I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4955 
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit covered 
online platforms from disseminating political advertisements which are 
targeted to an individual, a connected device, or to a group of individuals 
or connected devices on any basis other than the recognized place in 
which the individual resides or the device is located, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 6, 2021 
Ms. ESHOO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on House Administration 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to 
prohibit covered online platforms from disseminating po-
litical advertisements which are targeted to an individual, 
a connected device, or to a group of individuals or con-
nected devices on any basis other than the recognized 
place in which the individual resides or the device is 
located, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Banning Microtargeted 
Political Ads Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON DISSEMINATION OF TARGETED 
POLITICAL 
ADVERTISEMENTS 
BY 
ONLINE 
PLATFORMS. 
(a) RESTRICTIONS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 325. RESTRICTIONS ON DISSEMINATION OF TAR-
GETED POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENTS BY ON-
LINE PLATFORMS. 
‘‘(a) RESTRICTIONS
ON
ADVERTISEMENTS
TAR-
GETED AT INDIVIDUALS OR AT SPECIFIC GROUPS OF IN-
DIVIDUALS.—A covered online platform, a sponsor of a po-
litical advertisement, or an agent, affiliate, vendor, or 
other person acting on behalf of such a platform or spon-
sor may not— 
‘‘(1) target the dissemination of a political ad-
vertisement on a covered online platform to an indi-
vidual, a connected device, or to a group of individ-
uals or connected devices; or 
‘‘(2) knowingly enable a third party to target 
the dissemination of a political advertisement, in-
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cluding by providing the third party a list of individ-
uals or connected devices, contact information of in-
dividuals, or other personal information that can be 
used to identify individuals or connected devices. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(1) 
TARGETING
WITHIN
RECOGNIZED 
PLACE.—Subsection (a) does not apply to the tar-
geting of the dissemination of a political advertise-
ment to an individual residing in, or to connected 
devices located in, a recognized place. 
‘‘(2) TARGETING TO INDIVIDUALS GIVING EX-
PRESS CONSENT.—Subsection (a) does not apply to 
the targeting of the dissemination of a political ad-
vertisement to an individual if— 
‘‘(A) the individual has provided freely 
given, express, specific, informed, and unambig-
uous consent directly to the sponsor— 
‘‘(i) to be an individual to whom the 
dissemination of a political advertisement 
is targeted by the sponsor; and 
‘‘(ii) to allow the sponsor to disclose 
personal information pertaining to the in-
dividual to another person for the purpose 
of advertising; 
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‘‘(B) such consent is revocable and was not 
received through or by the aid of the sponsor or 
the covered online platform; and 
‘‘(C) the sponsor and any agent, affiliate, 
vendor, or other person disseminating a political 
advertisement on behalf of the sponsor, does 
not use personal information generated by or 
pertaining to the individual except information 
that was expressly and affirmatively provided 
by the individual directly to the sponsor. 
‘‘(3) CONTEXTUAL
ADVERTISING.—Subsection 
(a) does not apply to the targeting of the dissemina-
tion of a political advertisement to an individual if 
the political advertisement— 
‘‘(A) is disseminated based on informa-
tion— 
‘‘(i) that the individual is viewing or 
with which the individual is otherwise en-
gaging; or 
‘‘(ii) 
for 
which 
the 
individual 
searched; and 
‘‘(B) is displayed or otherwise dissemi-
nated in close proximity to information de-
scribed in subparagraph (A). 
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‘‘(4) TARGETING
ON
RANDOM
BASIS.—Sub-
section (a) does not apply to the targeting of the dis-
semination of a political advertisement to an indi-
vidual on a random basis, including on a random 
basis within any of the exceptions described in this 
subsection. 
‘‘(5) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to require a cov-
ered online platform, a sponsor of a political adver-
tisement, or an agent, affiliate, vendor, or other per-
son acting on behalf of the platform or the sponsor 
to disseminate a political advertisement to an indi-
vidual who has opted out of receiving a political ad-
vertisement or any other form of communication 
from the platform, the sponsor, or any agent, affil-
iate, vendor, or other person acting on behalf of the 
platform or the sponsor, including opting out of re-
ceiving a specific type of advertisement or commu-
nication, an advertisement or communication from a 
particular sponsor, or any other opt-out preference. 
‘‘(c) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
‘‘(1) ENFORCEMENT BY INDIVIDUALS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any individual alleg-
ing a violation of this section by a covered on-
line platform or an agent, affiliate, vendor, or 
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other person acting on behalf of a covered on-
line platform may bring a civil action in any 
court of competent jurisdiction, State or Fed-
eral. 
