Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3898 To require the disclosure of a camera or recording capability in certain internet-connected devices. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2021 Mr. CURTIS (for himself and Mr. MOULTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the disclosure of a camera or recording capability in certain internet-connected devices. 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 ‘‘Informing Consumers 4 about Smart Devices Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE OF A CAMERA OR RECORD- 6 ING CAPABILITY IN CERTAIN INTERNET-CON- 7 NECTED DEVICES. 8 Each manufacturer of a covered device shall disclose 9 whether the covered device manufactured by the manufac- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jul 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3898.IH H3898 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3898 IH turer contains a camera or microphone as a component 1 of the covered device. 2 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMIS- 3 SION. 4 (a) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES.— 5 A violation of section 2 shall be treated as a violation of 6 a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice pre- 7 scribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 8 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 9 (b) ACTIONS BY THE COMMISSION.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Trade Commis- 11 sion shall prevent any person from violating this Act 12 or a regulation promulgated under this Act in the 13 same manner, by the same means, and with the 14 same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 15 applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 16 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor- 17 porated into and made a part of this Act. 18 (2) PENALTIES AND PRIVILEGES.—Any person 19 who violates this Act or a regulation promulgated 20 under this Act shall be subject to the penalties and 21 entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in 22 the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 23 seq.). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jul 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3898.IH H3898 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3898 IH (c) COMMISSION GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 1 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis- 2 sion, through outreach to relevant private entities, shall 3 issue guidance to assist manufacturers in complying with 4 the requirements of this Act, including guidance about 5 best practices for making the disclosure required by sec- 6 tion 2 as clear and conspicuous as practicable. 7 (d) TAILORED GUIDANCE.—A manufacturer of a cov- 8 ered device may petition the Commission for tailored guid- 9 ance as to how to meet the requirements of section 2. 10 (e) LIMITATION ON COMMISSION GUIDANCE.—No 11 guidance issued by the Commission with respect to this 12 Act shall confer any rights on any person, State, or local- 13 ity, nor shall operate to bind the Commission or any per- 14 son to the approach recommended in such guidance. In 15 any enforcement action brought pursuant to this Act, the 16 Commission shall allege a specific violation of a provision 17 of this Act. The Commission may not base an enforcement 18 action on, or execute a consent order based on, practices 19 that are alleged to be inconsistent with any such guide- 20 lines, unless the Commission determines such practices ex- 21 pressly violate section 2. 22 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF COVERED DEVICE. 23 As used in this Act, the term ‘‘covered device’’— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jul 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3898.IH H3898 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3898 IH (1) means a consumer product, as defined by 1 section 3(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act 2 (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)) that is capable of connecting to 3 the internet, a component of which is a camera or 4 microphone; and 5 (2) does not include— 6 (A) a telephone (including a mobile phone), 7 a laptop, tablet, or any device that a consumer 8 would reasonably expect to have a microphone 9 or camera; 10 (B) any device that is specifically marketed 11 as a camera, telecommunications device, or 12 microphone; or 13 (C) any device or apparatus described in 14 sections 255, 716, and 718, and subsections 15 (aa) and (bb) of section 303 of the Communica- 16 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 255; 617; 619; 17 and 303(aa) and (bb)), and any regulations 18 promulgated thereunder. 19 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 20 This Act shall apply to all devices manufactured after 21 the date that is 180 days after the date on which guidance 22 is issued by the Commission under section 3(c), and shall 23 not apply to devices manufactured or sold before such 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jul 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3898.IH H3898 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3898 IH date, or otherwise introduced into interstate commerce be- 1 fore such date. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:14 Jul 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3898.IH H3898 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS