PACT Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 797 To require transparency, accountability, and protections for consumers online. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 17 (legislative day, MARCH 16), 2021 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. THUNE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To require transparency, accountability, and protections for consumers online. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Platform Account- 4 ability and Consumer Transparency Act’’ or the ‘‘PACT 5 Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 7 In this Act: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 797 IS (1) COMMISSION.—Except as otherwise pro- 1 vided, the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 2 Trade Commission. 3 (2) DEMONETIZE.—The term ‘‘demonetize’’, 4 with respect to content on an interactive computer 5 service, means to take action to prohibit the infor- 6 mation content provider that generated or dissemi- 7 nated the content from receiving direct financial 8 compensation from the interactive computer service 9 provider based on the content. 10 (3) DEPRIORITIZE.—The term ‘‘deprioritize’’, 11 with respect to content on an interactive computer 12 service, means to take affirmative, content-specific 13 action to reduce the priority level of the content. 14 (4) ILLEGAL ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘illegal ac- 15 tivity’’ means activity conducted by an information 16 content provider that has been determined by a trial 17 or appellate Federal or State court to violate Fed- 18 eral criminal or civil law. 19 (5) ILLEGAL CONTENT.—The term ‘‘illegal con- 20 tent’’ means information provided by an information 21 content provider that has been determined by a trial 22 or appellate Federal or State court to violate— 23 (A) Federal criminal or civil law; or 24 (B) State defamation law. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 797 IS (6) INDIVIDUAL PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘indi- 1 vidual provider’’ means a provider of an interactive 2 computer service that, during the most recent 12- 3 month period— 4 (A) received fewer than 100,000 unique 5 monthly visitors; and 6 (B) accrued revenue of less than 7 $1,000,000. 8 (7) INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER.—The 9 term ‘‘information content provider’’ has the mean- 10 ing given the term in section 230 of the Communica- 11 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230). 12 (8) INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE.—The 13 term ‘‘interactive computer service’’ has the meaning 14 given the term in section 230 of the Communica- 15 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230). 16 (9) POTENTIALLY POLICY-VIOLATING CON- 17 TENT.—The term ‘‘potentially policy-violating con- 18 tent’’ means content that may violate the acceptable 19 use policy of the provider of an interactive computer 20 service. 21 (10) SMALL BUSINESS PROVIDER.—The term 22 ‘‘small business provider’’ means a provider of an 23 interactive computer service that is not an individual 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Apr 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 797 IS provider and, during the most recent 12-month pe- 1 riod— 2 (A) received fewer than 1,000,000 unique 3 monthly visitors; and 4 (B) accrued revenue of less than 5 $50,000,000. 6 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 (1) Technological advancements involving the 9 internet and interactive computer service providers 10 have led to innovations that offer substantial benefit 11 to the people and the economy of the United States. 12 (2) People in the United States increasingly 13 rely on interactive computer services to commu- 14 nicate, gather information, and conduct transactions 15 that are central to our economic, political, social, 16 and cultural life. 17 (3) The content moderation decisions made by 18 providers of interactive computer services shape the 19 online information ecosystem available to people in 20 the United States and impact free expression. 21 (4) There is a compelling government interest 22 in having providers of interactive computer services 23 provide information to the public about their content 24 moderation policies and practices because of the im- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 797 IS pact those policies may have on the speech interests 1 of their consumers. 2 (5) The people of the United States benefit 3 from transparent information about the decisions 4 interactive computer service providers make regard- 5 ing their content moderation practices, including re- 6 moving, maintaining, blocking, amplifying, 7 prioritizing, or deprioritizing information provided 8 by other consumers. 9 (6) The Federal Government should hold inter- 10 active computer service providers accountable when 11 they fail to respond to consumers’ concerns about 12 their content moderation decisions. 13 (7) Federal and State court decisions and Fed- 14 eral statutes and regulations that apply to offline 15 commerce do not always govern online commerce 16 and communications. 17 (8) The rights of consumers should extend to 18 online commerce and communications to provide a 19 level playing field for all consumers and companies, 20 and to prevent wrongdoing and victimization of peo- 21 ple in the United States. 22 SEC. 4. POLICY. 23 It is the policy of the United States— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 797 IS (1) to preserve the internet and other inter- 1 active computer services as forums for diversity of 2 political discourse, opportunities for cultural develop- 3 ment, and places for intellectual and commercial ac- 4 tivity; 5 (2) to ensure consumers have accessible and 6 clear information about the acceptable use policies of 7 interactive computer service providers so that con- 8 sumers are informed about the content moderation 9 policies and practices of those providers when they 10 participate in, or engage with, those services; 11 (3) to create accountability and transparency 12 measures to diminish the likelihood that interactive 13 computer service providers are engaging in unfair or 14 deceptive practices; 15 (4) to encourage the development and use of 16 technologies that minimize illegal activities and con- 17 tent and potentially policy-violating content; 18 (5) to ensure that the consumer rights of users 19 of interactive computer services are maintained and 20 extended to activities that the users may participate 21 in online; and 22 (6) to hold interactive computer service pro- 23 viders accountable, and exempt them from immunity 24 protections under section 230 of the Communica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 797 IS tions Act of 1934 (commonly known as ‘‘section 230 1 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996’’) (47 2 U.S.C. 230), when they help develop illegal content 3 or contribute to illegal content or conduct online. 