‘‘(B) RELIEF.—In a civil action brought 
under paragraph (1) in which the plaintiff pre-
vails, the court may award— 
‘‘(i) an amount— 
‘‘(I) not less than $100 and not 
greater than $1,000 per violation 
against any person who negligently 
violates a provision of this section; 
and 
‘‘(II) not less than $500 and not 
greater than $5,000 per violation 
against any person who recklessly, 
willfully, or intentionally violates a 
provision of this section; 
‘‘(ii) disgorgement or compensation 
for unjust enrichment; 
‘‘(iii) reasonable attorney’s fees and 
litigation costs; and 
‘‘(iv) any other relief, including equi-
table or declaratory relief, that the court 
determines appropriate. 
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‘‘(C) INJURY IN FACT.—A violation of this 
section constitutes a concrete and particularized 
injury in fact to an individual. 
‘‘(2) INVALIDITY
OF
PRE-DISPUTE
ARBITRA-
TION AGREEMENTS AND PRE-DISPUTE JOINT ACTION 
WAIVERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, no pre-dispute arbitra-
tion agreement or pre-dispute joint action waiv-
er shall be valid or enforceable with respect to 
a dispute arising under this section. 
‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—Any determination 
as to whether or how this subsection applies to 
any dispute shall be made by a court, rather 
than an arbitrator, without regard to whether 
such agreement purports to delegate such deter-
mination to an arbitrator. 
‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON ENFORCEMENT BY COM-
MISSION.—The authority of an individual to bring a 
civil action under this subsection shall not be con-
strued to affect any authority of the Commission to 
take any action under this Act with respect to an al-
legation of a violation of this section. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following 
definitions apply: 
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‘‘(1) CONNECTED
DEVICE.—The term ‘con-
nected device’ means any electronic equipment that 
is— 
‘‘(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 proc-
essing personal information. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The term ‘contents’, when 
used with respect to any communication, has the 
meaning given such term in section 2510(8) of title 
18, United States Code. 
‘‘(3) COVERED ONLINE PLATFORM.—The term 
‘covered online platform’ means any website, web ap-
plication, mobile application, connected device appli-
cation, digital application (including a social net-
work, or search engine), or advertising network (in-
cluding a network disseminating advertisements on 
another website, web application, mobile application, 
connected device application, or digital application) 
that disseminates political advertisements, except 
that such term does not include a website, applica-
tion, or network (or a subsidiary or affiliate of such 
a website, application, or network) that, during the 
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12-month period ending on the date of the dissemi-
nation of the political advertisement involved, col-
lected or processed personal information relating to 
fewer than 50,000,000 individuals. 
‘‘(4) DISPUTE.—The term ‘dispute’ means any 
claim related to an alleged violation of this section 
and between an individual and a covered online plat-
form. 
‘‘(5) DISSEMINATE.—The term ‘disseminate’ 
means, with respect to a political advertisement, to 
transmit, display, or otherwise disseminate the polit-
ical advertisement. 
‘‘(6) DISSEMINATION.—The term ‘dissemina-
tion’ means, with respect to a political advertise-
ment, the transmission, display, or other dissemina-
tion of the political advertisement. 
‘‘(7) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘Indian lands’ 
includes— 
‘‘(A) any Indian country of an Indian 
Tribe, as defined under 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.), by an Indian Tribe that 
is a Native village (as such term is defined in 
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section 3 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)) or by 
a Village Corporation (as such term is defined 
in section 3 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)) that 
is associated with an Indian Tribe; and 
‘‘(C) any land that is part or all of a Trib-
al designated statistical area associated with an 
Indian Tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Na-
tive village statistical area associated with an 
Indian Tribe, as defined by the Bureau of the 
Census for the purposes of the most recent de-
cennial census. 
‘‘(8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian Tribe’ 
has the meaning given the term ‘Indian tribe’ in sec-
tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
‘‘(9) PERSONAL INFORMATION.—The term ‘per-
sonal information’ means data that is linked or rea-
sonably linkable to an individual or a connected de-
vice, including— 
‘‘(A) data inferred or derived about the in-
dividual or connected device from other col-
lected data, if such data is still linked or rea-
sonably linkable to the individual or connected 
device; 
‘‘(B) contents of communications; 
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‘‘(C) internet browsing history and online 
activity; and 
‘‘(D) an identifier used to assign an indi-
vidual to a group for the purposes of targeting 
the dissemination of an advertisement. 
‘‘(10) POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT.—The term 
‘political advertisement’ means— 
‘‘(A) an electioneering communication (as 
defined in section 304(f)(3)); 
‘‘(B) a communication expressly advo-
cating the election or defeat of a clearly identi-
fied candidate for election for Federal office, or 
which is the functional equivalent of express ad-
vocacy because, when taken as a whole, it can 
be susceptible of no reasonable interpretation 
other than as an appeal to vote for or against 
a candidate for election for Federal office; 
‘‘(C) a paid public communication or a 
public communication promoted for payment 
that refers to a clearly identified candidate for 
Federal office (regardless of whether a can-
didate for State or local office is also mentioned 
or identified) and that promotes or supports a 
candidate for that office, or attacks or opposes 
a candidate for that office (regardless of wheth-
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er the communication expressly advocates a 
vote for or against a candidate); or 
‘‘(D) any advertisement (including search 
engine marketing, display advertisements, video 
advertisements, 
native 
advertisements, 
and 
sponsorships) that is made by or on behalf of 
a candidate. 
‘‘(11) 
PRE-DISPUTE
ARBITRATION
AGREE-
MENT.—The term ‘pre-dispute arbitration agree-
ment’ means any agreement to arbitrate a dispute 
that has not arisen at the time of making the agree-
ment. 
‘‘(12) PRE-DISPUTE
JOINT-ACTION
WAIVER.— 
The term ‘pre-dispute joint-action waiver’ means an 
agreement, whether or not part of a pre-dispute ar-
bitration agreement, that would prohibit, or waive 
the right of, one of the parties to the agreement to 
participate in a joint, class, or collective action in a 
judicial, arbitral, administration, or other forum, 
concerning a dispute that has not yet arisen at the 
time of making the agreement. 
‘‘(13) RECOGNIZED PLACE.—The term ‘recog-
nized place’ means any of the following: 
‘‘(A) A State. 
‘‘(B) Indian lands. 
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‘‘(C) 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 such 
term is defined in the most recent glossary 
of the Bureau of the Census). 
‘‘(D) A ‘census designated place’ (as such 
term is defined in the most recent glossary of 
the Bureau of the Census). 
‘‘(E) A congressional district. 
‘‘(F) A designated market area (as defined 
in section 122(j) of title 17, United States 
Code). 
‘‘(14) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is-
lands of the United States, Guam, American Samoa, 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, and any possession of the United States. 
‘‘(15) TARGET.—The term ‘target’ means, with 
respect to the dissemination of a political advertise-
ment, to perform or cause to be performed any com-
putational process designed to select an individual, 
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connected device, or group of individuals or con-
nected devices to which to disseminate the political 
advertisement based on personal information per-
taining to the individual or connected device or to 
the individuals or connected devices that make up 
the group. 
‘‘(16) THIRD PARTY.—The term ‘third party’ 
includes, with respect to a covered platform, a cor-
porate affiliate or other related party of the covered 
platform.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall take effect 3 months after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) EXPANSION
OF
DEFINITION
OF
ELECTION-
EERING COMMUNICATION.— 
(1) 
EXPANSION
TO
ONLINE
COMMUNICA-
TIONS.— 
(A) APPLICATION
TO
QUALIFIED
INTER-
NET AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) 
of section 304(f)(3) of the Federal Election 
Campaign 
Act 
of 
1971 
(52 
U.S.C. 
30104(f)(3)(A)) is amended by striking 
‘‘or satellite communication’’ each place it 
appears in clauses (i) and (ii) and insert-
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ing ‘‘satellite, or qualified internet or dig-
ital communication’’. 
(ii) QUALIFIED INTERNET OR DIGITAL 
COMMUNICATION.—Paragraph (3) of sec-
tion 304(f) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
30104(f)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) QUALIFIED
INTERNET
OR
DIGITAL 
COMMUNICATION.—The term ‘qualified internet 
or digital communication’ means any commu-
nication which is placed or promoted for a fee 
on a covered online platform (as defined in sec-
tion 325(d)(3)).’’. 
(B) NONAPPLICATION OF RELEVANT ELEC-
TORATE
TO
ONLINE
COMMUNICATIONS.—Sec-
tion 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(III) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
30104(f)(3)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘any broadcast, cable, or satellite’’ before ‘‘com-
munication’’. 
(C) 
NEWS
EXEMPTION.—Section 
304(f)(3)(B)(i) 
of 
such 
Act 
(52 
U.S.C. 
30104(f)(3)(B)(i)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(i) a communication appearing in a 
bona fide news story, commentary, or edi-
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torial distributed through the facilities of 
any broadcasting station or any online or 
digital newspaper, magazine, blog, publica-
tion, or periodical, unless such broad-
casting, online, or digital facilities are 
owned or controlled by any political party, 
political committee, or candidate;’’. 
(2) EXPANSION
OF
DEFINITION
OF
PUBLIC 
COMMUNICATION.—Paragraph (22) of section 301 of 
the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30101(22)) is amended by striking ‘‘or sat-
ellite communication’’ and inserting ‘‘satellite, paid 
internet, or paid digital communication, paid pro-
motion’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply with respect to com-
munications made on or after the expiration of the 
3-month period which begins on the date of the en-
actment of this Act. 
(c) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act or 
the amendments made by this Act, or the application 
thereof, is held unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the 
validity of the remainder of the Act, the amendments, and 
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the application of such provision shall not be affected 
thereby. 
Æ 
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