 

8 (III) a description of how the 

9 type of algorithmic process was tested 

10 for accuracy, fairness, bias, and dis11 crimination; and 

12 (iv) if the online platform (except for 

13 a small business) utilizes an algorithmic 

14 process that relates to opportunities for 

15 housing, education, employment, insurance, 

16 credit, or the access to or terms of use of 

17 any place of public accommodations, an as18 sessment of whether the type of algo19 rithmic process produces disparate out20 comes on the basis of an individual’s or 

21 class of individuals’ actual or perceived 

22 race, color, ethnicity, sex, religion, national 

23 origin, gender, gender identity, sexual ori24 entation, familial status, biometric infor25 mation, or disability status. 


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1 (B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (i) REQUIREMENT TO DE-IDENTIFY

3 PERSONAL INFORMATION.—The record de4 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall not in5 clude any personal information other than 

6 de-identified personal information. 

7 (ii) EXTENSION OF RECORD RETEN8 TION.—An online platform shall retain the 

9 record described in subparagraph (A) for 

10 up to an additional 3 years if the Commis11 sion determines that the online platform 

12 poses a reasonable risk of engaging in re13 peated violations of this Act or of unlawful 

14 discrimination as a result of its use of an 

15 algorithmic process. 

16 (C) REVIEW OF RECORD.—Upon the re17 quest of the Commission, an online platform 

18 shall make available to the Commission the 

19 complete record described in subparagraph (A). 

20 (b) NOTICE OF CONTENT MODERATION PRAC21 TICES.— 

22 (1) NOTICE.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, any online 

25 platform shall disclose to users of the online 


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1 platform in conspicuous, accessible, and plain 

2 language that is not misleading a complete de3 scription of the online platform’s content mod4 eration practices, including a description of any 

5 type of automated content moderation practices 

6 and content moderation practices that employ 

7 human labor. 

8 (B) LANGUAGE OF REQUIRED NOTICE.— 

9 Such online platform shall make available the 

10 notice described in subparagraph (A) in each 

11 language in which the online platform provides 

12 services. 

13 (2) CONTENT MODERATION TRANSPARENCY RE14 PORTS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 180 days 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, any on17 line platform (except for a small business) that 

18 engages in content moderation shall publish, 

19 not less than annually, a transparency report of 

20 their content moderation practices. 

21 (B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—The transparency 

23 report required under subparagraph (A) 

24 shall include, if applicable: 


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1 (I) The total number of content 

2 moderation decisions for the applica3 ble period. 

4 (II) The number of content mod5 eration decisions for the applicable pe6 riod broken down by: 

7 (aa) Relevant policy, type, or 

8 category of content moderation 

9 undertaken by the online plat10 form. 

11 (bb) Whether the content 

12 moderation decision occurred in 

13 response to information regard14 ing organized campaigns or other 

15 coordinated behavior. 

16 (cc) Aggregate demographic 

17 information of users who created 

18 the user generated content sub19 jected to content moderation. 

20 (dd) Aggregate demographic 

21 information of users targeted by 

22 an algorithmic process involving 

23 content subjected to content 

24 moderation. 


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1 (ee) Whether the content 

2 moderation occurred through 

3 automated practices, human 

4 labor by the online platform, 

5 labor by any individual that does 

6 not work as a paid employee of 

7 the online platform, or any com8 bination thereof. 

9 (ff) In the case of content 

10 moderation that occurred 

11 through human labor by any in12 dividual that does not work for 

13 the online platform, the nature of 

14 such individual’s relationship to 

15 the online platform (such as a 

16 user, moderator, State actor, or 

17 representative of an external 

18 partner organization). 

19 (gg) The number and per20 centage of content moderation 

21 decisions subject to appeal or 

22 other form of secondary review. 

23 (hh) The number and per24 centage of content moderation 


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1 decisions reversed on appeal or 

2 other form of secondary review. 

3 (ii) The number of content 

4 moderation decisions occurring in 

5 response to a government de6 mand or request. 

7 (jj) The number of govern8 ment demands or requests for 

9 content moderation broken down 

10 by Federal agency, State, munici11 pality, or foreign nation. 

12 (kk) The types of content 

13 moderation decisions made. 

14 (ll) Other information that 

15 the Commission, by regulation, 

16 deems appropriate. 

17 (III) The ability to cross-ref18 erence each of the different types of 

19 information disclosed pursuant to sub20 clause (II). 

21 (ii) ACCESSIBILITY OF REPORT.—The 

22 transparency report required under sub23 paragraph (A) shall be— 


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1 (I) publicly available to any indi2 vidual without such individual being 

3 required to create a user account; 

4 (II) conspicuous; 

5 (III) accessible; 

6 (IV) not misleading; and 

7 (V) available in each language in 

8 which the online platform provides 

9 services. 

10 (iii) ACCESSIBILITY OF REPORT

11 DATA.—The online platform shall— 

12 (I) provide any data in the trans13 parency report required under sub14 paragraph (A) in a machine-readable 

15 format; and 

16 (II) allow anyone to freely copy 

17 and use such data. 

18 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

19 subsection shall require an online platform to collect 

20 personal information that the online platform would 

21 not otherwise collect. 

22 (c) ADVERTISEMENT LIBRARY.—Beginning 180 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act, any online plat24 form (except for a small business) that uses personal in25 formation in combination with an algorithmic process to 


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1 sell or publish an advertisement shall take all reasonable 

2 steps to maintain a library of such advertisements. The 

3 library shall— 

4 (1) be— 

5 (A) publicly available to any individual 

6 without such individual being required to create 

7 a user account; 

8 (B) conspicuous; 

9 (C) accessible; 

10 (D) not misleading; and 

11 (E) available in each language in which the 

12 online platform provides services; 

13 (2) present information in both human- and 

14 machine-readable formats; 

15 (3) allow any individual to freely copy and use 

16 the information contained in the library; 

17 (4) at a minimum, be searchable by date, loca18 tion, topic, cost, advertiser, keyword, information 

19 disclosed pursuant to paragraph (6), or any other 

20 criteria that the Commission, by regulation, deems 

21 appropriate; 

22 (5) contain copies of all advertisements sold or 

23 published by the online platform for 2 years fol24 lowing the sale or publishing of each advertisement; 

25 and 


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1 (6) for each advertisement entry, include— 

2 (A) the content of the advertisement; 

3 (B) all targeting criteria selected by the 

4 advertiser, including demographic information 

5 and non-precise geolocation information (except 

6 in the event that including a specific criterion 

7 would disclose personal information); 

8 (C) any data the online platform provided 

9 to the advertiser regarding to whom it sold or 

10 published the advertisement, including demo11 graphic information and non-precise geolocation 

12 information (except in the event that including 

13 specific data would disclose personal informa14 tion); and 

15 (D) the name of the advertiser, the cost of 

16 the advertisement, the dates the advertisement 

17 was displayed on the online platform, and any 

18 other information that the Commission, by reg19 ulation, deems appropriate. 

20 (d) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days after 

21 making any disclosure required by subsection (a)(1), (b), 

22 or (c), and annually thereafter, an online platform shall 

23 certify the accuracy and completeness of such disclosure. 

24 Such certification shall— 


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1 (1) be signed, under oath, by the online plat2 form’s chief executive officer, chief privacy officer, 

3 chief operating officer, chief information security of4 ficer, or another senior officer of equivalent stature; 

5 (2) attest that the officer described in para6 graph (1) has personal knowledge sufficient to make 

7 such certification; and 

8 (3) in addition to any annual certification, be 

9 issued with any material change (which shall not in10 clude routine additions to or maintenance of entries 

11 in the advertising library pursuant to subsection 

12 (c)). 

13 SEC. 5. RIGHT TO DATA PORTABILITY. 

14 In promulgating regulations under this Act, the Com15 mission shall require an online platform, if the online plat16 form retains the personal information of a user, to provide 

17 to the user access to the personal information retained in 

18 the form of a portable electronic table that— 

19 (1) is in a usable and searchable format; and 

20 (2) allows the user to transfer such personal in21 formation from one online platform to another with22 out hindrance. 

23 SEC. 6. PROHIBITED CONDUCT. 

24 (a) PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS.—It shall be unlawful 

25 for an online platform to employ any proprietary online 


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1 platform design features, including an algorithmic process, 

2 or otherwise process the personal information of an indi3 vidual in a manner that segregates, discriminates in, or 

4 otherwise makes unavailable the goods, services, facilities, 

5 privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of 

6 public accommodation on the basis of an individual’s or 

7 class of individuals’ actual or perceived race, color, eth8 nicity, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender iden9 tity, sexual orientation, familial status, biometric informa10 tion, or disability status. 

11 (b) EQUAL OPPORTUNITY.—It shall be unlawful for 

12 an online platform to employ any proprietary online plat13 form design features, including an algorithmic process, or 

14 otherwise process the personal information of an indi15 vidual for the purpose of advertising, marketing, soliciting, 

16 offering, selling, leasing, licensing, renting, or otherwise 

17 commercially contracting for housing, employment, credit, 

18 insurance, healthcare, or education opportunities in a 

19 manner that discriminates against or otherwise makes the 

20 opportunity unavailable on the basis of an individual’s or 

21 class of individuals’ actual or perceived race, color, eth22 nicity, religion, national origin, sex, gender, gender iden23 tity, sexual orientation, familial status, biometric informa24 tion, or disability status. 


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1 (c) VOTING RIGHTS.—It shall be unlawful for an on2 line platform to process personal information in a manner 

3 that intentionally deprives, defrauds, or attempts to de4 prive or defraud any individual of their free and fair exer5 cise of the right to vote in a Federal, State, or local elec6 tion. Such manner includes: 

7 (1) Intentional deception regarding— 

8 (A) the time, place, or method of voting or 

9 registering to vote; 

10 (B) the eligibility requirements to vote or 

11 register to vote; 

12 (C) the counting of ballots; 

13 (D) the adjudication of elections; 

14 (E) explicit endorsements by any person or 

15 candidate; or 

16 (F) any other material information per17 taining to the procedures or requirements for 

18 voting or registering to vote in a Federal, State, 

19 or local election. 

20 (2) Intentionally using deception, threats, in21 timidation, fraud, or coercion to prevent, interfere 

22 with, retaliate against, deter, or attempt to prevent, 

23 interfere with, retaliate against, or deter an indi24 vidual from— 


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1 (A) voting or registering to vote in a Fed2 eral, State, or local election; or 

3 (B) supporting or advocating for a can4 didate in a Federal, State, or local election. 

5 (d) DISCRIMINATORY ADVERTISING.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 

8 shall promulgate regulations to define and prohibit 

9 unfair or deceptive acts or practices with respect to 

10 advertising practices. 

11 (2) PERIODIC REVIEW OF REGULATIONS.—The 

12 Commission shall review such regulations not less 

13 than once every 5 years and update the regulations 

14 as appropriate. 

15 (3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In promulgating regu16 lations under this subsection, the Commission shall 

17 consider: 

18 (A) Established public policy, such as civil 

19 rights laws, to prevent discrimination and pro20 mote equal opportunity. 

21 (B) The state of the art of advertising. 

22 (C) Research of and methodologies for 

23 measuring discrimination in advertising. 

24 (D) The role of each actor in the adver25 tising ecosystem. 


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1 (E) Any harm caused by predatory or ma2 nipulative advertising practices, including prac3 tices targeting vulnerable populations. 

4 (F) Whether, and at what age, a minor is 

5 able to distinguish between editorial content 

6 and paid advertisements. 

7 (G) Methods for fairly promoting equal op8 portunity in housing, employment, credit, insur9 ance, education, and healthcare through tar10 geted outreach to underrepresented populations 

11 in a fair and non-deceptive manner. 

12 (H) The needs of small businesses. 

13 (I) Any other criteria the Commission 

14 deems appropriate. 

15 (e) SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF ALGORITHMIC

16 PROCESSES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for an 

18 online platform to employ an algorithmic process in 

19 a manner that is not safe and effective. 

20 (2) SAFE.—For purposes of paragraph (1), an 

21 algorithmic process is safe— 

22 (A) if the algorithmic process does not 

23 produce any disparate outcome as described in 

24 the assessment conducted under section 

25 4(a)(2)(A)(iv); or 


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1 (B) if the algorithmic process does produce 

2 a disparate outcome as described in the assess3 ment conducted under section 4(a)(2)(A)(iv), 

4 any such disparate outcome is justified by a 

5 non-discriminatory, compelling interest, and 

6 such interest cannot be satisfied by less dis7 criminatory means. 

8 (3) EFFECTIVE.—For purposes of paragraph 

9 (1), an algorithmic process is effective if the online 

10 platform employing or otherwise utilizing the algo11 rithmic process has taken reasonable steps to ensure 

12 that the algorithmic process has the ability to 

13 produce its desired or intended result. 

14 (f) DISCRIMINATION BY USERS OF ONLINE PLAT15 FORMS.—It shall be unlawful for a user of an online plat16 form to utilize an algorithmic process on an online plat17 form in a manner that— 

18 (1) withholds, denies, deprives, or attempts to 

19 withhold, deny, or deprive any individual of a right 

20 or privilege under title II of the Civil Rights Act of 

21 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et. seq.); 

22 (2) intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts 

23 to intimidate, threaten, or coerce any individual with 

24 the purpose of interfering with a right or privilege 

25 under title II of such Act; or 


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1 (3) punishes or attempts to punish any indi2 vidual for exercising or attempting to exercise a 

3 right or privilege under title II of such Act. 

4 (g) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section shall limit 

5 an online platform from processing personal information 

6 for the purpose of— 

7 (1) good faith internal testing to prevent unlaw8 ful discrimination, identify disparate outcomes or 

9 treatment, or otherwise determine the extent or ef10 fectiveness of the online platform’s compliance with 

11 this Act; or 

12 (2) advertising, marketing, or soliciting eco13 nomic opportunities (which shall not be of lower 

14 quality or contain less desirable terms than similar 

15 opportunities the online platform advertises, mar16 kets, or solicits to the general population) to under17 represented populations in a fair and non-deceptive 

18 manner. 

19 (h) FTC ADVISORY OPINIONS.—An online platform 

20 may request guidance from the Commission with respect 

21 to the online platform’s potential compliance with this Act, 

22 in accordance with the Commission’s rules of practice on 

23 advisory opinions. 

24 (i) PRESERVATION OF RIGHTS AND WHISTLE25 BLOWER PROTECTIONS; RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 


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1 (1) NO CONDITIONAL SERVICE.—An online 

2 platform may not condition or degrade the provision 

3 of a service or product to an individual based on the 

4 individual’s waiver of any right guaranteed in this 

5 section. 

6 (2) NO ARBITRATION AGREEMENT OR WAIV7 ER.—No pre-dispute arbitration agreement or pre8 dispute joint action waiver of any right guaranteed 

9 in this section shall be valid or enforceable with re10 spect to a dispute arising under this Act. Any deter11 mination as to the scope or manner of applicability 

12 of this section shall be made by a court, rather than 

13 an arbitrator, without regard to whether such agree14 ment purports to delegate such determination to an 

15 arbitrator. 

16 (3) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—An online 

17 platform may not, directly or indirectly, discharge, 

18 demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or in any other 

19 manner discriminate against an individual for re20 porting or attempting to report a violation of this 

21 section. 

22 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

23 section shall be construed to affect the application of 

24 section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 

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1 nications Decency Act of 1996’’) (47 U.S.C. 230) to 

2 an online platform or otherwise impose on an online 

3 platform legal liability for user generated content. 

4 SEC. 7. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON ALGORITHMIC 

5 PROCESSES ON ONLINE PLATFORMS. 

6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commission shall estab7 lish an interagency task force on algorithmic processes on 

8 online platforms (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Task 

9 Force’’) for the purpose of examining the discriminatory 

10 use of personal information by online platforms in algo11 rithmic processes. 

