Parental Data Rights Act

Subjects: Law


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 564 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 564

    To permit parents to bring a civil action against social media 
companies that fail to provide parental access and data control rights 
 with respect to the social media accounts of minor children, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 28, 2023

  Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To permit parents to bring a civil action against social media 
companies that fail to provide parental access and data control rights 
 with respect to the social media accounts of minor children, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Parental Data Rights Act''.

SEC. 2. PARENTAL SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT ACCESS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Contact information.--The term ``contact information'', 
        with respect to an individual, means--
                    (A) the full legal name of the individual; and
                    (B) the email address of the individual.
            (2) Covered interactive computer service.--The term 
        ``covered interactive computer service'' means an interactive 
        computer service--
                    (A) that is provided through a website, online 
                application, or mobile application (including a single 
                interactive computer service that is provided through 
                more than 1 such website or application);
                    (B) through which information provided by another 
                information content provider is distributed; and
                    (C) that enables an individual user to create an 
                account for the purpose of viewing, generating, or 
                modifying content that can be viewed, shared, or 
                otherwise interacted with by other third-party users of 
                the interactive computer service.
            (3) Information content provider; interactive computer 
        service.--The terms ``information content provider'' and 
        ``interactive computer service'' have the meanings given those 
        terms in section 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
        U.S.C. 230(f)).
            (4) Minor child.--The term ``minor child'' means an 
        individual who is younger than 18 years of age.
            (5) Social media company.--The term ``social media 
        company''--
                    (A) means an entity that provides, in or affecting 
                interstate or foreign commerce, a covered interactive 
                computer service; and
                    (B) does not include an organization described in 
                section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
                exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
    (b) Parental Notification.--A social media company that permits a 
minor child to create an account with the social media company shall--
            (1) at the time the minor child creates the account, 
        require the collection of the contact information of a parent 
        or guardian of that minor child; and
            (2) notify the parent or guardian, the contact information 
        of whom is collected under paragraph (1), regarding the 
        creation of the account described in that paragraph.
    (c) Liability.--A social media company shall be liable in 
accordance with this section to--
            (1) any individual who requests, and is denied access to, 
        all data regarding the use, by a minor child in the custody of 
        the individual, of the covered interactive computer service 
        provided by the social media company; and
            (2) any individual who requests and is denied the ability 
        to delete--
                    (A) an account maintained with the social media 
                company by a minor child in the custody of the 
                individual; and
                    (B) all data associated with the account described 
                in subparagraph (A).
    (d) Private Right of Action.--
            (1) In general.--An individual who makes a request under 
        subsection (c) (and who is entitled to have the applicable 
        social media company take action under that subsection in 
        response to that request), may, if that request is denied by 
        the social media company, bring a civil action against the 
        social media company in an appropriate district court of the 
        United States, or in a State court of competent jurisdiction, 
        for--
                    (A) injunctive relief;
                    (B) punitive damages, with treble damages available 
                if, because of the negligence or inaction of that 
                social media company, the individual did not receive 
                from that social media company a notification to which 
                the individual was entitled under subsection (b)(2); 
                and
                    (C) attorney's fees and costs.
            (2) Affirmative defense.--It shall be an affirmative 
        defense to an action brought against a social media company 
        under paragraph (1) that the social media company, at all 
        relevant times--
                    (A) took reasonable, affirmative steps to ascertain 
                the age of each user of the covered interactive 
                computer service provided by the social media company; 
                and
                    (B) did not know, and had no reason to know, that 
                the user that is the subject of the action was a minor 
                child when the user used the covered interactive 
                computer service provided by the social media company.
    (e) Effective Date; Applicability.--This Act--
            (1) shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) shall not apply to any use of a covered interactive 
        computer service that occurred before the effective date 
        described in paragraph (1).
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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