Bianca’s Law

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8323 To require social media companies to establish an office dedicated to identi- fying and removing violent and gory content that violates such company’s social media platform content moderation standards. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 Mr. BRINDISI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require social media companies to establish an office dedicated to identifying and removing violent and gory content that violates such company’s social media plat- form content moderation standards. 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 ‘‘Bianca’s Law’’. 4 SEC. 2. OFFICE DEDICATED TO IDENTIFYING AND REMOV- 5 ING VIOLENT AND GORY CONTENT. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 7 date of the enactment of this Act, each social media com- 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8323.IH H8323 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8323 IH pany shall establish an office to identify and address vio- 1 lent and gory content that violates such company’s social 2 media platform content moderation standards or terms of 3 service agreements. At least one dedicated staff member 4 who reports directly to the highest official at the social 5 media company who shall, either directly or through a su- 6 pervised designee— 7 (1) educate and train employees about compli- 8 ance requirements that are consistent with the social 9 media company’s company’s social media platform 10 content moderation standards or terms of service 11 agreements; 12 (2) train employees involved in processing of 13 content on the social media platform that violates 14 such standards or agreements; 15 (3) conduct regular, comprehensive audits to 16 ensure compliance and make records of such audits 17 publicly available on the social media platform; 18 (4) maintain updated, clear, and understand- 19 able records of all relevant practices undertaken by 20 the social media company; and 21 (5) serve as the point of contact between the so- 22 cial media company and the Federal Trade Commis- 23 sion. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8323.IH H8323 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8323 IH (b) NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION.—The com- 1 pany shall also make the name and contact information 2 (including phone number) for this officer publicly avail- 3 able. 4 (c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act— 5 (1) the term ‘‘social media company’’ means 6 any person that owns, manages, or operates a social 7 media platform and has an annual revenue in excess 8 of $10,000,000; 9 (2) the term ‘‘social media platform’’— 10 (A) means a website or internet medium, 11 including a mobile application, that— 12 (i) permits a person to become a reg- 13 istered user, establish an account, or create 14 a profile for the purpose of allowing users 15 to create, share, and view user-generated 16 content through such an account or profile; 17 (ii) enables one or more users to gen- 18 erate content that can be viewed by other 19 users of the medium; and 20 (iii) serves as a medium for users to 21 view content generated by other users of 22 the medium; and 23 (B) does not include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8323.IH H8323 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8323 IH (i) any such platform that serves 1 fewer than 100,000 users who access their 2 account or profile at least once a month; or 3 (ii) an email program, email distribu- 4 tion lists, multi-person text message 5 groups, or a website that is primarily for 6 the purpose of internet commerce; 7 (iii) a private platform or messaging 8 service used by an entity solely to commu- 9 nicate with others employed by or affiliated 10 with such entity; or 11 (iv) an internet-based platform whose 12 primary purpose is— 13 (I) to allow users to post product 14 reviews, business reviews, travel infor- 15 mation and reviews; or 16 (II) to provide news or entertain- 17 ment content, but that may also in- 18 clude a comment section for users to 19 discuss such news or entertainment 20 content if such comment section does 21 not include functionality that permits 22 a user to share images, videos, or 23 other visual depictions; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8323.IH H8323 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8323 IH (3) the term ‘‘violent and gory content’’ means 1 images, video, or other visual depictions of graphic, 2 serious injury or death in a manner that has no or 3 limited cultural or social value. 4 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT. 5 (a) ENFORCEMENT BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COM- 6 MISSION.— 7 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC- 8 TICES.—A violation of this Act or a regulation pro- 9 mulgated under this Act shall be treated as a viola- 10 tion of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or 11 practice prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the 12 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 13 57a(a)(1)(B)). 14 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 16 enforce this Act and any regulations promul- 17 gated under this Act in the same manner, by 18 the same means, and with the same jurisdic- 19 tion, powers, and duties as though all applicable 20 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 21 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were in- 22 corporated into and made a part of this Act, 23 and any person who violates this Act or a regu- 24 lation promulgated under this Act shall be sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8323.IH H8323 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8323 IH ject to the penalties and entitled to the privi- 1 leges and immunities provided in the Federal 2 Trade Commission Act. 3 (B) REGULATIONS.—The Commission 4 may, under section 553 of title 5, United States 5 Code, prescribe any regulations it determines 6 necessary to carry out this Act. 7 (C) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 8 this Act shall be construed in any way to limit 9 the authority of the Commission under any 10 other provision of law. 11 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN- 12 ERAL.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the chief law enforcement 14 officer of a State, or an official or agency designated 15 by a State, has reason to believe that any person has 16 violated or is violating section 2, the attorney gen- 17 eral, official, or agency of the State, in addition to 18 any authority it may have to bring an action in 19 State court under its consumer protection law, may 20 bring a civil action in any appropriate United States 21 district court or in any other court of competent ju- 22 risdiction, including a State court, to— 23 (A) enjoin further such violation by such 24 person; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8323.IH H8323 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8323 IH (B) enforce compliance with such section; 1 (C) obtain civil penalties; and 2 (D) obtain damages, restitution, or other 3 compensation on behalf of residents of the 4 State. 5 (2) NOTICE AND INTERVENTION BY THE 6 FTC.—The attorney general (or other such officer) 7 of a State shall provide prior written notice of any 8 action under paragraph (1) to the Commission and 9 provide the Commission with a copy of the complaint 10 in the action, except in any case in which such prior 11 notice is not feasible, in which case the attorney gen- 12 eral shall serve such notice immediately upon insti- 13 tuting such action. The Commission shall have the 14 right— 15 (A) to intervene in the action; 16 (B) upon so intervening, to be heard on all 17 matters arising therein; and 18 (C) to file petitions for appeal. 19 (3) LIMITATION ON STATE ACTION WHILE FED- 20 ERAL ACTION IS PENDING.—If the Commission has 21 instituted a civil action for violation of this Act, no 22 State attorney general, or official or agency of a 23 State, may bring an action under this paragraph 24 during the pendency of that action against any de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8323.IH H8323 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8323 IH fendant named in the complaint of the Commission 1 for any violation of this Act alleged in the complaint. 2 (4) RELATIONSHIP WITH STATE LAW CLAIMS.— 3 If the attorney general of a State has authority to 4 bring an action under State law directed at acts or 5 practices that also violate this Act, the attorney gen- 6 eral may assert the State law claim and a claim 7 under this Act in the same civil action. 8 (c) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act shall pre- 9 empt or otherwise affect any State or local law. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8323.IH H8323 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS