[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2640 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2640

   To require operators that provide online and similar services to 
educational agencies, institutions, or programs to protect the privacy 
  and security of personally identifiable information, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 10, 2018

 Mr. Daines (for himself and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require operators that provide online and similar services to 
educational agencies, institutions, or programs to protect the privacy 
  and security of personally identifiable information, 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 ``Safeguarding American Families from 
Exposure by Keeping Information and Data Secure Act'' or the ``SAFE 
KIDS Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) In General.--In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Trade Commission.
            (2) Covered information.--The term ``covered information'' 
        means personally identifiable information or material, or 
        information that is linked or reasonably linkable to personally 
        identifiable information or material, in any media or format, 
        that--
                    (A) is created by or provided to an operator by a 
                student, or the student's parent, in the course of the 
                student's or parent's use of the operator's site or 
                service for preK-12 purposes;
                    (B) is collected, generated, or maintained by an 
                educational agency, institution, or program, including 
                teachers of such agency, institution, or program; or
                    (C) is collected by an operator through the 
                operation of its site or service for preK-12 purposes 
                and personally identifies a student, including--
                            (i) the student's first and last name;
                            (ii) the first and last name of the 
                        student's parent or another family member;
                            (iii) the home or physical address of the 
                        student or student's family;
                            (iv) online contact information, as defined 
                        in section 1302 of the Children's Online 
                        Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 
                        6501), for the student;
                            (v) a personal identifier, such as the 
                        student's Social Security number, student 
                        number, or biometric record;
                            (vi) an identifier described in 
                        subparagraph (D), (F), or (G) of section 
                        1302(8) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 6501(8)) for the 
                        student;
                            (vii) a photograph, video, or audio 
                        recording that contains the student's image or 
                        voice;
                            (viii) geolocation information sufficient 
                        to identify the street name and name of a city 
                        or town; and
                            (ix) other indirect identifiers, such as 
                        the student's date of birth, place of birth, or 
                        mother's maiden name.
            (3) De-identified covered information.--The term ``de-
        identified covered information'' means covered information 
        that--
                    (A) has been de-identified by reasonable measures;
                    (B) is maintained in a de-identified fashion 
                without attempt to re-identify; and
                    (C) is not made available to other entities absent 
                contractual agreement to not re-identify the covered 
                information.
            (4) Early childhood education program.--The term ``early 
        childhood education program'' means a program that meets the 
        requirements of clauses (i) and (ii)(III) of section 103(8)(C) 
        of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003(8)(C)).
            (5) Educational agency, institution, or program.--The term 
        ``educational agency, institution, or program'' means--
                    (A) an educational agency or institution, as 
                defined in section 444(a)(3) of the General Education 
                Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g(a)(3)), except that 
                such term does not include an institution of higher 
                education; or
                    (B) an early childhood education program.
            (6) Eligible student.--The term ``eligible student'' means 
        a student who--
                    (A) is 18 years of age or older;
                    (B) is enrolled in an institution of higher 
                education; or
                    (C) has graduated from a secondary school.
            (7) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1002).
            (8) Operator.--The term ``operator''--
                    (A) means the operator of a website located on the 
                Internet or online service that is used primarily for 
                preK-12 purposes and was designed and marketed for 
                preK-12 purposes, to the extent that it is operating in 
                this capacity; and
                    (B) does not include an educational agency, 
                institution, or program.
            (9) PreK-12  purposes.--The term ``preK-12 purposes'' means 
        purposes that--
                    (A) are directed by or that customarily take place 
                at the direction of an educational agency, institution, 
                or program;
                    (B) aid in the administration of activities by an 
                educational agency, institution, or program, including 
                instruction in the classroom or at home, administrative 
                activities, and collaboration between students, school 
                personnel, or parents; or
                    (C) are otherwise for the use and benefit of the 
                educational agency, institution, or program.
            (10) State.--The term ``State'' means each State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, each territory or 
        possession of the United States, and each federally recognized 
        Indian tribe.
            (11) Student.--The term ``student'' means any individual 
        who attends or has attended an early childhood education 
        program, elementary school, or secondary school.
            (12) Targeted advertising.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``targeted advertising'' 
                means presenting advertisements to a student or the 
                student's parent, where the advertisements are selected 
                based on information obtained or inferred over time 
                from the student's online behavior, use of online 
                services, or covered information.
                    (B) Exclusion.--Such term does not include 
                presenting advertisements to a student or the student's 
                parent at an online location or through an online 
                service, as long as--
                            (i) information about the student's online 
                        behavior or use of the online location or 
                        online service is not retained over time for 
                        the purpose of targeting subsequent 
                        advertisements; and
                            (ii)(I) the advertisements are based solely 
                        upon that student's current visit to the online 
                        location; or
                            (II) the advertisements are in response to 
                        a student's request for information or 
                        feedback.
    (b) Terms Defined in Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965.--In this Act, the terms ``elementary school'', ``parent'', and 
``secondary school'' have the meanings given such terms in section 8101 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

SEC. 3. PROTECTING STUDENT PRIVACY.

    (a) Prohibited Practices.--An operator may not--
            (1) collect, generate, use or disclose any covered 
        information, or allow third parties to do so, for purposes of 
        engaging in or permitting targeted advertising on the 
        operator's site or online service, or target advertising on any 
        other site or service, if the targeting of the advertising is 
        based on any information, including covered information and 
        persistent unique identifiers, that the operator has acquired 
        because of the use of that operator's site or service for preK-
        12 purposes;
            (2) sell or rent covered information to a third party, 
        except this paragraph shall not apply to a nationally 
        recognized high school academic assessment provider solely to 
        the extent that the provider secures the express written 
        consent of the parent or student, given in response to clear 
        and conspicuous notice, only to provide access to employment, 
        educational scholarships or financial aid, or postsecondary 
        educational opportunities;
            (3) use information, including covered information and 
        persistent unique identifiers, created or gathered by the 
        operator's site or service to create a personal profile of a 
        student other than for preK-12 purposes, except that for 
        purposes of this paragraph, creating a personal profile shall 
        not include the collection and retention of account information 
        that remains under the control of the student, the student's 
        parent, or the educational agency, institution, or program; or
            (4) disclose covered information, unless the disclosure is 
        made--
                    (A) pursuant to lawful process or to ensure legal 
                and regulatory compliance with Federal or State law;
                    (B)(i) in furtherance of the preK-12 purpose of the 
                site or service; and
                    (ii) if the recipient of the covered information 
                disclosed under this paragraph does not further 
                disclose the information unless the disclosure is done 
                to allow or improve operability and functionality of 
                the operator's site or service;
                    (C) for a school, educational, or employment 
                purpose requested by the student or the student's 
                parent, as long as the information is not used or 
                further disclosed for any other purpose;
                    (D) to protect the safety or integrity of users or 
                others or the security of the school service; or
                    (E) to a State or local educational agency, 
                including elementary schools and secondary schools, for 
                preK-12 purposes, as permitted by Federal or State law; 
                or
            (5) notwithstanding paragraph (4), disclose covered 
        information to a third-party service provider of the school 
        service for purposes of maintaining, developing, supporting, 
        improving, or diagnosing the operator's site or service unless 
        the operator contractually requires the provider to comply with 
        all the provisions of this Act (including such paragraph).
    (b) Requirements.--An operator shall--
            (1) establish, implement, and maintain reasonable security 
        procedures appropriate to the nature of the covered information 
        that are designed to protect the covered information from 
        unauthorized access, destruction, use, modification, or 
        disclosure;
            (2) unless the educational agency, institution, or program 
        or a student's parent consents to the maintenance of the 
        covered information, delete a student's covered information--
                    (A) within a reasonable time after receiving a 
                request for deletion through an educational agency, 
                institution, or program, or from the student's parent; 
                or
                    (B) once the data has outlived the legitimate 
                purpose for which the data was collected;
            (3) obtain consent from the educational agency, 
        institution, or program, through contracts or privacy policies 
        in a manner that is clear and easy to understand, regarding the 
        types of covered information collected, the purposes for which 
        the covered information is used or disclosed to third parties, 
        and the identity of any such third parties;
            (4) disclose publicly, on the website of the operator, 
        every privacy policy that the operator has established with an 
        educational agency, institution, or program;
            (5) obtain consent from the educational agency, 
        institution, or program and provide sufficient notice on its 
        website before making material changes to a contract or privacy 
        policy for a school service; and
            (6) support access to and correction of covered information 
        through an educational agency, institution, or program.
    (c) Authorized Uses.--
            (1) Uses of covered information.--An operator may use or 
        disclose covered information of a student under the following 
        circumstances:
                    (A) If other provisions of Federal or State law 
                require the operator to disclose the information, and 
                the operator complies with the requirements of Federal 
                and State law in protecting and disclosing that 
                information.
                    (B) For legitimate research purposes, as required 
                by Federal or State law and subject to the restrictions 
                under applicable Federal and State law or as allowed by 
                Federal or State law and under the direction of an 
                educational agency, institution, or program (including 
                a State educational agency), if covered information is 
                not used for advertising or to amass a profile on the 
                student for purposes other than preK-12 purposes.
                    (C) To an educational agency, institution, or 
                program for preK-12 purposes, as permitted by Federal 
                or State law.
    (d) Effect on Mergers and Acquisitions.--The prohibitions of this 
section on sale and disclosure of covered information do not apply to 
the merger of an operator with another entity or the acquisition of the 
operator by another entity (including any subsequent merger or 
acquisition), provided that the operator or successor entity continues 
to be subject to the provisions of this section with respect to covered 
information acquired before the merger or acquisition.
    (e) Continued Application.--This section shall continue to apply, 
after a student is no longer enrolled in an educational agency, 
institution, or program, to covered information relating to the student 
that was collected or generated while the student was enrolled.

SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) In General.--This Act shall not--
            (1) be construed to affect or otherwise alter the 
        protections and guarantees set forth in section 444 of the 
        General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly 
        known as the ``Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 
        1974''), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 
        (15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.), or any other Federal statute relating 
        to privacy protection;
            (2) be construed to limit the authority of a law 
        enforcement agency to obtain content or information from an 
        operator as authorized by law or pursuant to an order of a 
        court of competent jurisdiction;
            (3) limit the ability of an operator to use information, 
        including covered information, for adaptive or personalized 
        student learning purposes;
            (4) limit an educational agency, institution, or program 
        from providing Internet access service for its own use, to 
        other educational agencies or institutions, or to students and 
        their families;
            (5) be construed to prohibit an operator's use of 
        information, including covered information, for maintaining, 
        developing, supporting, improving, or diagnosing the operator's 
        school service;
            (6) impose a duty upon a provider of an electronic store, 
        gateway, marketplace, or other means of purchasing or 
        downloading software or applications, to review or enforce 
        compliance with this Act by operators of school services;
            (7) impede the ability of a student or the student's parent 
        to download, export, transfer, or otherwise save or maintain 
        data or documents created by or about the student or 
        noncommercial applications created by the student;
            (8) be construed to apply to general audience Internet 
        websites or general audience online services, even if login 
        credentials created for an operator's site or service may be 
        used to access those general audience sites or services;
            (9) prohibit an operator of a website or online service 
        from marketing educational products directly to parents if the 
        marketing did not result from the use of covered information 
        obtained by the operator through the provision of services 
        covered under this Act;
            (10) limit service providers from providing Internet 
        connectivity to schools or students and their families; or
            (11) be construed to apply to the sale, under the direction 
        and control of the educational agency, institution, or program, 
        of student and class pictures, yearbooks, memory books, and 
        similar traditional school-sanctioned commemorative activities.
    (b) Nonprohibited Actions.--Nothing in this Act prohibits an 
operator from--
            (1) using de-identified covered information within the 
        operator's school service or other sites or online services 
        owned by the operator to improve educational products;
            (2) using de-identified covered information to demonstrate 
        the effectiveness of the operator's products or services, 
        including in the marketing of such products or services;
            (3) disclosing de-identified covered information for the 
        development and improvement of educational sites and services; 
        or
            (4) disclosing de-identified covered information for 
        research and development, including--
                    (A) research, development, and improvement of 
                educational sites, services, and applications; and
                    (B) advancements in the science of learning;
            (5) using recommendation engines to recommend to a student 
        additional content, websites, or online services for preK-12 
        purposes offered by an operator within a website or online 
        service if the recommendation is based on educational 
        improvement and is not determined in whole or in part by 
        financial gain from a third party; and
            (6) responding to a student's request for information or 
        for feedback without the information or response being 
        determined in whole or in part by payment or other 
        consideration from a third party.
    (c) Power To Consent and Rights Regarding Information About 
Eligible Student.--Any provision of this Act that refers to the consent 
of the student's parent for the use or disclosure of covered 
information or the right of the student's parent to access or otherwise 
obtain, use, correct, request disclosure of, or request deletion of 
covered information, shall, in the case of covered information about an 
eligible student, be considered to refer to the consent or right of the 
student and not the student's parent.
    (d) No Effect on Consent Under Other Law.--This Act does not modify 
the requirements or standards for consent, including consent from 
minors and employees on behalf of educational institutions, under any 
other provision of Federal law or under State law.

SEC. 5. IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission.--
            (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of 
        this Act shall be treated as a violation of a rule prescribed 
        under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 
        (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or 
        practices.
            (2) Powers of the commission.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall enforce 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.) were incorporated 
                into and made a part of this Act.
                    (B) Privileges and immunities.--Any person who 
                violates this Act shall be subject to the penalties 
                entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in 
                the Federal Trade Commission Act, except as provided in 
                paragraph (3).
            (3) Enforcement with respect to nonprofit organizations.--
        Notwithstanding sections 4, 5(a)(2), and 6 of the Federal Trade 
        Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44; 45(a)(2); 46), any jurisdictional 
        limitation of the Commission with respect to nonprofit 
        organizations or common carriers subject to the Communications 
        Act of 1934, or Acts amending or supplementing that Act, shall 
        not apply for purposes of this Act.
    (b) Preservation of Commission Authority.--Nothing in this Act may 
be construed in any way to limit or affect the Commission's authority 
under any other provision of law.
    (c) Consultation and Cooperation With Secretary of Education.--The 
Commission shall consult and cooperate with the Secretary of Education 
in enforcing this Act in matters involving educational agencies, 
institutions, or programs.
    (d) Relationship to State Law.--
            (1) In general.--This Act does not annul, alter, or affect, 
        or exempt any person subject to the provisions of this Act from 
        complying with, the laws of any State with respect to the 
        treatment of covered information by operators of school 
        services, except to the extent that such laws are inconsistent 
        with any provision of this Act, and then only to the extent of 
        the inconsistency. For purposes of this paragraph, a law of a 
        State is not inconsistent with this Act if the protection such 
        law affords any user of a school service is greater than the 
        protection provided by this Act.
            (2) Rule of construction.--Any reference in this Act to 
        State law shall be considered also to refer to the law of a 
        political subdivision of a State.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on the date that is 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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