[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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