119-hr1623

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1623 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1623

 To require certain interactive computer services to adopt and operate 
 technology verification measures to ensure that users of the platform 
 are not minors, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 26, 2025

 Mrs. Miller of Illinois (for herself, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Brecheen, Mr. 
 LaMalfa, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, Mr. Kennedy of Utah, Mr. Crane, 
 Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Babin, and Mr. Rose) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require certain interactive computer services to adopt and operate 
 technology verification measures to ensure that users of the platform 
 are not minors, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Shielding Children's Retinas from 
Egregious Exposure on the Net Act'' or the ``SCREEN Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress finds the following:

    (1) Over the 3 decades preceding the date of enactment of 
 this Act, Congress has passed several bills to protect minors 
 from access to online pornographic content, including title V 
 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104) 
 (commonly known as the ``Communications Decency Act''), 

section 231 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231) (commonly 
 known as the ``Child Online Protection Act''), and the 
 Children's Internet Protection Act (title XVII of division B of 
 Public Law 106-554).

    (2) With the exception of the Children's Internet 
 Protection Act (title XVII of division B of Public Law 106-
 554), the Supreme Court of the United States has struck down 
 the previous efforts of Congress to shield children from 
 pornographic content, finding that such legislation constituted 
 a ``compelling government interest'' but that it was not the 
 least restrictive means to achieve such interest. In Ashcroft 
 v. ACLU, 542 U.S. 656

    (2004) , the Court even suggested at the 
 time that ``blocking and filtering software'' could conceivably 
 be a ``primary alternative'' to the requirements passed by 
 Congress.

    (3) In the nearly 2 decades since the Supreme Court of the 
 United States suggested the use of ``blocking and filtering 
 software'', such technology has proven to be ineffective in 
 protecting minors from accessing online pornographic content. 
 The Kaiser Family Foundation has found that filters do not work 
 on 1 in 10 pornography sites accessed intentionally and 1 in 3 
 pornography sites that are accessed unintentionally. Further, 
 it has been proven that children are able to bypass ``blocking 
 and filtering'' software by employing strategic searches or 
 measures to bypass the software completely.

    (4) Additionally, Pew Research has revealed studies showing 
 that only 39 percent of parents use blocking or filtering 
 software for their minor's online activities, meaning that 61 
 percent of children only have restrictions on their internet 
 access when they are at school or at a library.

    (5) 17 States have now recognized pornography as a public 
 health hazard that leads to a broad range of individual harms, 
 societal harms, and public health impacts.

    (6) It is estimated that 80 percent of minors between the 
 ages of 12 to 17 have been exposed to pornography, with 54 
 percent of teenagers seeking it out. The internet is the most 
 common source for minors to access pornography with 
 pornographic websites receiving more web traffic in the United 
 States than Twitter, Netflix, Pinterest, and LinkedIn combined.

    (7) Exposure to online pornography has created unique 
 psychological effects for minors, including anxiety, addiction, 
 low self-esteem, body image disorders, an increase in 
 problematic sexual activity at younger ages, and an increased 
 desire among minors to engage in risky sexual behavior.

    (8) The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized 
 on multiple occasions that Congress has a ``compelling 
 government interest'' to protect the physical and psychological 
 well-being of minors, which includes shielding them from 
 ``indecent'' content that may not necessarily be considered 
 ``obscene'' by adult standards.

    (9) Because ``blocking and filtering software'' has not 
 produced the results envisioned nearly 2 decades ago, it is 
 necessary for Congress to pursue alternative policies to enable 
 the protection of the physical and psychological well-being of 
 minors.

    (10) The evolution of our technology has now enabled the 
 use of age verification technology that is cost efficient, not 
 unduly burdensome, and can be operated narrowly in a manner 
 that ensures only adults have access to a website's online 
 pornographic content.

    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) shielding minors from access to online pornographic 
 content is a compelling government interest that protects the 
 physical and psychological well-being of minors; and

    (2) requiring interactive computer services that are in the 
 business of creating, hosting, or making available pornographic 
 content to enact technological measures that shield minors from 
 accessing pornographic content on their platforms is the least 
 restrictive means for Congress to achieve its compelling 
 government interest.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Child pornography; minor.--The terms ``child 
 pornography'' and ``minor'' have the meanings given those terms 
 in 

section 2256 of title 18, United States Code.

    (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
 Trade Commission.

