[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2314 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2314
To prohibit social media companies from using practices that exploit
human psychology or brain physiology to substantially impede freedom of
choice, to require social media companies to take measures to mitigate
the risks of internet addiction and psychological exploitation, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 30, 2019
Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit social media companies from using practices that exploit
human psychology or brain physiology to substantially impede freedom of
choice, to require social media companies to take measures to mitigate
the risks of internet addiction and psychological exploitation, 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; FINDINGS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Social Media
Addiction Reduction Technology Act'' or the ``SMART Act''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The business model for many internet companies,
especially social media companies, is to capture as much of
their users' attention as possible.
(2) To achieve this end, some of these internet companies
design their platforms and services to exploit brain physiology
and human psychology.
(3) By exploiting psychological and physiological
vulnerabilities, these design choices interfere with the free
choice of users.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(2) Content feed.--The term ``content feed'' means a
service of a social media platform that aggregates and displays
information such as text, photos, videos, links, and
application activity provided by two or more users.
(3) Social media company.--The term ``social media
company'' means any person that operates a social media
platform in interstate or foreign commerce.
(4) Social media platform.--The term ``social media
platform'' means any online electronic medium, such as
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter (as such services
existed in 2019), a live-chat system, or an electronic dating
service--
(A) that primarily serves as a medium for users to
interact with content generated by other third-party
users of the medium;
(B) that enables users to create accounts or
profiles specific to the medium or to import profiles
from another medium; and
(C) that enables one or more users to generate
content that can be viewed by other third-party users
of the medium.
(5) Operator.--The term ``operator'' means any person who,
in interstate or foreign commerce, operates a website on the
internet, an online service, an online application, or a mobile
application.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITED PRACTICES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES.
Beginning 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act, it
shall be unlawful for a social media company to operate a social media
platform that uses any of the following practices:
(1) Infinite scroll or auto refill.--The use of a process
that automatically loads and displays additional content, other
than music or video content that the user has prompted to play,
when a user approaches or reaches the end of loaded content
without requiring the user to specifically request (such as by
pushing a button or clicking an icon, but not by simply
continuing to scroll) that additional content be loaded and
displayed.
(2) Elimination of natural stopping points.--The use of a
process that, without the user expressly requesting additional
content, loads and displays more content into a content feed
than the typical user scrolls through in 3 minutes.
(3) Autoplay.--The use of a process that automatically
plays music or videos (other than advertisements) without an
express, separate prompt by the user (such as pushing a button
or clicking an icon), unless--
(A) before any content is loaded to the user's
display, that user or a different user compiled a
playlist of multiple music videos or audio files that
the user designated should be played without
interruption, and the immediate user selected one of
the videos or files in that precompiled playlist; or
(B) the predominant purpose of the social media
platform is to allow users to stream music, but only if
the only files the platform automatically plays are
audio files or advertisements.
(4) Badges and other awards linked to engagement with the
platform.--Providing a user with an award for engaging with the
social media platform (such as a badge or other recognition of
a user's level of engagement with the platform) if such award
does not substantially increase access to new or additional
services, content, or functionality.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES.
(a) In General.--Beginning 6 months after the date of enactment of
this Act, it shall be unlawful for a social media company to operate a
social media platform if the platform does not include a user-friendly
interface that, with respect to such platform and any other social
media platform that is owned by the same social media company or a
subsidiary of that company--
(1) allows a user to set a time limit that blocks the
user's own access to those platforms across all devices if the
amount of time the user spends on those platforms within a
certain period exceeds a time limit set by the user using 1-
minute increments and, at minimum, allows the user to set such
time limits for daily and weekly use;
(2) automatically limits the amount of time that a user may
spend on those platforms across all devices to 30 minutes a day
unless the user elects to adjust or remove the time limit and,
if the user elects to increase or remove the time limit, resets
the time limit to 30 minutes a day on the first day of every
month;
(3) provides users with regular disclosures, including
immediate disclosures when prompted by the user, of the amount
of time the user has spent on those platforms across all
devices, broken down by day, week, month, year, and platform;
and
(4) displays a conspicuous pop-up to a user not less than
once every 30 minutes that the user spends on those platforms,
regardless of whether the user spent the 30 minutes on multiple
devices, that shows how much time the user has spent on those
platforms that day.
(b) Limitation.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to any portion of a
social media platform that consists only of a predominantly text-based,
direct message service such as email or a service that is substantially
similar to email.
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATORS.
Beginning 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, it
shall be unlawful for an operator to operate an internet website,
online service, online application, or mobile application if the
operator does not obtain the consent of users or allow users to select
from among options in the following manner:
(1) Neutral presentation.--If the operator requests that a
user accept or consent to terms, or anything similar--
(A) by clicking an icon, the operator shall present
the user with an option to decline by clicking an icon
that is identical to the other icon in terms of size,
shape, font, and other visual or auditory design,
except that the options need not be identical in color
as long as the option to decline is conspicuously
shaded differently than the immediate background color,
and such option to decline shall be placed before the
option to consent as measured by the direction the
language in which the option is written is
conventionally read; and
(B) by taking some other action to consent or
accept, the operator shall present the user with the
option to decline by taking a similar, equivalent
action.
