[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2917 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2917

 To establish a Federal tort against social media companies that cause 
    bodily injury to children or harm the mental health of children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 30, 2021

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a Federal tort against social media companies that cause 
    bodily injury to children or harm the mental health of children.

    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 ``Federal Big Tech Tort Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL TORT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA HARM TO CHILDREN.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``covered interactive computer service'' means 
        an interactive computer service--
                    (A) provided through a website, online application, 
                or mobile application (including a single interactive 
                computer service that is provided through more than one 
                such website or application);
                    (B) through which information provided by another 
                information content provider is distributed;
                    (C) that enables an individual user to create an 
                account for the purpose of viewing, generating, or 
                modifying content that can be viewed, shared, or 
                otherwise interacted with by other third-party users of 
                the interactive computer service; and
                    (D) that does not have peer-to-peer messaging as 
                its principal function;
            (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 ``social media company''--
                    (A) means a company that provides, in or affecting 
                interstate or foreign commerce, a covered interactive 
                computer service; and
                    (B) does not include an organization described in 
                section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
                exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
    (b) Liability.--A social media company shall be liable in 
accordance with this section to any individual who suffers bodily 
injury or harm to mental health that is attributable, in whole or in 
part, to the individual's use of a covered interactive computer service 
provided by the social media company when the individual was less than 
16 years of age.
    (c) Private Right of Action.--An individual who suffers bodily 
injury or harm to mental health that is attributable, in whole or in 
part, to the individual's use of a covered interactive computer service 
provided by a social media company as described in subsection (b) may 
bring a civil action against the social media company in an appropriate 
district court of the United States or a State court of competent 
jurisdiction for--
            (1) compensatory damages in an amount equal to the greater 
        of--
                    (A) the amount obtained by--
                            (i) for each year in which the individual 
                        suffered such injury or harm attributable, in 
                        whole or in part, to such use, dividing--
                                    (I) the annual revenue of the 
                                social media company in the United 
                                States during that year, by
                                    (II) the number of active users of 
                                the covered interactive computer 
                                service during the month that had the 
                                fewest such users during that year; and
                            (ii) adding together the amounts calculated 
                        under clause (i) for each year in which the 
                        individual suffered such injury or harm 
                        attributable, in whole or in part, to such use; 
                        or
                    (B) actual damages;
            (2) punitive damages; and
            (3) attorney's fees and costs.
    (d) Affirmative Defense.--It shall be an affirmative defense to an 
action brought by or on behalf of a user of a covered interactive 
computer service provided by a social media company under subsection 
(c) that the social media company, at all relevant times--
            (1) took reasonable, affirmative steps to ascertain the age 
        of each user of the covered interactive computer service; and
            (2) did not know and had no reason to know that the user in 
        question was less than 16 years of age when the user used the 
        interactive computer service.
    (e) Effective Date; Applicability.--This Act--
            (1) shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) shall not apply to any use of a covered interactive 
        computer service that took place before the effective date 
        under paragraph (1).
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