12 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force established 

14 under this section shall include representatives 

15 from— 

16 (A) the Commission; 

17 (B) the Department of Education; 

18 (C) the Department of Justice; 

19 (D) the Department of Labor; 

20 (E) the Department of Housing and Urban 

21 Development; 

22 (F) the Department of Commerce; 

23 (G) the Department of Health and Human 

24 Services; 

25 (H) the Department of Veterans Affairs; 


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1 (I) the Equal Employment Opportunity 

2 Commission; 

3 (J) the Consumer Financial Protection Bu4 reau; 

5 (K) the Federal Communications Commis6 sion; 

7 (L) the Federal Elections Commission; and 

8 (M) the White House Office of Science and 

9 Technology Policy. 

10 (2) CHAIR.—The Task Force shall be co11 chaired by 1 representative of the Commission and 

12 1 representative of the Department of Justice. 

13 (3) STAFF.—The Task Force shall hire such 

14 other personnel, including individuals with expertise 

15 in the intersection of civil rights and technology, as 

16 may be appropriate to enable the Task Force to per17 form its duties. 

18 (c) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

19 (1) STUDY.—The Task Force shall conduct a 

20 study on the discriminatory use of personal informa21 tion by online platforms in algorithmic processes. 

22 Such study shall include the following: 

23 (A) Discriminatory use of personal infor24 mation in the advertisement of (including the 


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1 withholding of an advertisement) housing op2 portunities. 

3 (B) Discriminatory use of personal infor4 mation in the advertisement of (including the 

5 withholding of an advertisement) credit, lend6 ing, or other financial services opportunities. 

7 (C) Discriminatory use of personal infor8 mation in the advertisement of (including the 

9 withholding of an advertisement) employment 

10 opportunities. 

11 (D) Discriminatory use of personal infor12 mation in the advertisement of (including the 

13 withholding of an advertisement) education op14 portunities. 

15 (E) Discriminatory use of personal infor16 mation in the advertisement of (including the 

17 withholding of an advertisement) insurance op18 portunities. 

19 (F) Discriminatory use of personal infor20 mation or biometric information by employers 

21 in the surveillance or monitoring of workers. 

22 (G) Discriminatory use of personal infor23 mation on online platforms involved in hiring 

24 screening practices. 


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1 (H) Discriminatory use of personal infor2 mation or biometric information in education, 

3 including the use of— 

4 (i) student personal information for 

5 predictive forecasting on student ability or 

6 potential for purposes of admissions deci7 sions; and 

8 (ii) automated proctoring software 

9 that monitors, analyzes, or otherwise proc10 esses student biometric information to 

11 identify suspicious behavior, including any 

12 discriminatory outcomes associated with 

13 the use of such software. 

14 (I) Discriminatory use of user biometric 

15 information. 

16 (J) Use of personal information by 

17 disinformation campaigns for the purpose of po18 litical disenfranchisement. 

19 (K) Any other discriminatory use of per20 sonal information. 

21 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, and biennially 

23 thereafter, the Task Force shall submit to Congress 

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1 ommendations for such legislation and administra2 tive action as the Task Force determines appro3 priate. 

4 (d) FUNDING.—Out of any money in the Treasury 

5 not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the 

6 Commission such sums as are necessary to carry out this 

7 section. Amounts appropriated under the preceding sen8 tence shall remain available until expended. 

9 SEC. 8. ENFORCEMENT. 

10 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

11 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC12 TICE.—A violation of this Act or a regulation pro13 mulgated under this Act shall be treated as a viola14 tion of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or 

15 practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 

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

17 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

19 enforce this Act in the same manner, by the 

20 same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

21 powers, and duties as though all applicable 

22 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 

23 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were in24 corporated into and made a part of this section. 


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1 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 

2 person who violates this Act or a regulation 

3 promulgated under this Act shall be subject to 

4 the penalties and entitled to the privileges and 

5 immunities provided in the Federal Trade Com6 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

7 (C) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in 

8 this Act shall be construed to limit the author9 ity of the Commission under any other provi10 sion of law. 

11 (3) RULEMAKING.—The Commission shall pro12 mulgate in accordance with section 553 of title 5, 

13 United States Code, such rules as may be necessary 

14 to carry out this Act. 

