[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1206 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1206

To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit aircraft from having 
     in place cameras and microphones that can monitor passengers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 11, 2019

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit aircraft from having 
     in place cameras and microphones that can monitor passengers.

    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 ``Passenger Privacy Protection Act of 
2019''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO CAMERAS AND MICROPHONES ON AIRCRAFT.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 417 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 41725. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO CAMERAS AND MICROPHONES ON 
              AIRCRAFT.

    ``(a) Prohibitions.--The following rules shall apply to all 
aircraft of an air carrier and a foreign air carrier:
            ``(1) Any in-flight entertainment system installed on the 
        aircraft after the date of the enactment of this section may 
        not have an embedded camera or microphone. In the case where 
        the aircraft has, as of such date of enactment, a existing 
        camera or microphone embedded in an in-flight entertainment 
        system, by not later than 2 months after such date of 
        enactment--
                    ``(A) the camera shall be either--
                            ``(i) removed;
                            ``(ii) permanently disabled and covered; or
                            ``(iii) covered in a fashion that prevents 
                        the camera from making any observation; and
                    ``(B) the microphone shall be either--
                            ``(i) removed; or
                            ``(ii) physically disconnected and covered 
                        in a fashion that renders the microphone 
                        ineffective.
            ``(2) Any camera or microphone that is designed to observe 
        a passenger and that is separate from an in-flight 
        entertainment system may not be installed on the aircraft after 
        the date of the enactment of this section. Any such camera or 
        microphone that was installed on the aircraft prior to such 
        date of enactment shall be removed within 2 months of such date 
        of enactment.
    ``(b) Changes to Remote Switches Not Sufficient.--Changes made by 
an air carrier or a foreign air carrier to remote switches of an in-
flight entertainment system are not sufficient to meet the requirements 
of subsection (a)(1).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 417 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 41724 the following:

``41725. Prohibitions relating to cameras and microphones on 
                            aircraft.''.

SEC. 3. REQUIRING AUDITS OF AIRLINES REGARDING THE INFORMATION THEY 
              COLLECT ON PASSENGERS.

    The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall 
periodically conduct audits of air carriers and foreign air carriers 
(as such terms are defined in section 40102 of title 49, United States 
Code) regarding the information the carrier collects with respect to 
passengers on its aircraft, including any information obtained through 
the physical surveillance of passengers.
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