Passenger Privacy Protection Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1206 To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit aircraft from having in place cameras and microphones that can monitor passengers. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 11, 2019 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit aircraft from having in place cameras and microphones that can monitor passengers. 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 ‘‘Passenger Privacy Pro- 4 tection Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1206.IS S1206 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1206 IS SEC. 2. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO CAMERAS AND 1 MICROPHONES ON AIRCRAFT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 of 3 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 4 end the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 41725. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO CAMERAS AND 6 MICROPHONES ON AIRCRAFT. 7 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITIONS.—The following rules shall apply 8 to all aircraft of an air carrier and a foreign air carrier: 9 ‘‘(1) Any in-flight entertainment system in- 10 stalled on the aircraft after the date of the enact- 11 ment of this section may not have an embedded 12 camera or microphone. In the case where the air- 13 craft has, as of such date of enactment, a existing 14 camera or microphone embedded in an in-flight en- 15 tertainment system, by not later than 2 months 16 after such date of enactment— 17 ‘‘(A) the camera shall be either— 18 ‘‘(i) removed; 19 ‘‘(ii) permanently disabled and cov- 20 ered; or 21 ‘‘(iii) covered in a fashion that pre- 22 vents the camera from making any obser- 23 vation; and 24 ‘‘(B) the microphone shall be either— 25 ‘‘(i) removed; or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1206.IS S1206 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1206 IS ‘‘(ii) physically disconnected and cov- 1 ered in a fashion that renders the micro- 2 phone ineffective. 3 ‘‘(2) Any camera or microphone that is de- 4 signed to observe a passenger and that is separate 5 from an in-flight entertainment system may not be 6 installed on the aircraft after the date of the enact- 7 ment of this section. Any such camera or micro- 8 phone that was installed on the aircraft prior to 9 such date of enactment shall be removed within 2 10 months of such date of enactment. 11 ‘‘(b) CHANGES TO REMOTE SWITCHES NOT SUFFI- 12 CIENT.—Changes made by an air carrier or a foreign air 13 carrier to remote switches of an in-flight entertainment 14 system are not sufficient to meet the requirements of sub- 15 section (a)(1).’’. 16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap- 17 ter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 18 inserting after the item relating to section 41724 the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘41725. Prohibitions relating to cameras and microphones on aircraft.’’. SEC. 3. REQUIRING AUDITS OF AIRLINES REGARDING THE 21 INFORMATION THEY COLLECT ON PAS- 22 SENGERS. 23 The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Adminis- 24 tration shall periodically conduct audits of air carriers and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1206.IS S1206 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1206 IS foreign air carriers (as such terms are defined in section 1 40102 of title 49, United States Code) regarding the in- 2 formation the carrier collects with respect to passengers 3 on its aircraft, including any information obtained through 4 the physical surveillance of passengers. 5 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:14 Apr 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1206.IS S1206 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS