[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1916 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1916

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit companies that host 
     videos from enabling child predators, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 20, 2019

  Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit companies that host 
     videos from enabling child predators, 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 ``Protecting Children from Online 
Predators Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON RECOMMENDING CERTAIN INTERNET VIDEOS FEATURING 
              MINORS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 2252C the following:
``Sec. 2252D. Prohibition on recommending certain internet videos 
              featuring minors
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `covered interactive computer service' means 
        an interactive computer service that hosts or displays user-
        submitted video content and makes recommendations to users 
        about which videos to view, including by playing a video 
        automatically at the end of another video;
            ``(2) the term `interactive computer service' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 230 of the Communications Act 
        of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230); and
            ``(3) the term `person' shall include any management 
        personnel or officer of the covered interactive computer 
        service with the responsibility and authority to take necessary 
        measures to prevent or remedy a violation of this section.
    ``(b) Offense.--Except as provided in subsection (c), it shall be 
unlawful for a covered interactive computer service to recommend any 
video to a user of the covered interactive computer service if the 
covered interactive computer service knows, or should have known, that 
the video features 1 or more minors.
    ``(c) Exception.--Subsection (b) shall not apply to any video 
created by a professional production company, such as any video that 
was aired on broadcast or cable television.
    ``(d) Search Results Do Not Constitute Recommendation.--For 
purposes of subsection (b), a video that appears in a list of videos 
generated as the result of using a search function of the covered 
interactive computer service shall not be considered to be a 
recommended video.
    ``(e) Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--A covered interactive computer service 
        shall ask each user uploading video content to the service, at 
        the time the video content is uploaded--
                    ``(A) whether the video features 1 or more minors; 
                and
                    ``(B) in the case of a video that the user believes 
                features 1 or more minors, whether the user wants--
                            ``(i) to restrict the video to nonpublic 
                        viewership; or
                            ``(ii) to make the video available for 
                        viewing by the public.
            ``(2) Liability.--A covered interactive computer service 
        may be held liable under this section for a violation of 
        subsection (b) if--
                    ``(A) the covered interactive computer service 
                recommends a video designated by the user that uploaded 
                the video as featuring 1 or more minors; or
                    ``(B) the covered interactive computer service 
                recommends a video that was incorrectly designated by 
                the user that uploaded the video as not featuring 1 or 
                more minors.
    ``(f) Criminal Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (b) 
shall be fined in accordance with this title, imprisoned for not more 
than 5 years, or both.
    ``(g) Civil Penalties.--
            ``(1) Federal enforcement.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Attorney General may bring a 
                civil action in the appropriate district court of the 
                United States against any person who violates 
                subsection (b) or subsection (e)(1) and, upon proof of 
                such violation by a preponderance of the evidence, such 
                person shall be subject to pay a civil penalty of--
                            ``(i) not more than $1,000 for each video 
                        recommended in violation of subsection (b) for 
                        each time the video was unlawfully recommended; 
                        or
                            ``(ii) not more than $10,000 per day a 
                        violation of subsection (e)(1) occurred.
                    ``(B) Relation to other proceedings.--The 
                imposition of a civil penalty under this paragraph does 
                not preclude any other criminal or civil statutory, 
                common law, or administrative remedy, which is 
                available by law to the United States or any other 
                person.
            ``(2) State enforcement.--In any case in which the attorney 
        general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of 
        the residents of that State has been or is threatened or 
        adversely affected by any person who violates subsection (b), 
        the attorney general of the State, as parens patriae, may bring 
        a civil action against such person on behalf of the residents 
        of the State in an appropriate State court or district court of 
        the United States to obtain appropriate relief, including a 
        civil penalty in the same amounts described in paragraph 
        (1)(A).''.
    (b) Table of Sections.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 2252C the following:

``2252D. Prohibition on recommending certain internet videos featuring 
                            minors.''.
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