I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7858 
To establish a new Federal body to provide reasonable oversight and 
regulation of digital platforms. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 19, 2022 
Mr. WELCH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Ways 
and Means, and Small Business, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a new Federal body to provide reasonable 
oversight and regulation of digital platforms. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Digital Platform Commission Act of 2022’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
Sec. 4. Establishment of Federal Digital Platform Commission. 
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Sec. 5. Jurisdiction. 
Sec. 6. Organization and general powers. 
Sec. 7. Organization and functioning of the Commission. 
Sec. 8. Code Council. 
Sec. 9. Rulemaking authority, requirements, and considerations. 
Sec. 10. Systemically important digital platforms. 
Sec. 11. Merger review. 
Sec. 12. Petitions. 
Sec. 13. Research. 
Sec. 14. Investigative authority. 
Sec. 15. Enforcement by private persons and governmental entities. 
Sec. 16. Proceedings to enjoin, set aside, annul, or suspend orders of the Com-
mission. 
Sec. 17. Report to Congress. 
Sec. 18. Authorization of appropriations. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) In the United States and around the world, 
digital platforms and online services play a central 
role in modern life by providing new tools for com-
munication, commerce, entrepreneurship, and de-
bate. 
(2) The United States takes pride in the suc-
cess of its technology sector, which leads the world 
in innovation and dynamism, provides valuable serv-
ices to the people of the United States, and supports 
thousands of good-paying jobs in the United States. 
(3) In recent years, a few digital platforms have 
benefitted from the combination of economies of 
scale, network effects, and unique characteristics of 
the digital marketplace to achieve vast power over 
the economy, society, and democracy of the United 
States. 
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(4) The last time Congress enacted legislation 
to meaningfully regulate the technology or tele-
communications sector was the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–104; 110 Stat 56.), 
years before many of today’s largest digital plat-
forms even existed. 
(5) Digital platforms remain largely unregu-
lated and are left to write their own rules without 
meaningful democratic input or accountability. 
(6) The unregulated policies and operations of 
some of the most powerful digital platforms have at 
times produced demonstrable harm, including— 
(A) undercutting small businesses; 
(B) abetting the collapse of trusted local 
journalism; 
(C) enabling addiction and other harms to 
the mental health of the people of the United 
States, especially minors; 
(D) disseminating disinformation and hate 
speech; 
(E) undermining privacy and monetizing 
the personal data of individuals in the United 
States without their informed consent; and 
(F) in some cases, radicalizing individuals 
to violence. 
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(7) The failure of the United States Govern-
ment to establish appropriate regulations for digital 
platforms cedes to foreign competitors the historic 
role played by the United States in setting reason-
able rules of the road and technical standards for 
emerging technologies. 
(8) Throughout the history of the United 
States, Congress has often responded to the emer-
gence of powerful and complex new sectors of the 
economy by empowering sector-specific expert Fed-
eral regulators. 
(9) Throughout the history of the United 
States, the Federal Government has established rea-
sonable regulation, consistent with the First Amend-
ment to the Constitution of the United States, to 
promote a diversity of viewpoints, support civic en-
gagement, and preserve the right of citizens to com-
municate with each other, which is foundational to 
self-governance. 
(10) The unique power and complexity of sev-
eral digital platforms, combined with the absence of 
modern Federal regulations, reinforces the need for 
a new Federal body equipped with the authorities, 
tools, and expertise to regulate digital platforms to 
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ensure their operations remain consistent, where ap-
propriate, with the public interest. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the Federal agency established under this Act 
should— 
(1) develop appropriate regulations and policies 
grounded in the common law principles of the duty 
of care and the duty to deal, insofar as those prin-
ciples are relevant and practical; and 
(2) adopt, where relevant and practical, a risk 
management regulatory approach that prioritizes an-
ticipating, limiting, and balancing against other in-
terests the broad economic, societal, and political 
risks of harm posed by the activities and operations 
of a person or class of persons. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ALGORITHMIC PROCESS.—The term ‘‘algo-
rithmic process’’ means a computational process, in-
cluding one derived from machine learning or other 
artificial intelligence techniques, that processes per-
sonal information or other data for the purpose of 
determining the order or manner in which a set of 
information is provided, recommended to, or with-
held from a user of a digital platform, including— 
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(A) the provision of commercial content; 
(B) the display of social media posts; 
(C) the display of search results or 
rankings; or 
(D) any other method of automated deci-
sion making, content selection, or content am-
plification. 
(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Digital Platform Commission es-
tablished under section 4. 
(3) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 
Code Council established under section 8(a). 
(4) DIGITAL PLATFORM.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘digital plat-
form’’ means an online service that serves as an 
intermediary facilitating interactions— 
(i) between users; and 
(ii) between users and— 
(I) entities offering goods and 
services through the online service; or 
(II) the online service with re-
spect to goods and services offered di-
rectly by the online service. 
(B) DE MINIMIS EXCEPTION.— 
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a recommendation for the proposed code, stand-
ard, or policy to the Commission; and 
(D) may submit minority views along with 
a recommendation under subparagraph (C), as 
appropriate. 
(4) PUBLIC REVIEW; COMMISSION EXAMINATION 
AND VOTE.—Upon receipt of a recommendation for 
a proposed behavioral code, technical standard, or 
other policy from the Council under paragraph (3), 
the Commission shall— 
(A) allow for submission of comments on 
the proposed code, standard, or policy by any 
interested party for a period of not fewer than 
45 days and not more than 90 days, and pub-
licly disclose any comments received; 
(B) examine the proposed code, standard, 
or policy, along with comments received under 
subparagraph (A); 
(C) determine whether to adopt, reject, or 
adopt with modifications the proposed code, 
standard, or policy; 
(D) provide a public rationale for the de-
termination under subparagraph (C); and 
(E) promulgate rules to carry out the de-
termination under subparagraph (C) in accord-
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