[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5628 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5628

To direct the Federal Trade Commission to require impact assessments of 
 automated decision systems and augmented critical decision processes, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2023

    Ms. Clarke of New York (for herself, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. 
Cleaver, Ms. Bush, Ms. Jayapal, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Veasey, Ms. Barragan, 
Mr. Cohen, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Evans, Mr. Carson, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Wilson 
 of Florida, and Mr. Huffman) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Federal Trade Commission to require impact assessments of 
 automated decision systems and augmented critical decision processes, 
                        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 ``Algorithmic Accountability Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Augmented critical decision process.--The term 
        ``augmented critical decision process'' means a process, 
        procedure, or other activity that employs an automated decision 
        system to make a critical decision.
            (2) Automated decision system.--The term ``automated 
        decision system'' means any system, software, or process 
        (including one derived from machine learning, statistics, or 
        other data processing or artificial intelligence techniques and 
        excluding passive computing infrastructure) that uses 
        computation, the result of which serves as a basis for a 
        decision or judgment.
            (3) Biometrics.--The term ``biometrics'' means any 
        information that represents a biological, physiological, or 
        behavioral attribute or feature of a consumer.
            (4) Chair.--The term ``Chair'' means the Chair of the 
        Commission.
            (5) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Trade Commission.
            (6) Consumer.--The term ``consumer'' means an individual.
            (7) Covered entity.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``covered entity'' means 
                any person, partnership, or corporation over which the 
                Commission has jurisdiction under section 5(a)(2) of 
                the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)(2))--
                            (i) that deploys any augmented critical 
                        decision process; and
                                    (I) had greater than $50,000,000 in 
                                average annual gross receipts or is 
                                deemed to have greater than 
                                $250,000,000 in equity value for the 3-
                                taxable-year period (or for the period 
                                during which the person, partnership, 
                                or corporation has been in existence, 
                                if such period is less than 3 years) 
                                preceding the most recent fiscal year, 
                                as determined in accordance with 
                                paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 
                                448(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
                                1986;
                                    (II) possesses, manages, modifies, 
                                handles, analyzes, controls, or 
                                otherwise uses identifying information 
                                about more than 1,000,000 consumers, 
                                households, or consumer devices for the 
                                purpose of developing or deploying any 
                                automated decision system or augmented 
                                critical decision process; or
                                    (III) is substantially owned, 
                                operated, or controlled by a person, 
                                partnership, or corporation that meets 
                                the requirements under subclause (I) or 
                                (II);
                            (ii) that--
                                    (I) had greater than $5,000,000 in 
                                average annual gross receipts or is 
                                deemed to have greater than $25,000,000 
                                in equity value for the 3-taxable-year 
                                period (or for the period during which 
                                the person, partnership, or corporation 
                                has been in existence, if such period 
                                is less than 3 years) preceding the 
                                most recent fiscal year, as determined 
                                in accordance with paragraphs (2) and 
                                (3) of section 448(c) of the Internal 
                                Revenue Code of 1986; and
                                    (II) deploys any automated decision 
                                system that is developed for 
                                implementation or use, or that the 
                                person, partnership, or corporation 
                                reasonably expects to be implemented or 
                                used, in an augmented critical decision 
                                process by any person, partnership, or 
                                corporation if such person, 
                                partnership, or corporation meets the 
                                requirements described in clause (i); 
                                or
                            (iii) that met the criteria described in 
                        clause (i) or (ii) within the previous 3 years.
                    (B) Inflation adjustment.--For purposes of applying 
                this paragraph in any fiscal year after the first 
                fiscal year that begins on or after the date of 
                enactment of this Act, each of the dollar amounts 
                specified in subparagraph (A) shall be increased by the 
                percentage increase (if any) in the consumer price 
                index for all urban consumers (U.S. city average) from 
                such first fiscal year that begins after such date of 
                enactment to the fiscal year involved.
            (8) Critical decision.--The term ``critical decision'' 
        means a decision or judgment that has any legal, material, or 
        similarly significant effect on a consumer's life relating to 
        access to or the cost, terms, or availability of--
                    (A) education and vocational training, including 
                assessment, accreditation, or certification;
                    (B) employment, workers management, or self-
                employment;
                    (C) essential utilities, such as electricity, heat, 
                water, internet or telecommunications access, or 
                transportation;
                    (D) family planning, including adoption services or 
                reproductive services;
                    (E) financial services, including any financial 
                service provided by a mortgage company, mortgage 
                broker, or creditor;
                    (F) healthcare, including mental healthcare, 
                dental, or vision;
                    (G) housing or lodging, including any rental or 
                short-term housing or lodging;
                    (H) legal services, including private arbitration 
                or mediation; or
                    (I) any other service, program, or opportunity 
                decisions about which have a comparably legal, 
                material, or similarly significant effect on a 
                consumer's life as determined by the Commission through 
                rulemaking.
            (9) Deploy.--The term ``deploy'' means to implement, use, 
        or make available for sale, license, or other commercial 
        relationship.
            (10) Develop.--The term ``develop'' means to design, code, 
        produce, customize, or otherwise create or modify.
            (11) Identifying information.--The term ``identifying 
        information'' means any information, regardless of how the 
        information is collected, inferred, predicted, or obtained that 
        identifies or represents a consumer, household, or consumer 
        device through data elements or attributes, such as name, 
        postal address, telephone number, biometrics, email address, 
        internet protocol address, social security number, or any other 
        identifying number, identifier, or code.
            (12) Impact assessment.--The term ``impact assessment'' 
        means the ongoing study and evaluation of an automated decision 
        system or augmented critical decision process and its impact on 
        consumers.
            (13) Passive computing infrastructure.--The term ``passive 
        computing infrastructure'' means any intermediary technology 
        that does not influence or determine the outcome of a decision, 
        including--
                    (A) web hosting;
                    (B) domain registration;
                    (C) networking;
                    (D) caching;
                    (E) data storage; or
                    (F) cybersecurity.
            (14) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 
        States, the District of Columbia, and any territory or 
        possession of the United States.
            (15) Summary report.--The term ``summary report'' means 
        documentation of a subset of information required to be 
        addressed by the impact assessment as described in this Act or 
        determined appropriate by the Commission.
            (16) Third-party decision recipient.--The term ``third-
        party decision recipient'' means any person, partnership, or 
        corporation (beyond the consumer and the covered entity) that 
        receives a copy of or has access to the results of any decision 
        or judgment that results from a covered entity's deployment of 
        an automated decision system or augmented critical decision 
        process.

