Banning Surveillance Advertising Act of 2022

To prohibit targeted advertising by advertising facilitators and advertisers, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Banning Surveillance Advertising Act of 2022 2. Prohibition on targeted advertising (a) Prohibition on targeting by advertising facilitators (1) In general An advertising facilitator may not— (A) target the dissemination of an advertisement; or (B) knowingly enable an advertiser or a third party to target the dissemination of an advertisement, including by providing the advertiser or third party with— (i) a list of individuals or connected devices; (ii) contact information of an individual; (iii) a unique identifier that may be used to identify an individual or a connected device; or (iv) other personal information that can be used to identify an individual or a connected device. (2) Contextual advertisements (A) In general For purposes of paragraph (1), an advertising facilitator shall not be considered to target the dissemination of an advertisement, or to knowingly enable an advertiser or third party to target the dissemination of an advertisement, to an individual (or a connected device associated with an individual) if the advertisement— (i) is disseminated based on information— (I) that the individual is viewing or with which the individual is otherwise engaging; or (II) for which the individual searched; and (ii) is displayed or otherwise disseminated in close proximity to information described in clause (i). (B) Prohibition on further use of information related to the delivery of contextual advertisements Information collected in connection with the dissemination of an advertisement as described in subparagraph (A) may not be used to target the dissemination of additional advertisements or to knowingly enable an advertiser or third party to target the dissemination of additional advertisements. (3) Information provided by or on behalf of advertiser with attestation of compliance Paragraph (1) does not apply to the targeting of the dissemination of an advertisement based on information described in clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (B) of such paragraph that is provided to an advertising facilitator by an advertiser or by a third party on behalf of an advertiser, if the advertising facilitator is provided a written attestation that the advertiser is not in violation of subsection (b) with respect to such information. (b) Prohibition on targeting by advertisers An advertiser may not target, cause an advertising facilitator to target, or knowingly enable a third party to target or cause an advertising facilitator to target, the dissemination of an advertisement (including by providing any information described in clauses (i) through (iv) of subsection (a)(1)(B)) based on personal information— (1) that the advertiser has purchased or otherwise obtained from another person (other than an individual to whom the personal information pertains); or (2) that— (A) identifies an individual as a member of a protected class; or (B) is known or should reasonably be known by the advertiser to act as a reasonable proxy for identifying an individual as a member of a protected class. (c) Exception for targeting based on recognized place For purposes of this section, the dissemination of an advertisement shall not be considered to be targeted to an individual, connected device, or group of individuals or connected devices based on a recognized place associated with the individual, connected device, or group of individuals or connected devices. 3. Enforcement (a) Federal Trade Commission (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices A violation of this Act or a regulation promulgated under this Act shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B) (2) Powers of the Commission (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B) and paragraph (3)— (i) the Commission shall enforce this Act and the regulations promulgated under this Act in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 41 et seq. (ii) any person who violates this Act or a regulation promulgated under this Act shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act. (B) Exclusive litigation authority Notwithstanding section 16(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 56(a) (3) Common carriers and nonprofit organizations Notwithstanding section 4, 5(a)(2), or 6 of the Federal Trade Commission Act ( 15 U.S.C. 44 (A) common carriers subject to the Communications Act of 1934 ( 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq. (B) organizations not organized to carry on business for their own profit or that of their members. (4) Rulemaking authority The Commission may promulgate, under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, any regulations necessary to implement this Act. (5) Savings clause Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any other provision of law. (b) Enforcement by States (1) In general In any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of the State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by an act or practice in violation of this Act or a regulation promulgated under this Act, the attorney general of the State may, as parens patriae, bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in an appropriate district court of the United States or an appropriate State court to obtain appropriate relief. (2) Rights of the Commission (A) Notice to the Commission (i) In general Except as provided in clause (iii), the attorney general of a State shall notify the Commission in writing that the attorney general intends to bring a civil action under paragraph (1) before initiating the civil action. (ii) Contents The notification required by clause (i) with respect to a civil action shall include a copy of the complaint to be filed to initiate the civil action. (iii) Exception If it is not feasible for the attorney general of a State to provide the notification required by clause (i) before initiating a civil action under paragraph (1), the attorney general shall notify the Commission immediately upon instituting the civil action. (B) Intervention by the Commission The Commission may— (i) intervene in any civil action brought by the attorney general of a State under paragraph (1); and (ii) upon intervening— (I) remove the civil action to the appropriate district court of the United States, if the action was not originally brought in such court; (II) be heard on all matters arising in the civil action; and (III) file petitions for appeal of a decision in the civil action. (C) Investigatory powers Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prevent the attorney general of a State from exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the laws of the State to conduct investigations, to administer oaths or affirmations, or to compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of documentary or other evidence. (3) Action by the Commission If the Commission institutes a civil action with respect to a violation of this Act or a regulation promulgated under this Act, the