(2) No preselected options.--When an operator requests a
user to make a selection from among options, no option may be
preselected.
SEC. 6. COMMISSION REPORT ON INTERNET ADDICTION.
Not less frequently than once every 3 years, the Commission shall
submit to Congress a report on the issue of internet addiction and the
processes through which social media companies and other internet
companies, by exploiting human psychology and brain physiology,
interfere with free choices of individuals on the internet (including
with respect to the amount of time individuals spend online).
SEC. 7. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Temporary Joint Rulemaking Authority.--
(1) In general.--The Commission and the Secretary of Health
and Human Services (referred to in this subsection as the
``Secretary'') may jointly promulgate rules under this
subsection to prohibit practices by social media companies and
operators that exploit human psychology or brain physiology to
substantially interfere with consumers' freedom of choice.
(2) Procedure.--The Commission and the Secretary may
jointly promulgate rules under this subsection in accordance
with section 553 of title 5, United States Code.
(3) Sunset.--No rule promulgated by the Commission and the
Secretary under this subsection shall be effective for a period
that is longer than 3 years, but no period of time during which
the Commission is enjoined from enforcing such a rule pursuant
to a court order issuing an injunction against such rule or
declaring such rule unlawful shall be counted against such 3-
year period.
(4) Report to congress.--With respect to any rule
promulgated under this subsection, 1 year before such rule is
scheduled to expire the Commission and the Secretary shall
issue a report to Congress explaining the basis for the rule
and its importance and notifying Congress of the date on which
the rule will expire if Congress does not enact the
requirements of the rule into statutory law.
(b) Enforcement by the Commission.--
(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided, this Act and
the regulations prescribed under this Act shall be enforced by
the Commission under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15
U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
(2) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of
this Act or a regulation prescribed under this Act shall be
treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or
deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B)
of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
(3) Actions by the commission.--Except as provided in
subsection (c)(1), the Commission shall prevent any person from
violating this Act or a regulation prescribed under 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,
and any person who violates this Act or a regulation prescribed
under this Act shall be subject to the penalties and entitled
to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade
Commission Act.
(4) Authority preserved.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any
other provision of law.
(c) Enforcement by State Attorneys General.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Civil actions.--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 the engagement
of any person in a practice that violates this Act or a
regulation prescribed under this Act, the State, as
parens patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of
the residents of the State in a district court of the
United States or a State court of appropriate
jurisdiction to--
(i) enjoin that practice;
(ii) enforce compliance with this Act or
such regulation;
(iii) on behalf of residents of the State,
obtain damages, statutory damages, restitution,
or other compensation, each of which shall be
distributed in accordance with State law; or
(iv) obtain such other relief as the court
may consider to be appropriate.
(B) Notice.--
(i) In general.--Before filing an action
under subparagraph (A), the attorney general of
the State involved shall provide to the
Commission--
(I) written notice of that action;
and
(II) a copy of the complaint for
that action.
(ii) Exemption.--
(I) In general.--Clause (i) shall
not apply with respect to the filing of
an action by an attorney general of a
State under this paragraph if the
attorney general of the State
determines that it is not feasible to
provide the notice described in that
clause before the filing of the action.
(II) Notification.--In an action
described in subclause (I), the
attorney general of a State shall
provide notice and a copy of the
complaint to the Commission at the same
time as the attorney general files the
action.
(2) Intervention.--
(A) In general.--On receiving notice under
paragraph (1)(B), the Commission shall have the right
to intervene in the action that is the subject of the
notice.
(B) Effect of intervention.--If the Commission
intervenes in an action under paragraph (1), it shall
have the right--
(i) to be heard with respect to any matter
that arises in that action; and
(ii) to file a petition for appeal.
(3) Construction.--For purposes of bringing any civil
action under paragraph (1), nothing in this Act shall be
construed to prevent an attorney general of a State from
exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the
laws of that State to--
(A) conduct investigations;
(B) administer oaths or affirmations; or
(C) compel the attendance of witnesses or the
production of documentary and other evidence.
(4) Actions by the commission.--In any case in which an
action is instituted by or on behalf of the Commission for
violation of this Act or a regulation prescribed under this
Act, no State may, during the pendency of that action,
institute an action under paragraph (1) against any defendant
named in the complaint in the action instituted by or on behalf
of the Commission for that violation.
(5) Venue; service of process.--
(A) Venue.--Any action brought under paragraph (1)
may be brought in--
(i) the district court of the United States
that meets applicable requirements relating to
venue under section 1391 of title 28, United
States Code; or
(ii) a State court of competent
jurisdiction.
(B) Service of process.--In an action brought under
paragraph (1) in a district court of the United States,
process may be served wherever defendant--
(i) is an inhabitant; or
(ii) may be found.
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