15 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATES.— 

16 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to paragraph 

17 (2), in any case in which the attorney general of a 

18 State has reason to believe that an interest of the 

19 residents of the State has been or is adversely af20 fected by the engagement of any person in an act or 

21 practice that violates this Act or a regulation pro22 mulgated under this Act, the attorney general of the 

23 State may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on 

24 behalf of the residents of the State in an appropriate 

25 district court of the United States to— 


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1 (A) enjoin that act or practice; 

2 (B) enforce compliance with this Act or the 

3 regulation; 

4 (C) obtain damages, civil penalties, restitu5 tion, or other compensation on behalf of the 

6 residents of the State; or 

7 (D) obtain such other relief as the court 

8 may consider to be appropriate. 

9 (2) RIGHTS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

10 (A) NOTICE TO THE COMMISSION.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

12 in clause (iii), the attorney general of a 

13 State shall notify the Commission in writ14 ing that the attorney general intends to 

15 bring a civil action under paragraph (1) 

16 before initiating the civil action against a 

17 person subject to this Act. 

18 (ii) CONTENTS.—The notification re19 quired by clause (i) with respect to a civil 

20 action shall include a copy of the complaint 

21 to be filed to initiate the civil action. 

22 (iii) EXCEPTION.—If it is not feasible 

23 for the attorney general of a State to pro24 vide the notification required by clause (i) 

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1 graph (1), the attorney general shall notify 

2 the Commission immediately upon insti3 tuting the civil action. 

4 (B) INTERVENTION BY THE COMMIS5 SION.—The Commission may— 

6 (i) intervene in any civil action 

7 brought by the attorney general of a State 

8 under paragraph (1); and 

9 (ii) upon intervening— 

10 (I) be heard on all matters aris11 ing in the civil action; and 

12 (II) file petitions for appeal of a 

13 decision in the civil action. 

14 (3) INVESTIGATORY POWERS.—Nothing in this 

15 subsection may be construed to prevent the attorney 

16 general of a State from exercising the powers con17 ferred on the attorney general by the laws of the 

18 State to conduct investigations, to administer oaths 

19 or affirmations, or to compel the attendance of wit20 nesses or the production of documentary or other 

21 evidence. 

22 (4) ACTION BY THE COMMISSION.—If the Com23 mission institutes a civil action with respect to a vio24 lation of this Act, the attorney general of a State 

25 may not, during the pendency of the action, bring a 


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1 civil action under paragraph (1) against any defend2 ant named in the complaint of the Commission for 

3 the violation with respect to which the Commission 

4 instituted such action. 

5 (5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

6 (A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

7 paragraph (1) may be brought in the district 

8 court of the United States that meets applicable 

9 requirements relating to venue under section 

10 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 

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

12 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 

13 served in any district in which the defendant— 

14 (i) is an inhabitant; or 

15 (ii) may be found. 

16 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUS17 TICE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

19 bring a civil action to enforce section 6(a), (b), (c), 

20 (e), (f), or (i) in an appropriate district court of the 

21 United States. 

22 (2) COORDINATION WITH THE COMMISSION.— 

23 The Attorney General shall, when reasonable and 

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1 mission on a civil action brought under paragraph 

2 (1). 

3 (3) RELIEF.—In any civil action brought under 

4 paragraph (1), the court may impose injunctive re5 lief, declaratory relief, damages, civil penalties, res6 titution, and any other relief the court deems appro7 priate. 

8 (d) ENFORCEMENT BY INDIVIDUALS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual alleging a 

10 violation of section 6(a), (b), or (c), or a regulation 

11 promulgated thereunder, may bring a civil action in 

12 any court of competent jurisdiction, State or Fed13 eral. 

14 (2) RELIEF.—In a civil action brought under 

15 paragraph (1) in which the plaintiff prevails, the 

16 court may award— 

17 (A) an amount equal to $2,500 or actual 

18 damages, whichever is greater; 

19 (B) punitive damages; 

20 (C) reasonable attorney’s fees and litiga21 tion costs; and 

22 (D) any other relief, including injunctive or 

23 declaratory relief, that the court determines ap24 propriate. 

Æ 


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