4 SEC. 5. TRANSPARENCY AND PROCESS REQUIREMENTS. 5 (a) ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY.— 6 (1) PUBLICATION OF ACCEPTABLE USE POL- 7 ICY.—A provider of an interactive computer service 8 shall publish an acceptable use policy in accordance 9 with paragraph (2) in a location that is easily acces- 10 sible to the user. 11 (2) CONTENTS OF POLICY.—The acceptable use 12 policy of a provider of an interactive computer serv- 13 ice shall— 14 (A) reasonably inform users about the 15 types of content that are allowed on the inter- 16 active computer service; 17 (B) explain the steps the provider takes to 18 ensure content complies with the acceptable use 19 policy; 20 (C) explain the means by which users can 21 notify the provider of potentially policy-violating 22 content, illegal content, or illegal activity, which 23 shall include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 797 IS (i) subject to subsection (e), making 1 available a live company representative 2 through a toll-free telephone number dur- 3 ing regular business hours for not fewer 4 than 8 hours per day and 5 days per week 5 to assist users with the process of making 6 a complaint; 7 (ii) an email address or relevant in- 8 take mechanism to handle user complaints; 9 and 10 (iii) subject to subsection (e), a com- 11 plaint system described in subsection (b); 12 and 13 (D) include publication of a biannual 14 transparency report outlining actions taken to 15 enforce the policy, as described in subsection 16 (d). 17 (b) COMPLAINT SYSTEM.—Subject to subsection (e), 18 a provider of an interactive computer service shall provide 19 a system that is easily accessible to a user through which 20 the user may submit in good faith, and track, a complaint 21 regarding any content or activity on the interactive com- 22 puter service, including a complaint regarding— 23 (1) potentially policy-violating content, illegal 24 content, or illegal activity; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 797 IS (2) a decision of the interactive computer serv- 1 ice provider to remove content posted by the infor- 2 mation content provider. 3 (c) PROCESSING OF COMPLAINTS.— 4 (1) COMPLAINTS REGARDING ILLEGAL CON- 5 TENT, ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, OR POTENTIALLY POLICY- 6 VIOLATING CONTENT.— 7 (A) ILLEGAL CONTENT OR ILLEGAL ACTIV- 8 ITY.— 9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub- 10 section (e), and except as provided in 11 clause (ii), if a provider of an interactive 12 computer service receives notice of illegal 13 content or illegal activity on the interactive 14 computer service that substantially com- 15 plies with the requirements under para- 16 graph (3)(B)(ii) of section 230(c) of the 17 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 18 230(c)), as added by section 6(a), the pro- 19 vider shall remove the content or stop the 20 activity not later than 4 days after receiv- 21 ing the notice, subject to reasonable excep- 22 tions, including concerns about the legit- 23 imacy of the notice. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 797 IS (ii) TIMELINE FOR NOTICE EMA- 1 NATING FROM DEFAULT JUDGMENTS AND 2 STIPULATED AGREEMENTS.—If a notice of 3 illegal content or illegal activity described 4 in clause (i) emanates from a default judg- 5 ment or stipulated agreement, that clause 6 shall be applied by substituting ‘‘10 days’’ 7 for ‘‘4 days’’. 8 (B) POTENTIALLY POLICY-VIOLATING CON- 9 TENT.—Subject to subsection (e), if a provider 10 of an interactive computer service receives a 11 complaint made in good faith through the com- 12 plaint system of the provider established under 13 subsection (b) regarding potentially policy-vio- 14 lating content on the interactive computer serv- 15 ice, the provider shall, not later than 14 days 16 after receiving the complaint— 17 (i) review the content; 18 (ii) determine whether the content ad- 19 heres to the acceptable use policy of the 20 provider; and 21 (iii) initiate appropriate steps based 22 on the determination made under clause 23 (ii), subject to reasonable extensions in 24 cases requiring extraordinary investigation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 797 IS (2) PROCESS AFTER REMOVAL OF CONTENT.— 1 (A) REMOVAL BASED ON USER COM- 2 PLAINT.— 3 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 4 (ii), if a provider of an interactive com- 5 puter service removes potentially policy-vio- 6 lating content based on a user complaint, 7 the provider of the interactive computer 8 service shall, concurrently with the re- 9 moval— 10 (I) notify the information content 11 provider and the complainant of the 12 removal and explain why the content 13 was removed; 14 (II) allow the information content 15 provider to appeal the decision; and 16 (III) notify the information con- 17 tent provider and the complainant 18 of— 19 (aa) the determination re- 20 garding the appeal under sub- 21 clause (II); and 22 (bb) in the case of a reversal 23 of the decision to remove the con- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 797 IS tent in question, the reason for 1 the reversal. 2 (ii) EXCEPTIONS.—A provider of an 3 interactive computer service shall not be 4 required to provide an information content 5 provider with notice or an opportunity to 6 appeal under clause (i) if— 7 (I) the provider of the interactive 8 computer service is unable to contact 9 the information content provider after 10 taking reasonable steps to do so; or 11 (II)(aa) the provider of the inter- 12 active computer service reasonably be- 13 lieves that such notice would risk im- 14 minent harm to any person or impede 15 law enforcement activities; or 16 (bb) a law enforcement agency, 17 based on a reasonable belief that such 18 notice would interfere with an ongoing 19 investigation, requests that the pro- 20 vider of the interactive computer serv- 21 ice not provide such notice. 22 (B) REMOVAL BASED ON MODERATION DE- 23 CISIONS OF INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE 24 PROVIDER.—If a provider of an interactive com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:22 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S797.IS S797 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 797 IS puter service receives notice, through a com- 1 plaint from the information content provider, 2 that the provider of the interactive computer 3 service removed content of the information con- 4 tent provider that the information content pro- 5 vider believes does not violate the acceptable 6 use policy of the provider of the interactive 7 computer service, the provider of the interactive 8 computer service shall, not later than 14 days 9 after receiving notice— 10 (i) review the content; 11 (ii) determine whether the content ad- 12 heres to the acceptable use [Text truncated for display. 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