118 S5364 IS: App Store Accountability Act
U.S. Senate
2024-11-20
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
II
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5364
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 20, 2024
Mr. Lee introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To provide a private right of action regarding children's exposure to covered content on apps, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title; table of contents
(a)

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “App Store Accountability Act”.
(b)

Table of contents
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Private right of action.
Sec. 5. Safe harbor for covered app store providers.
Sec. 6. Severability.
Sec. 7. Effective date.
2.

Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that—
(1)
parents and legal guardians have the right to seek a remedy when their child is exposed to an app that contains covered content;
(2)
app stores should provide parents and legal guardians with effective tools to protect children from covered content on apps, including age verification technology, parental oversight and consent features, and accurate app age ratings; and
(3)
any tool described in paragraph (2) is not effective if the tool—
(A)
does not empower parents or legal guardians to protect their child from covered content;
(B)
is not readily accessible to parents or legal guardians; or
(C)
is grossly negligent to loopholes that undermine parents’ or legal guardians’ ability to protect their child.
3.

Definitions
In this Act:
(1)

Age category
The term age category means the category of an individual based on their age, including the following categories:
(A)

Adult
An adult is such an individual who has attained 18 years of age.
(B)

Teenager
A teenager is such an individual who has attained 16 years of age but has not attained 18 years of age.
(C)

Child
A child is such an individual who has attained 13 years of age but has not attained 16 years of age.
(D)

Young child
A young child is such an individual who has not attained 13 years of age.
(2)

Age rating
The term age rating means a public display that indicates the appropriateness of an app for different age categories.
(3)

App
The term app means a software application or electronic service that may be run or directed by a user on a computer, mobile device, or any other general purpose computing device.
(4)

App store
The term app store means a publicly available website, software application, or other electronic service that distributes and facilitates the download of an app from a third-party developer by a user of a computer, mobile device, or any other general purpose computing device.
(5)

Commission
The term Commission means the Federal Trade Commission.
(6)

Covered app store provider
The term covered app store provider means any person that owns or controls an app store available in the United States and for which users in the United States exceed 5,000,000.
(7)

Covered content
The term covered content means—
(A)
any picture, image, graphic image file, film, videotape, or other visual depiction that—
(i)
taken as a whole and with respect to minors, appeals to a prurient interest in nudity, sex, or excretion;
(ii)
depicts, describes, or represents an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or a lewd exhibition of the genitals, with the objective intent to arouse, titillate, or gratify the sexual desires of a person; and
(iii)
taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value as to minors;
(B)
any graphic image or video of real or simulated violence; or
(C)
a social or messaging forum whereby a user may interact directly or indirectly with users that are minors.
(8)

Developer
The term developer means any person that owns or controls an app on the app store of a covered app store provider and available in the United States.
(9)

Injury
The term injury means a reasonable, articulable harm that results from an exposure to covered content.
(10)

Minor
The term minor means an individual who has not attained 18 years of age.
(11)

Mobile device
The term mobile device means a tablet or smart phone that is capable of running a mobile operating system.
(12)

Mobile operating system
The term mobile operating system means a set of software that manages mobile device hardware resources and provides common services for mobile device programs.
(13)

Parent
The term parent, with respect to a minor, means an adult with the legal right to make decisions on behalf of the minor, including—
(A)
a natural parent;
(B)
an adoptive parent;
(C)
a legal guardian; or
(D)
an individual with legal custody over the minor.
(14)

Signal
The term signal means age bracketed data sent by a real-time secure application programming interface or operating system that is likely to be accessed by minors.
(15)

Verifiable parental consent
The term verifiable parental consent means authorization that is provided—
(A)
by a parent who a covered app store provider has verified is an adult;
(B)
in response to a disclosure from a covered app store provider that identifies what is specifically being consented to, including the age rating for the app or in-app purchase at issue; and
(C)
in response to a clear choice to consent or to decline to consent to the request from the covered app store provider.
4.

Private right of action
(a)

In general
Subject to section 5, any parent of a minor alleging an injury to the minor as a result of exposure to covered content on an app of a covered app store may bring a civil action against the covered app store provider in an appropriate district court of the United States.
(b)

Relief
In a civil action brought under subsection (a) in which the plaintiff prevails, the court may award—
(1)
actual damages;
(2)
punitive damages;
(3)
reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs; and
(4)
any other relief, including equitable or declaratory relief, that the court determines appropriate.
5.

Safe harbor for covered app store providers
(a)

In general
Subject to subsection (c), no cause of action shall lie against a covered app store provider under section 4 if the covered app store provider performs the following activities, as determined by the Commission in accordance with subsection (b):
(1)

Age verification
Determine the age category for each individual in the United States that uses the app store of such provider and verify such individual's age using commercially reasonable methods.
(2)

Parental oversight of app store usage
Obtain verifiable parental consent prior to allowing a minor to use the app store of such provider, including by providing a mechanism for a parent to block a minor from downloading any app that is not suitable for the age category of the minor.
(3)

Parental oversight of app downloads
Obtain verifiable parental consent, on a download-by-download basis, prior to allowing a minor to download an app from the app store of such provider, including by providing an easily accessible mechanism for a parent to consent to the download of an app.
(4)

Parental oversight of app purchases
Obtain verifiable parental consent, on a purchase-by-purchase basis, prior to allowing a minor to purchase any app through the app store of such provider, and such consent shall be valid for up to 7 days.
(5)

Parental oversight of in-app purchases
Obtain verifiable parental consent, on a purchase-by-purchase basis, prior to allowing a minor to make an in-app purchase through the app store of such provider.
(6)

Parental oversight of app usage
With respect to any covered app store provider that owns or controls a mobile device's mobile operating system, to the extent practicable, provide to parents a clear and easy mechanism to set—
(A)
filters that prevent a minor from accessing any adult website on the web browser of the mobile device; and
(B)
usage limits, including daily limits and limitations during school and evening hours.
(7)

App age rating display
To the extent the covered app store provider displays age ratings or descriptions of content, clearly and prominently display the age rating or description of content for each app available in the app store of the provider, including information regarding the minimum age category suitable for usage of an app.
(8)

Age category signal to developers
Provide to developers the ability to determine, in real time, the age category of any user and, with respect to any user that is a minor, whether the covered app store provider has obtained verifiable parental consent in accordance with this section.
(9)

Developer standards
Certify that any developer of an app on the covered app store performs the following activities, and remove any developer or app from the covered app store that fails to perform such activities or sells age category data for any reason:
(A)

App age rating
To the extent that a developer provides age ratings or descriptions of content to users, the developer shall—
(i)
clearly provide to a user the description of content and clearly identify the age category eligible for usage of an app; and
(ii)
provide such information to each app store available in the United States.
(B)

Parental oversight of app usage
To the extent technically feasible, the developer shall use the application programming interface of a covered app store provider to verify—
(i)
the age category of its users; and
(ii)
in the case of a minor, whether verifiable parental consent has been obtained before allowing the use of the app or in-app purchases.
(C)

Time restrictions
The developer shall provide readily available features for a parent to implement time restrictions with respect to the app of such developer, including the ability to view metrics reflecting the amount of time that a minor is using the app and set daily time limits on a minor's use of such app.
(D)

Use of app store provider signal
Each developer shall use a covered app store provider’s signal to determine the age category of a user.
(b)

Determination of eligibility
(1)

In general
Upon request by a covered app store provider, in such form and manner as the Commission shall prescribe, the Commission shall—
(A)
review the policies of the provider that are relevant to the requirements described in subsection (a) to determine whether the provider is eligible for the safe harbor described in such subsection; and
(B)
not later than 30 days after receiving such request, submit to Congress and make publicly available a notice confirming the safe harbor eligibility of the provider if the Commission determines that the provider—
(i)
meets the requirements described in subsection (a); and
(ii)
does not permit, or quickly remedies, any method of circumventing the protections described in such subsection.
(2)

Updates to policies
In the event that a covered app store provider updates any policy that is relevant to the requirements described in subsection (a), the provider shall notify the Commission of such update to ensure that such update does not impact the safe harbor eligibility of the provider under paragraph (1).
(3)

Complaints
(A)

In general
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall establish a mechanism to receive complaints regarding the compliance of any covered app store provider determined to be eligible for safe harbor under paragraph (1) with the requirements described in subsection (a).
(B)

Review
The Commission shall regularly review any complaints received through such mechanism and, if necessary, evaluate the relevant provider's continued eligibility for safe harbor.
(4)

Period of eligibility
The Commission's determination of safe harbor eligibility with respect to a covered app store provider shall be valid for 1 year.
(5)

Congressional review
Each determination of eligibility made by the Commission under paragraph (1) shall be considered an agency rule subject to chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, for purposes of a joint resolution of disapproval, except that—
(A)
the 60-day period for filing a joint resolution under section 802(a) of such title shall not apply; and
(B)
a joint resolution of disapproval may contain one or more such agency rules described in paragraph (1).
(c)

Disqualifying activity
The safe harbor described in subsection (a) shall not apply if the Commission determines that the covered app store provider—
(1)
sells age category data for any reason; or
(2)
acts in a manner contrary to the sense of Congress described in section 2.
(d)

Rules of construction
Nothing in this section shall be construed—
(1)
to prevent a covered app store provider from taking reasonable measures to block, detect, or prevent the distribution of unlawful, obscene, or other harmful material to minors, to block or filter spam, to prevent criminal activity, or to protect the security of an app store or app;
(2)
to require a covered app store provider to disclose to a developer any information about a user other than such user's age category and, with respect to any user that is a minor, whether the covered app store provider has obtained verifiable parental consent in accordance with this section;
(3)
to allow a covered app store provider to use any measures required by this section in a way that is arbitrary, capricious, anti-competitive, or unlawful; or
(4)
to affect or restrict the expression of political, religious, or other viewpoints.
6.

Severability
If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this Act, and the application of such provision to other persons not similarly situated or to other circumstances, shall not be affected by the invalidation.
7.

Effective date
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, this Act shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.