Requiring parental consent for children to access social media

(a)

Findings

Congress finds the following:(1)Social media use by children has been linked to mental health and developmental harms.(2)Certain social media platform features, including recommendation algorithms and engagement-maximizing designs, may exacerbate those harms.(3)Children require additional protections online.(b)

In general

(1)

Requiring verifiable parental consent for children to create or maintain social media platform accounts

(A)

In general

Unless a social media platform provider has received verifiable parental consent from the parent of a user that the social media platform provider knows or should know is a child, such social media platform provider may not allow such child to create or maintain an account or profile on the social medial platform of the provider.(B)

Parent-supervised account

If a social media platform provider receives verifiable parental consent for a child to create and maintain an account or profile on the social media platform of the provider, such social media platform provider shall ensure that such account or profile is a parent-supervised account.(2)

Age and parental consent verification

(A)

In general

A social media platform provider shall take reasonable steps to determine—(i)whether a user of the social media platform is a child; and(ii)in the event the social media platform provider determines that a user is a child—(I)whether verifiable parental consent has been obtained; and(II)whether the account of such child is a parent-supervised account.(B)

Use of information

A social media platform provider—(i)may not use any information collected in complying with subparagraph (A) for any other purpose; and(ii)shall, unless required by other applicable law, delete such information—(I)when the user to which such information applies turns 16 years of age; or(II)if the user to which such information applies deletes their account or profile before the date the user turns 16 years of age, when the user deletes their account or profile.(3)

Regulations

The Commission may promulgate regulations establishing—(A)acceptable methods by which a social media platform provider may determine whether a user of the platform is a child;(B)acceptable methods by which a social media platform provider may obtain and verify parental consent; and(C)minimum requirements for parent-supervised accounts.(c)

Enforcement

(1)

Enforcement by the Commission

(A)

Unfair or deceptive acts or practices

A violation of this Act or a regulation promulgated under this Act 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)).(B)

Powers of the Commission

(i)

In general

The Commission shall enforce 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.(ii)

Privileges and immunities

Any person who violates this Act or a regulation promulgated under this Act 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.).(iii)

Authority preserved

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any other provision of law.(iv)

Rulemaking

The Commission shall promulgate in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, such rules as may be necessary to carry out this Act.(2)

Enforcement by States

(A)

In general

In any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of the State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by the engagement of any person in a practice that violates this Act, 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—(i)enjoin further violation of this Act by such person;(ii)compel compliance with this Act;(iii)obtain damages, restitution, or other compensation on behalf of such residents; and(iv)obtain such other relief as the court may consider to be appropriate.(B)

Rights of the Commission

(i)

Notice to the Commission

(I)

In general

Except as provided in subclause (III), the attorney general of a State shall notify the Commission in writing that the attorney general intends to bring a civil action under subparagraph (A) before initiating the civil action.(II)

Contents

The notification required by subclause (I) with respect to a civil action 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 by subclause (I) before initiating a civil action under subparagraph (A), the attorney general shall notify the Commission immediately upon instituting the civil action.(ii)

Intervention by the Commission

The Commission may—(I)intervene in any civil action brought by the attorney general of a State under subparagraph (A); and(II)upon intervening—(aa)be heard on all matters arising in the civil action; and(bb)file petitions for appeal of a decision in the civil action.(C)

Investigatory powers

Nothing in this paragraph 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.(D)

Action by the Commission

If the Commission institutes a civil action or an administrative action with respect to a violation of this Act, the attorney general of a State may not, during the pendency of such action, bring a civil action under subparagraph (A) against any defendant named in the complaint of the Commission for the violation with respect to which the Commission instituted such action.(E)

Venue; service of process

(i)

Venue

Any action brought under subparagraph (A) 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.(ii)

Service of process

In an action brought under subparagraph (A), process may be served in any district in which the defendant—(I)is an inhabitant; or(II)may be found.(F)

Actions by other State officials

(i)

In general

In addition to civil actions brought by attorneys general under subparagraph (A), any other officer of a State who is authorized by the State to do so may bring a civil action under subparagraph (A), subject to the same requirements and limitations that apply under this subsection to civil actions brought by attorneys general.(ii)

Savings provision

Nothing in this paragraph 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.(d)

Definitions

In this Act:(1)

Child

The term child means an individual who has not attained 16 years of age.(2)

Commission

The term Commission means the Federal Trade Commission.(3)

Educational platform

The term educational platform means a district-sanctioned or school-sanctioned learning management system or school information system used for the education of students.(4)

Parent

The term parent includes a legal guardian of a child.(5)

Parent-supervised account

The term parent-supervised account means an account or profile of a child on a social media platform that provides a parent of such child with meaningful oversight tools that allow such parent to supervise and manage such child's use of the social media platform, including tools such as—(A)the ability to access and manage the privacy and account settings of the account or profile;(B)the ability to establish or modify time limits regarding the child's use of the social media platform;(C)the ability to limit or disable direct messages or other private communications with other users of the social media platform;(D)the ability to limit, approve, or disable purchases and other financial transactions on the social media platform;(E)the ability to manage who may contact, follow, or otherwise interact with the account or profile;(F)the ability to view the child's activity and use of the social media platform; and(G)any additional oversight tools determined by the Commission to be appropriate through rulemaking.(6)

Social media platform

(A)

In general

The term social media platform—(i)means a website or internet medium that—(I)permits a person to become a registered user, establish an account, or create a profile for the purpose of allowing users to create, share, and view user-generated content through such an account or profile;(II)enables 1 or more users to generate content that can be viewed by other users of the website or internet medium; and(III)primarily serves as a medium for users to interact with content generated by other users of the website or internet medium; and(ii)does not include—(I)an email service;(II)a text messaging service;(III)an educational platform;(IV)a video conferencing service;(V)online gaming where social interaction is incidental to the game being played; or(VI)a communication service or tool where social interaction is incidental to the primary function of such service or tool.(B)

FTC ruleamking Authority

In order to address evolving technologies and platforms, the Commission may promulgate in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, rules to determine what websites or internet mediums meet the definition of social media platform.(7)

Social media platform provider

The term social media platform provider means any person who, for commercial purposes in or affecting commerce, provides, manages, operates, controls, or manufacturers a social media platform.(8)

Text messaging service

The term text messaging service means a wireless messaging service, including such a service provided through short message service or multimedia messaging protocols that—(A)is not a component of, or linked to, a social media platform; and(B)has a predominant or exclusive function of direct messaging consisting of the transmission of text, photos, or videos sent—(i)by electronic means; and(ii)from the sender to the recipient.(9)

Verifiable parental consent

The term verifiable parental consent means any reasonable effort (taking into consideration available technology) to ensure that a parent of a child authorizes such child to create and maintain an account or profile on a social media platform.