attorney general of a State may not, during the pendency of such action, bring a civil action under paragraph (1) against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission for the violation with respect to which the Commission instituted such action. (4) Actions by other State officials (A) In general In addition to civil actions brought by attorneys general under paragraph (1), any other officer of a State who is authorized by the State to do so may bring a civil action under such paragraph, subject to the same requirements and limitations that apply under this subsection to civil actions brought by attorneys general. (B) Savings provision Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prohibit an attorney general or authorized official of a State from initiating or continuing any proceeding in a court of the State for a violation of any civil or criminal law of the State. (c) Private right of action (1) Enforcement by individuals (A) In general Any individual alleging a violation of this Act or a regulation promulgated under this Act may bring a civil action in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction. (B) Relief In a civil action brought under subparagraph (A) in which the plaintiff prevails, the court may award— (i) an amount equal to— (I) in the case of a negligent violation, not less than $100 and not greater than $1,000 per violation; or (II) in the case of a reckless, knowing, willful, or intentional violation, not less than $500 and not greater than $5,000 per violation; (ii) reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs; and (iii) any other relief, including equitable or declaratory relief, that the court determines appropriate. (C) Injury in fact A violation of this Act or a regulation promulgated under this Act with respect to the personal information of an individual constitutes a concrete and particularized injury in fact to that individual. (2) Invalidity of pre-dispute arbitration agreements and pre-dispute joint-action waivers (A) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no pre-dispute arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint-action waiver shall be valid or enforceable. (B) Applicability Any determination as to whether or how this paragraph applies to any dispute shall be made by a court, rather than an arbitrator, without regard to whether such agreement purports to delegate such determination to an arbitrator. 4. Definitions In this Act: (1) Advertisement The term advertisement (2) Advertiser (A) In general The term advertiser (B) Exclusion The term advertiser (3) Advertising facilitator (A) In general The term advertising facilitator (i) receives monetary consideration or another thing of value to disseminate an advertisement to an individual, connected device, or group of individuals or connected devices; and (ii) collects or processes personal information with respect to the dissemination of the advertisement. (B) Exclusion The term advertising facilitator (4) Collect The term collect (5) Commission The term Commission (6) Connected device The term connected device (A) primarily designed for or marketed to consumers; (B) capable of connecting to the internet or another communication network; and (C) capable of sending, receiving, or processing personal information. (7) Contents The term contents (8) Dispute The term dispute (9) Disseminate The term disseminate (10) Dissemination The term dissemination (11) Indian lands The term Indian lands (A) any Indian country of an Indian Tribe (as such term is defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code); (B) any land in Alaska owned, pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. 43 U.S.C. 1602 43 U.S.C. 1602 (C) any land that is part or all of a Tribal designated statistical area associated with an Indian Tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Native village statistical area associated with an Indian Tribe, as defined by the Bureau of the Census for the purposes of the most recent decennial census. (12) Indian Tribe The term Indian Tribe Indian tribe 25 U.S.C. 5304 (13) Personal information The term personal information (A) data inferred or derived about the individual or connected device from other collected data, if such data is still linked or reasonably linkable to the individual or connected device; (B) contents of communications; (C) internet browsing history and online activity; and (D) a unique identifier used for the purposes of targeting the dissemination of an advertisement. (14) Pre-dispute arbitration agreement The term pre-dispute arbitration agreement (15) Pre-dispute joint-action waiver The term pre-dispute joint-action waiver (16) Protected class The term protected class (17) Recognized place (A) In general The term recognized place (i) A State. (ii) Indian lands. (iii) A county, municipality, city, town, township, village, borough, or similar unit of general government that is— (I) incorporated pursuant to a State law; or (II) an incorporated place (as defined in the most recent glossary of the Bureau of the Census). (iv) A census designated place (as defined in the most recent glossary of the Bureau of the Census). (v) A designated market area (as defined in section 122(j) of title 17, United States Code). (vi) A congressional district. (B) Exclusions The term recognized place (i) a subdivision of any item listed in subparagraph (A) that is not itself listed in such subparagraph; or (ii) a ZIP Code. (18) State The term State (19) Target (A) In general The term target (B) Exclusions The term target (20) Third party The term third party

Summary: Banning Surveillance Advertising Act of 2022 This bill restricts online advertising that targets an individual, internet-connected device, or group of individuals or devices based on personal information. Personal information includes information that is reasonably linkable to an individual or connected device such as internet browsing history or the content of communications. The bill generally prohibits (1) online advertisers from using personal information, including personal information that identifies an individual as a member of a specified protected class, to target advertising; and (2) advertising facilitators (i.e., entities that receive compensation for disseminating online advertisements) from using personal information to disseminate targeted advertising or knowingly enabling online advertisers to do so. The bill allows certain exceptions, including for advertisements disseminated based on (1) content with which an individual is engaging, such as search results, if the advertisement is displayed in close proximity to the individual's engagement with the content; or (2) a state, market area, or other geographic location associated with an individual. Furthermore, an advertising facilitator may use information provided by an advertiser or third party if that advertiser or third party also attests in writing that the information complies with the bill's requirements. The bill provides for enforcement of these provisions by the Federal Trade Commission, states, and individuals.