SEC. 3. ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF AUTOMATED DECISION SYSTEMS AND 
              AUGMENTED CRITICAL DECISION PROCESSES.

    (a) Acts Prohibited.--
            (1) In general.--It is unlawful for--
                    (A) any covered entity to violate a regulation 
                promulgated under subsection (b); or
                    (B) any person to knowingly provide substantial 
                assistance to any covered entity in violating 
                subsection (b).
            (2) Preemption of private contracts.--It shall be unlawful 
        for any covered entity to commit the acts prohibited in 
        paragraph (1), regardless of specific agreements between 
        entities or consumers.
    (b) Regulations.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), not later than 2 
        years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 
        shall, in consultation with the Director of the National 
        Institute of Standards and Technology, the Director of the 
        National Artificial Intelligence Initiative, the Director of 
        the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and other relevant 
        stakeholders, including standards bodies, private industry, 
        academia, technology experts, and advocates for civil rights, 
        consumers, and impacted communities, promulgate regulations, in 
        accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 
        that--
                    (A) require each covered entity to perform impact 
                assessment of any--
                            (i) deployed automated decision system that 
                        was developed for implementation or use, or 
                        that the covered entity reasonably expects to 
                        be implemented or used, in an augmented 
                        critical decision process by any person, 
                        partnership, or corporation that meets the 
                        requirements described in section 2(7)(A)(i); 
                        and
                            (ii) augmented critical decision process, 
                        both prior to and after deployment by the 
                        covered entity;
                    (B) require each covered entity to maintain 
                documentation of any impact assessment performed under 
                subparagraph (A), including the applicable information 
                described in section 4(a) for 3 years longer than the 
                duration of time for which the automated decision 
                system or augmented critical decision process is 
                deployed;
                    (C) require each person, partnership, or 
                corporation that meets the requirements described in 
                section 2(7)(A)(i) to disclose their status as a 
                covered entity to any person, partnership, or 
                corporation that sells, licenses, or otherwise provides 
                through a commercial relationship any automated 
                decision system deployed by the covered entity in an 
                automated decision system or augmented critical 
                decision process;
                    (D) require each covered entity to submit to the 
                Commission, on an annual basis, a summary report for 
                ongoing impact assessment of any deployed automated 
                decision system or augmented critical decision process;
                    (E) require each covered entity to submit an 
                initial summary report to the Commission for any new 
                automated decision system or augmented critical 
                decision process prior to its deployment by the covered 
                entity;
                    (F) allow any person, partnership, or corporation 
                over which the Commission has jurisdiction under 
                section 5(a)(2) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
                U.S.C. 45(a)(2)) that deploys any automated decision 
                system or augmented critical decision process, but is 
                not a covered entity, to submit to the Commission a 
                summary report for any impact assessment performed with 
                respect to such system or process;
                    (G) require each covered entity, in performing the 
                impact assessment described in subparagraph (A), to the 
                extent possible, to meaningfully consult (including 
                through participatory design, independent auditing, or 
                soliciting or incorporating feedback) with relevant 
                internal stakeholders (such as employees, ethics teams, 
                and responsible technology teams) and independent 
                external stakeholders (such as representatives of and 
                advocates for impacted groups, civil society and 
                advocates, and technology experts) as frequently as 
                necessary;
                    (H) require each covered entity to attempt to 
                eliminate or mitigate, in a timely manner, any impact 
                made by an augmented critical decision process that 
                demonstrates a likely material negative impact that has 
                legal or similarly significant effects on a consumer's 
                life;
                    (I) establish definitions for--
                            (i) what constitutes ``access to or the 
                        cost, terms, or availability of'' with respect 
                        to a critical decision;
                            (ii) what constitutes ``possession'', 
                        ``management'', ``modification'', and 
                        ``control'' with respect to identifying 
                        information;
                            (iii) the different categories of third-
                        party decision recipients that a covered entity 
                        must document under section 5(1)(H); and
                            (iv) any of the services, programs, or 
                        opportunities described in subparagraphs (A) 
                        through (I) of section 2(8) for the purpose of 
                        informing consumers, covered entities, and 
                        regulators, as the Commission deems necessary;
                    (J) establish guidelines for any person, 
                partnership, or corporation to calculate the number of 
                consumers, households, or consumer devices for which 
                the person, partnership, or corporation possesses, 
                manages, modifies, or controls identifying information 
                for the purpose of determining covered entity status;
                    (K) establish guidelines for a covered entity to 
                prioritize different automated decision systems and 
                augmented critical decision processes deployed by the 
                covered entity for performing impact assessment; and
                    (L) establish a required format for any summary 
                report, as described in subparagraphs (D), (E), and 
                (F), to ensure that such reports are submitted in an 
                accessible and machine-readable format.
            (2) Considerations.--In promulgating the regulations under 
        paragraph (1), the Commission--
                    (A) shall take into consideration--
                            (i) that certain assessment or 
                        documentation of an automated decision system 
                        or augmented critical decision process may only 
                        be possible at particular stages of the 
                        development and deployment of such system or 
                        process or may be limited or not possible based 
                        on the availability of certain types of 
                        information or data or the nature of the 
                        relationship between the covered entity and 
                        consumers;
                            (ii) the duration of time between summary 
                        report submissions and the timeliness of the 
                        reported information;
                            (iii) the administrative burden placed on 
                        the Commission and the covered entity;
                            (iv) the benefits of standardizing and 
                        structuring summary reports for comparative 
                        analysis compared with the benefits of less-
                        structured narrative reports to provide detail 
                        and flexibility in reporting;
                            (v) that summary reports submitted by 
                        different covered entities may contain 
                        different fields according to the requirements 
                        established by the Commission, and the 
                        Commission may allow or require submission of 
                        incomplete reports;
                            (vi) that existing data privacy and other 
                        regulations may inhibit a covered entity from 
                        storing or sharing certain information; and
                            (vii) that a covered entity may require 
                        information from other persons, partnerships, 
                        or corporations that develop any automated 
                        decision system deployed in an automated 
                        decision system or augmented critical decision 
                        process by the covered entity for the purpose 
                        of performing impact assessment; and
                    (B) may develop specific requirements for impact 
                assessments and summary reports for particular--
                            (i) categories of critical decisions, as 
                        described in subparagraphs (A) through (I) of 
                        section 2(8) or any subcategory developed by 
                        the Commission; and
                            (ii) stages of development and deployment 
                        of an automated decision system or augmented 
                        critical decision process.
            (3) Effective date.--The regulations described in paragraph 
        (1) shall take effect on the date that is 2 years after such 
        regulations are promulgated.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR COVERED ENTITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT.

    (a) Requirements for Impact Assessment.--In performing any impact 
assessment required under section 3(b)(1) for an automated decision 
system or augmented critical decision process, a covered entity shall 
do the following, to the extent possible, as applicable to such covered 
entity as determined by the Commission:
            (1) In the case of a new augmented critical decision 
        process, evaluate any previously existing critical decision-
        making process used for the same critical decision prior to the 
        deployment of the new augmented critical decision process, 
        along with any related documentation or information, such as--
                    (A) a description of the baseline process being 
                enhanced or replaced by the augmented critical decision 
                process;
                    (B) any known harm, shortcoming, failure case, or 
                material negative impact on consumers of the previously 
                existing process used to make the critical decision;
                    (C) the intended benefits of and need for the 
                augmented critical decision process; and
                    (D) the intended purpose of the automated decision 
                system or augmented critical decision process.
            (2) Identify and describe any consultation with relevant 
        stakeholders as required by section 3(b)(1)(G), including by 
        documenting--
                    (A) the points of contact for the stakeholders who 
                were consulted;
                    (B) the date of any such consultation; and
                    (C) information about the terms and process of the 
                consultation, such as--
                            (i) the existence and nature of any legal 
                        or financial agreement between the stakeholders 
                        and the covered entity;
                            (ii) any data, system, design, scenario, or 
                        other document or material the stakeholder 
                        interacted with; and
                            (iii) any recommendations made by the 
                        stakeholders that were used to modify the 
                        development or deployment of the automated 
                        decision system or augmented critical decision 
                        process, as well as any recommendations not 
                        used and the rationale for such nonuse.
            (3) In accordance with any relevant National Institute of 
        Standards and Technology or other Federal Government best 
        practices and standards, perform ongoing testing and evaluation 
        of the privacy risks and privacy-enhancing measures of the 
        automated decision system or augmented critical decision 
        process, such as--
                    (A) assessing and documenting the data minimization 
                practices of such system or process and the duration 
                for which the relevant identifying information and any 
                resulting critical decision is stored;
                    (B) assessing the information security measures in 
                place with respect to such system or process, including 
                any use of privacy-enhancing technology such as 
                federated learning, differential privacy, secure multi-
                party computation, de-identification, or secure data 
                enclaves based on the level of risk; and
                    (C) assessing and documenting the current and 
                potential future or downstream positive and negative 
                impacts of such system or process on the privacy, 
                safety, or security of consumers and their identifying 
                information.
            (4) Perform ongoing testing and evaluation of the current 
        and historical performance of the automated decision system or 
        augmented critical decision process using measures such as 
        benchmarking datasets, representative examples from the covered 
        entity's historical data, and other standards, including by 
        documenting--
                    (A) a description of what is deemed successful 
                performance and the methods and technical and business 
                metrics used by the covered entity to assess 
                performance;
                    (B) a review of the performance of such system or 
                process under test conditions or an explanation of why 
                such performance testing was not conducted;
                    (C) a review of the performance of such system or 
                process under deployed conditions or an explanation of 
                why performance was not reviewed under deployed 
                conditions;
                    (D) a comparison of the performance of such system 
                or process under deployed conditions to test conditions 
                or an explanation of why such a comparison was not 
                possible;
                    (E) an evaluation of any differential performance 
                associated with consumers' race, color, sex, gender, 
                age, disability, religion, family status, socioeconomic 
                status, or veteran status, and any other 
                characteristics the Commission deems appropriate 
                (including any combination of such characteristics) for 
                which the covered entity has information, including a 
                description of the methodology for such evaluation and 
                information about and documentation of the methods used 
                to identify such characteristics in the data (such as 
                through the use of proxy data, including ZIP Codes); 
                and
                    (F) if any subpopulations were used for testing and 
                evaluation, a description of which subpopulations were 
                used and how and why such subpopulations were 
                determined to be of relevance for the testing and 
                evaluation.
            (5) Support and perform ongoing training and education for 
        all relevant employees, contractors, or other agents regarding 
        any documented material negative impacts on consumers from 
        similar automated decision systems or augmented critical 
        decision processes and any improved methods of developing or 
        performing an impact assessment for such system or process 
        based on industry best practices and relevant proposals and 
        publications from experts, such as advocates, journalists, and 
        academics.
            (6) Assess the need for and possible development of any 
        guard rail for or limitation on certain uses or applications of 
        the automated decision system or augmented critical decision 
        process, including whether such uses or applications ought to 
        be prohibited or otherwise limited through any terms of use, 
        licensing agreement, or other legal agreement between entities.
            (7) Maintain and keep updated documentation of any data or 
        other input information used to develop, test, maintain, or 
        update the automated decision system or augmented critical 
        decision process, including--
                    (A) how and when such data or other input 
                information was sourced and, if applicable, licensed, 
                including information such as--
                            (i) metadata and information about the 
                        structure and type of data or other input 
                        information, such as the file type, the date of 
                        the file creation or modification, and a 
                        description of data fields;
                            (ii) an explanation of the methodology by 
                        which the covered entity collected, inferred, 
                        or obtained the data or other input information 
                        and, if applicable, labeled, categorized, 
                        sorted, or clustered such data or other input 
                        information, including whether such data or 
                        other input information was labeled, 
                        categorized, sorted, or clustered prior to 
                        being collected, inferred, or obtained by the 
                        covered entity; and
                            (iii) whether and how consumers provided 
                        informed consent for the inclusion and further 
                        use of data or other input information about 
                        themselves and any limitations stipulated on 
                        such inclusion or further use;
                    (B) why such data or other input information was 
                used and what alternatives were explored; and
                    (C) other information about the data or other input 
                information, such as--
                            (i) the representativeness of the dataset 
                        and how this factor was measured, including any 
                        assumption about the distribution of the 
                        population on which the augmented critical 
                        decision process is deployed; and
                            (ii) the quality of the data, how the 
                        quality was evaluated, and any measure taken to 
                        normalize, correct, or clean the data.
            (8) Evaluate the rights of consumers, such as--
                    (A) by assessing the extent to which the covered 
                entity provides consumers with--
                            (i) clear notice that such system or 
                        process will be used; and
                            (ii) a mechanism for opting out of such 
                        use;
                    (B) by assessing the transparency and 
                explainability of such system or process and the degree 
                to which a consumer may contest, correct, or appeal a 
                decision or opt out of such system or process, 
                including--
                            (i) the information available to consumers 
                        or representatives or agents of consumers about 
                        the system or process, such as any relevant 
                        factors that contribute to a particular 
                        decision, including an explanation of which 
                        contributing factors, if changed, would cause 
                        the system or process to reach a different 
                        decision, and how such consumer, 
                        representative, or agent can access such 
                        information;
                            (ii) documentation of any complaint, 
                        dispute, correction, appeal, or opt-out request 
                        submitted to the covered entity by a consumer 
                        with respect to such system or process; and
                            (iii) the process and outcome of any 
                        remediation measure taken by the covered entity 
                        to address the concerns of or harms to 
                        consumers; and
                    (C) by describing the extent to which any third-
                party decision recipient receives a copy of or has 
                access to the results of such system or process and the 
                category of such third-party decision recipient, as 
                defined by the Commission in section 3(b)(1)(I)(iii).
            (9) Identify any likely material negative impact of the 
        automated decision system or augmented critical decision 
        process on consumers and assess any applicable mitigation 
        strategy, such as by--
                    (A) identifying and measuring any likely material 
                negative impact of the system or process on consumers, 
                including documentation of the steps taken to identify 
                and measure such impact;
                    (B) documenting any steps taken to eliminate or 
                reasonably mitigate any likely material negative impact 
                identified, including steps such as removing the system 
                or process from the market or terminating its 
                development;
                    (C) with respect to the likely material negative 
                impacts identified, documenting which such impacts were 
                left unmitigated and the rationale for the inaction, 
                including details about the justifying non-
                discriminatory, compelling interest and why such 
                interest cannot be satisfied by other means (such as 
                where there is an equal, zero-sum trade-off between 
                impacts on 2 or more consumers or where the required 
                mitigating action would violate civil rights or other 
                laws); and
                    (D) documenting standard protocols or practices 
                used to identify, measure, mitigate, or eliminate any 
                likely material negative impact on consumers and how 
                relevant teams or staff are informed of and trained 
                about such protocols or practices.
            (10) Describe any ongoing documentation of the development 
        and deployment process with respect to the automated decision 
        system or augmented critical decision process, including 
        information such as--
                    (A) the date of any testing, deployment, licensure, 
                or other significant milestones; and
                    (B) points of contact for any team, business unit, 
                or similar internal stakeholder that was involved.
            (11) Identify any capabilities, tools, standards, datasets, 
        security protocols, improvements to stakeholder engagement, or 
        other resources that may be necessary or beneficial to 
        improving the automated decision system, augmented critical 
        decision process, or the impact assessment of such system or 
        process, in areas such as--
                    (A) performance, including accuracy, robustness, 
                and reliability;
                    (B) fairness, including bias and nondiscrimination;
                    (C) transparency, explainability, contestability, 
                and opportunity for recourse;
                    (D) privacy and security;
                    (E) personal and public safety;
                    (F) efficiency and timeliness;
                    (G) cost; or
                    (H) any other area determined appropriate by the 
                Commission.
            (12) Document any of the impact assessment requirements 
        described in paragraphs (1) through (11) that were attempted 
        but were not possible to comply with because they were 
        infeasible, as well as the corresponding rationale for not 
        being able to comply with such requirements, which may 
        include--
                    (A) the absence of certain information about an 
                automated decision system developed by other persons, 
                partnerships, and corporations;
                    (B) the absence of certain information about how 
                clients, customers, licensees, partners, and other 
                persons, partnerships, or corporations are deploying an 
                automated decision system in their augmented critical 
                decision processes;
                    (C) a lack of demographic or other data required to 
                assess differential performance because such data is 
                too sensitive to collect, infer, or store; or
                    (D) a lack of certain capabilities, including 
                technological innovations, that would be necessary to 
                conduct such requirements.
            (13) Perform and document any other ongoing study or 
        evaluation determined appropriate by the Commission.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act should be construed 
to limit any covered entity from adding other criteria, procedures, or 
technologies to improve the performance of an impact assessment of 
their automated decision system or augmented critical decision process.
    (c) Nondisclosure of Impact Assessment.--Nothing in this Act should 
be construed to require a covered entity to share with or otherwise 
disclose to the Commission or the public any information contained in 
an impact assessment performed in accordance with this Act, except for 
any information contained in the summary report required under 
subparagraph (D) or (E) of section 3(b)(1).

