I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5571
To prohibit the making, importation, exportation, distribution, sale, offer
for sale, installation, or use of an information collection device without
proper labeling or notice and consent.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 26, 2000
Mr. HOLT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Commerce
A BILL
To prohibit the making, importation, exportation, distribu-
tion, sale, offer for sale, installation, or use of an infor-
mation collection device without proper labeling or notice
and consent.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Electronic Privacy Pro-
tection Act’’.
person, unless that person in accordance with
regulations issued under paragraph (2)—
(i) has given a primary user of that
computer notice of such installation; and
(ii) after providing such notice to a
primary user, has obtained the consent of
the primary user to such installation; or
(C) to knowingly use an information collec-
tion device to transmit from a computer that is
not under general management and control of
that person, any information that is identifiable
to that computer, to a primary user of that
computer, or to an individual who operates that
computer but is not a primary user thereof, un-
less that person in accordance with regulations
issued under paragraph (2)—
(i) has given a primary user of that
computer notice that the device may trans-
mit such information; and
(ii) after providing such notice to a
primary user, has obtained consent by the
primary user to such a transmission.
(2) NOTICE AND CONSENT.—For purposes of
notice and consent required by paragraph (1), regu-
lations shall require that—
(A) notice be given and consent be ob-
tained for each instance of installation or use of
an information collection device; and
(B) consent is effective only if the person
obtaining the consent has a good faith belief
that the person giving the consent—
(i) has attained 18 years of age; and
(ii) has authority to give such consent.
(c) LIMITATION
ON
APPLICATION
OF
REGULA-
TIONS.—Regulations issued under subsection (b)(1)(A)
shall not prohibit the making, importation, exportation,
distribution, sale, or offer for sale of any information col-
lection device made before the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(d) PENALTY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
whoever violates this section shall be fined $500 for
the first such violation and $1,500 for each subse-
quent violation.
(2) INFORMATION
ABOUT
MINORS.—Whoever
commits a violation of a regulation issued under
subsection (b)(1)(C) shall be fined twice the amount
of the fine that would otherwise apply under this
subsection if such violation results in the trans-
mission from a computer of information that is iden-
tifiable to—
(A) an individual who operates that com-
puter and has not attained 18 years of age; or
(B) that computer if a primary user of
that computer is an individual who has not at-
tained such age.
(3) SUBSEQUENT VIOLATIONS.—Each violation
of a regulation issued under subsection (b)(1), in-
cluding each transmission of information in violation
of subsection (b)(1)(C), constitutes a separate viola-
tion for purposes of this subsection.
(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
(1) COMPUTER.—The term ‘‘computer’’ means
a programmable electronically activated device
that—
(A) is capable of accepting information,
applying prescribed processes to the informa-
tion, and supplying the results of those proc-
esses with or without human intervention; and
(B) consists of a central processing unit
containing extensive storage, logic, and control
capabilities.
(2) INFORMATION COLLECTION DEVICE.—The
term ‘‘information collection device’’ means any de-
vice that—
(A) is a computer program that is capable
of collecting and transmitting from a computer
to a person other than a primary user of that
computer, information that is identifiable to
that computer, to a primary user of that com-
puter, or to an individual who operates that
computer but is not a primary user thereof; and
(B) does not consist of only a simple iden-
tifying string of computer code, commonly re-
ferred to as a ‘‘cookie’’.
(3) PRIMARY USER.—The term ‘‘primary user’’
means any individual with general authority over
management and use of a computer or any person
on whose behalf an individual exercises such general
authority.
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