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR SUMMARY REPORTS TO THE COMMISSION.

    The summary report that a covered entity is required to submit 
under subparagraph (D) or (E) of section 3(b)(1) for any automated 
decision system or augmented critical decision process shall, to the 
extent possible--
            (1) contain information from the impact assessment of such 
        system or process, as applicable, including--
                    (A) the name, website, and point of contact for the 
                covered entity;
                    (B) a detailed description of the specific critical 
                decision that the augmented critical decision process 
                is intended to make, including the category of critical 
                decision as described in subparagraphs (A) through (I) 
                of section 2(8);
                    (C) the covered entity's intended purpose for the 
                automated decision system or augmented critical 
                decision process;
                    (D) an identification of any stakeholders consulted 
                by the covered entity as required by section 3(b)(1)(G) 
                and documentation of the existence and nature of any 
                legal agreements between the stakeholders and the 
                covered entity;
                    (E) documentation of the testing and evaluation of 
                the automated decision system or augmented critical 
                decision process, including--
                            (i) the methods and technical and business 
                        metrics used to assess the performance of such 
                        system or process and a description of what 
                        metrics are deemed successful performance;
                            (ii) the results of any assessment of the 
                        performance of such system or process and a 
                        comparison of the results of any assessment 
                        under test and deployed conditions; and
                            (iii) an evaluation of any differential 
                        performance of such system or process assessed 
                        during the impact assessment;
                    (F) any publicly stated guard rail for or 
                limitation on certain uses or applications of the 
                automated decision system or augmented critical 
                decision process, including whether such uses or 
                applications ought to be prohibited or otherwise 
                limited through any terms of use, licensing agreement, 
                or other legal agreement between entities;
                    (G) documentation about the data or other input 
                information used to develop, test, maintain, or update 
                the automated decision system or augmented critical 
                decision process including--
                            (i) how and when the covered entity sourced 
                        such data or other input information; and
                            (ii) why such data or other input 
                        information was used and what alternatives were 
                        explored;
                    (H) documentation of whether and how the covered 
                entity implements any transparency or explainability 
                measures, including--
                            (i) which categories of third-party 
                        decision recipients receive a copy of or have 
                        access to the results of any decision or 
                        judgment that results from such system or 
                        process; and
                            (ii) any mechanism by which a consumer may 
                        contest, correct, or appeal a decision or opt 
                        out of such system or process, including the 
                        corresponding website for such mechanism, where 
                        applicable;
                    (I) any likely material negative impact on 
                consumers identified by the covered entity and a 
                description of the steps taken to remediate or mitigate 
                such impact;
                    (J) a list of any impact assessment requirements 
                that were attempted but were not possible to comply 
                with because they were infeasible, as well as the 
                corresponding rationale for not being able to comply 
                with such requirements; and
                    (K) any additional capabilities, tools, standards, 
                datasets, security protocols, improvements to 
                stakeholder engagement, or other resources identified 
                by an impact assessment as necessary or beneficial to 
                improve the performance of impact assessment or the 
                development and deployment of any automated decision 
                system or augmented critical decision process that the 
                covered entity determines appropriate to share with the 
                Commission;
            (2) include, in addition to the information required under 
        paragraph (1), any relevant additional information from section 
        4(a) the covered entity wishes to share with the Commission;
            (3) follow any format or structure requirements specified 
        by the Commission; and
            (4) include additional criteria that are essential for the 
        purpose of consumer protection, as determined by the 
        Commission.

SEC. 6. REPORTING; PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE REPOSITORY.

    (a) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the effective date 
described in section 3(b)(3), and annually thereafter, the Commission 
shall publish publicly on the website of the Commission a report 
describing and summarizing the information from the summary reports 
submitted under subparagraph (D), (E), or (F) of section 3(b)(1) that--
            (1) is accessible and machine readable in accordance with 
        the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (44 U.S.C. 
        3501 note); and
            (2) describes broad trends, aggregated statistics, and 
        anonymized lessons learned about performing impact assessments 
        of automated decision systems or augmented critical decision 
        processes, for the purposes of updating guidance related to 
        impact assessments and summary reporting, oversight, and making 
        recommendations to other regulatory agencies.
    (b) Publicly Accessible Repository.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Establishment.--
                            (i) Development.--Not later than 180 days 
                        after the Commission promulgates the 
                        regulations required under section 3(b)(1), the 
                        Commission shall develop a publicly accessible 
                        repository designed to publish a limited subset 
                        of the information about each automated 
                        decision system and augmented critical decision 
                        process for which the Commission received a 
                        summary report under subparagraph (D), (E), or 
                        (F) of section 3(b)(1) in order to facilitate 
                        consumer protection.
                            (ii) Publication.--Not later than 180 days 
                        after the effective date described in section 
                        3(b)(3), the Commission shall make the 
                        repository publicly accessible.
                            (iii) Updates.--The Commission shall update 
                        the repository on a quarterly basis.
                    (B) Purpose.--The purposes of the repository 
                established under subparagraph (A) are--
                            (i) to inform consumers about the use of 
                        automated decision systems and augmented 
                        critical decision processes;
                            (ii) to allow researchers and advocates to 
                        study the use of automated decision systems and 
                        augmented critical decision processes; and
                            (iii) to ensure compliance with the 
                        requirements of this Act.
                    (C) Considerations.--In establishing the repository 
                under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall consider--
                            (i) how to provide consumers with pertinent 
                        information regarding augmented critical 
                        decision processes while minimizing any 
                        potential commercial risk to any covered entity 
                        of providing such information;
                            (ii) what information, if any, to include 
                        regarding the specific automated decision 
                        systems deployed in the augmented critical 
                        decision processes;
                            (iii) how to document information, when 
                        applicable, about how to contest or seek 
                        recourse for a critical decision in a manner 
                        that is readily accessible by the consumer; and
                            (iv) how to streamline the submission of 
                        summary reports under subparagraph (D), (E), or 
                        (F) of section 3(b)(1) to allow the Commission 
                        to efficiently populate information into the 
                        repository to minimize or eliminate any burden 
                        on the Commission.
                    (D) Requirements.--The Commission shall design the 
                repository established under subparagraph (A) to--
                            (i) be publicly available and easily 
                        discoverable on the website of the Commission;
                            (ii) allow users to sort and search the 
                        repository by multiple characteristics (such as 
                        by covered entity, date reported, or category 
                        of critical decision) simultaneously;
                            (iii) allow users to make a copy of or 
                        download the information obtained from the 
                        repository, including any subsets of 
                        information obtained by sorting or searching as 
                        described in clause (ii), in accordance with 
                        current guidance from the Office of Management 
                        and Budget, such as the Open, Public, 
                        Electronic, and Necessary Government Data Act 
                        (44 U.S.C. 101 note);
                            (iv) be in accordance with user experience 
                        and accessibility best practices such as those 
                        described in the 21st Century Integrated 
                        Digital Experience Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 note);
                            (v) include a limited subset of information 
                        from the summary reports, as applicable, under 
                        subparagraph (D), (E), or (F) of section 
                        3(b)(1) that includes--
                                    (I) the identity of the covered 
                                entity that submitted such summary 
                                report, including any link to the 
                                website of the covered entity;
                                    (II) the specific critical decision 
                                that the augmented critical decision 
                                process makes, along with the category 
                                of the critical decision;
                                    (III) any publicly stated 
                                prohibited applications of the 
                                automated decision system or augmented 
                                critical decision process, including 
                                whether such prohibition is enforced 
                                through any terms of use, licensing 
                                agreement, or other legal agreement 
                                between entities;
                                    (IV) to the extent possible, the 
                                sources of any data used to develop, 
                                test, maintain, or update the automated 
                                decision system or augmented critical 
                                decision process;
                                    (V) to the extent possible, the 
                                type of technical and business metrics 
                                used to assess the performance of the 
                                augmented critical decision process 
                                when deployed; and
                                    (VI) the link to any web page with 
                                instructions or other information 
                                related to a mechanism by which a 
                                consumer may contest, correct, or 
                                appeal a decision or opt out of the 
                                automated decision system or augmented 
                                critical decision process; and
                            (vi) include information about design, use, 
                        and maintenance of the repository, including--
                                    (I) how frequently the repository 
                                is updated;
                                    (II) the date of the most recent 
                                such update;
                                    (III) the types of information from 
                                the summary reports submitted under 
                                subparagraph (D), (E), or (F) of 
                                section 3(b)(1) that are and are not 
                                included in the repository; and
                                    (IV) any other information about 
                                the design, use, and maintenance the 
                                Commission determines is--
                                            (aa) relevant to consumers 
                                        and researchers; or
                                            (bb) essential for consumer 
                                        education and recourse.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Commission such sums as are necessary 
        to carry out this subsection.

SEC. 7. GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; OTHER REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Guidance and Technical Assistance From the Commission.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall publish guidance on 
        how to meet the requirements of sections 4 and 5, including 
        resources such as documentation templates and guides for 
        meaningful consultation, that is developed by the Commission 
        after consultation with the Director of the National Institute 
        of Standards and Technology, the Director of the National 
        Artificial Intelligence Initiative, the Director of the Office 
        of Science and Technology Policy, and other relevant 
        stakeholders, including standards bodies, private industry, 
        academia, technology experts, and advocates for civil rights, 
        consumers, and impacted communities.
            (2) Assistance in determining covered entity status.--In 
        addition to the guidance required under paragraph (1), the 
        Commission shall--
                    (A) issue guidance and training materials to assist 
                persons, partnerships, and corporations in evaluating 
                whether they are a covered entity; and
                    (B) regularly update such guidance and training 
                materials in accordance with any feedback or questions 
                from covered entities, experts, or other relevant 
                stakeholders.
    (b) Other Requirements.--
            (1) Publication.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
        limit a covered entity from publicizing any documentation of 
        the impact assessment maintained under section 3(b)(1)(B), 
        including information beyond what is required to be submitted 
        in a summary report under subparagraph (D) or (E) of section 
        3(b)(1), unless such publication would violate the privacy of 
        any consumer.
            (2) Periodic review of regulations.--The Commission shall 
        review the regulations promulgated under section 3(b) not less 
        than once every 5 years and update such regulations as 
        appropriate.
            (3) Review by nist and ostp.--The Commission shall make 
        available, in a private and secure manner, to the Director of 
        the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the 
        Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and 
        the head of any Federal agency with relevant regulatory 
        jurisdiction over an augmented critical decision process any 
        summary report submitted under subparagraph (D), (E), or (F) of 
        section 3(b)(1) for review in order to develop future standards 
        or regulations.

SEC. 8. RESOURCES AND AUTHORITIES.

    (a) Bureau of Technology.--
            (1) Establishment.--
                    (A) In general.--There is established within the 
                Commission the Bureau of Technology (in this subsection 
                referred to as the ``Bureau'').
                    (B) Duties.--The Bureau shall engage in activities 
                that include:
                            (i) Aiding or advising the Commission with 
                        respect to the technological aspects of the 
                        functions of the Commission, including--
                                    (I) preparing, conducting, 
                                facilitating, managing, or otherwise 
                                enabling studies, workshops, audits, 
                                community participation opportunities, 
                                or other similar activities; and
                                    (II) any other assistance deemed 
                                appropriate by the Commission or Chair.
                            (ii) Aiding or advising the Commission with 
                        respect to the enforcement of this Act.
                            (iii) Providing technical assistance to any 
                        enforcement bureau within the Commission with 
                        respect to the investigation and trial of 
                        cases.
            (2) Chief technologist.--The Bureau shall be headed by a 
        Chief Technologist.
            (3) Staff.--
                    (A) Appointments.--
                            (i) In general.--Subject to subparagraph 
                        (B), the Chair may, without regard to the civil 
                        service laws (including regulations), appoint 
                        personnel with experience in fields such as 
                        management, technology, digital and product 
                        design, user experience, information security, 
                        civil rights, technology policy, privacy 
                        policy, humanities and social sciences, product 
                        management, software engineering, machine 
                        learning, statistics, or other related fields 
                        to enable the Bureau to perform its duties.
                            (ii) Minimum appointments.--Not later than 
                        2 years after the date of enactment of this 
                        Act, the Chair shall appoint not less than 50 
                        personnel.
                    (B) Excepted service.--The personnel appointed in 
                accordance with subparagraph (A) may be appointed to 
                positions described in section 213.3102(r) of title 5, 
                Code of Federal Regulations.
            (4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Commission such sums as are necessary 
        to carry out this subsection.
    (b) Additional Personnel in the Bureau of Consumer Protection.--
            (1) Additional personnel.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of law, the Chair may, without regard to the civil 
        service laws (including regulations), appoint 25 additional 
        personnel to the Division of Enforcement of the Bureau of 
        Consumer Protection.
            (2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Commission such sums as are necessary 
        to carry out this subsection.
    (c) Establishment of Agreements of Cooperation.--The Commission 
shall negotiate agreements of cooperation, as needed, with any relevant 
Federal agency with respect to information sharing and enforcement 
actions taken regarding the development or deployment of an automated 
decision system to make a critical decision or of an augmented critical 
decision process. Such agreements shall include procedures for 
determining which agency shall file an action and providing notice to 
the non-filing agency, where feasible, prior to initiating a civil 
action to enforce any Federal law within such agencies' jurisdictions 
regarding the development or deployment of an automated decision system 
to make a critical decision or of an augmented critical decision 
process by a covered entity.

SEC. 9. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Enforcement by the Commission.--
            (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of 
        this Act or a regulation promulgated thereunder shall be 
        treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or 
        deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 
        Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
            (2) Powers of the commission.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall enforce this 
                Act and the regulations promulgated 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.
                    (B) Privileges and immunities.--Any person who 
                violates this Act or a regulation promulgated 
                thereunder shall be subject to the penalties and 
                entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in 
                the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 
                seq.).
                    (C) Authority preserved.--Nothing in this Act shall 
                be construed to limit the authority of the Commission 
                under any other provision of law.
                    (D) Rulemaking.--The Commission shall promulgate in 
                accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States 
                Code, such additional rules as may be necessary to 
                carry out this Act.
    (b) Enforcement by States.--
            (1) In general.--If the attorney general of a State has 
        reason to believe that an interest of the residents of the 
        State has been or is being threatened or adversely affected by 
        a practice that violates this Act or a regulation promulgated 
        thereunder, the attorney general of the State may, as parens 
        patriae, bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 
        State in an appropriate district court of the United States to 
        obtain appropriate relief.
            (2) Rights of commission.--
                    (A) Notice to commission.--
                            (i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (iii), the attorney general of a State, 
                        before initiating a civil action under 
                        paragraph (1), shall provide written 
                        notification to the Commission that the 
                        attorney general intends to bring such civil 
                        action.
                            (ii) Contents.--The notification required 
                        under clause (i) shall include a copy of the 
                        complaint to be filed to initiate the civil 
                        action.
                            (iii) Exception.--If it is not feasible for 
                        the attorney general of a State to provide the 
                        notification required under clause (i) before 
                        initiating a civil action under paragraph (1), 
                        the attorney general shall notify the 
                        Commission immediately upon instituting the 
                        civil action.
                    (B) Intervention by commission.--The Commission 
                may--
                            (i) intervene in any civil action brought 
                        by the attorney general of a State under 
                        paragraph (1); and
                            (ii) upon intervening--
                                    (I) be heard on all matters arising 
                                in the civil action; and
                                    (II) file petitions for appeal of a 
                                decision in the civil action.
            (3) Investigatory powers.--Nothing in this subsection may 
        be construed to prevent the attorney general of a State from 
        exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the 
        laws of the State to conduct investigations, to administer 
        oaths or affirmations, or to compel the attendance of witnesses 
        or the production of documentary or other evidence.
            (4) 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) another court of competent 
                        jurisdiction.
                    (B) Service of process.--In an action brought under 
                paragraph (1), process may be served in any district in 
                which--
                            (i) the defendant is an inhabitant, may be 
                        found, or transacts business; or
                            (ii) venue is proper under section 1391 of 
                        title 28, United States Code.
            (5) Actions by other state officials.--
                    (A) In general.--In addition to a civil action 
                brought by an attorney general under paragraph (1), any 
                other officer of a State who is authorized by the State 
                to do so may bring a civil action under paragraph (1), 
                subject to the same requirements and limitations that 
                apply under this subsection to civil actions brought by 
                attorneys general.
                    (B) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection 
                may be construed to prohibit an authorized official of 
                a State from initiating or continuing any proceeding in 
                a court of the State for a violation of any civil or 
                criminal law of the State.

SEC. 10. COORDINATION.

    In carrying out this Act, the Commission shall coordinate with any 
appropriate Federal agency or State regulator to promote consistent 
regulatory treatment of automated decision systems and augmented 
critical decision processes.

SEC. 11. NO PREEMPTION.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed to preempt any State, tribal, 
city, or local law, regulation, or ordinance.
                                 <all>