    (3) Covered platform.--The term ``covered platform''--
        (A) means an entity--
            (i) that is an interactive computer 
 service;
            (ii) that--
            (I) is engaged in interstate or 
 foreign commerce; or
            (II) purposefully avails itself of 
 the United States market or a portion 
 thereof; and
            (iii) for which it is in the regular course 
 of the trade or business of the entity to 
 create, host, or make available content that 
 meets the definition of harmful to minors under 
 paragraph

    (4) and that is provided by the 
 entity, a user, or other information content 
 provider, with the objective of earning a 
 profit; and
        (B) includes an entity described in subparagraph
        (A) regardless of whether--
            (i) the entity earns a profit on the 
 activities described in subparagraph
        (A)
            (iii) ; 
 or
            (ii) creating, hosting, or making available 
 content that meets the definition of harmful to 
 minors under paragraph

    (4) is the sole source 
 of income or principal business of the entity.

    (4) Harmful to minors.--The term ``harmful to minors'', 
 with respect to a picture, image, graphic image file, film, 
 videotape, or other visual depiction, means that the picture, 
 image, graphic image file, film, videotape, or other 
 depiction--
        (A)
            (i) taken as a whole and with respect to minors, 
 appeals to the prurient interest in nudity, sex, or 
 excretion;
            (ii) depicts, describes, or represents, in a 
 patently offensive way with respect to what is suitable 
 for minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual 
 contact, actual or simulated normal or perverted sexual 
 acts, or lewd exhibition of the genitals; and
            (iii) taken as a whole, lacks serious, literary, 
 artistic, political, or scientific value as to minors;
        (B) is obscene; or
            (C) is child pornography.

    (5) Information content provider; interactive computer 
 service.--The terms ``information content provider'' and 
 ``interactive computer service'' have the meanings given those 
 terms in 

section 230

    (f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
 U.S.C. 230

    (f) ).

    (6) Sexual act; sexual contact.--The terms ``sexual act'' 
 and ``sexual contact'' have the meanings given those terms in 
 

section 2246 of title 18, United States Code.

    (7) Technology verification measure.--The term ``technology 
 verification measure'' means technology that--
        (A) employs a system or process to determine 
 whether it is more likely than not that a user of a 
 covered platform is a minor; and
        (B) prevents access by minors to any content on a 
 covered platform.

    (8) Technology verification measure data.--The term 
 ``technology verification measure data'' means information 
 that--
        (A) identifies, is linked to, or is reasonably 
 linkable to an individual or a device that identifies, 
 is linked to, or is reasonably linkable to an 
 individual;
        (B) is collected or processed for the purpose of 
 fulfilling a request by an individual to access any 
 content on a covered platform; and
            (C) is collected and processed solely for the 
 purpose of utilizing a technology verification measure 
 and meeting the obligations imposed under this Act.

SEC. 4. TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION MEASURES.

    (a) Covered Platform Requirements.--Beginning on the date that is 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act, a covered platform shall 
adopt and utilize technology verification measures on the platform to 
ensure that--

    (1) users of the covered platform are not minors; and

    (2) minors are prevented from accessing any content on the 
 covered platform that is harmful to minors.

    (b) Requirements for Age Verification Measures.--In order to comply 
with the requirement of subsection

    (a) , the technology verification 
measures adopted and utilized by a covered platform shall do the 
following:

    (1) Use a technology verification measure in order to 
 verify a user's age.

    (2) Provide that requiring a user to confirm that the user 
 is not a minor shall not be sufficient to satisfy the 
 requirement of subsection

    (a) .

    (3) Make publicly available the verification process that 
 the covered platform is employing to comply with the 
 requirements under this Act.

    (4) Subject the Internet Protocol

    (IP) addresses, including 
 known virtual proxy network IP addresses, of all users of a 
 covered platform to the technology verification measure 
 described in paragraph

    (1) unless the covered platform 
 determines based on available technology that a user is not 
 located within the United States.
            (c) Choice of Verification Measures.--A covered platform may choose 
the specific technology verification measures to employ for purposes of 
complying with subsection

    (a) , provided that the technology 
verification measure employed by the covered platform meets the 
requirements of subsection

    (b) and prohibits a minor from accessing the 
platform or any information on the platform that is obscene, child 
pornography, or harmful to minors.
            (d) Use of Third Parties.--A covered platform may contract with a 
third party to employ technology verification measures for purposes of 
complying with subsection

    (a) but the use of such a third party shall 
not relieve the covered platform of its obligations under this Act or 
from liability under this Act.

    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to require a covered platform to submit to the Commission any 
information that identifies, is linked to, or is reasonably linkable to 
a user of the covered platform or a device that identifies, is linked 
to, or is reasonably linkable to a user of the covered platform.

    (f) Technology Verification Measure Data Security.--A covered 
platform shall--

    (1) establish, implement, and maintain reasonable data 
 security to--
        (A) protect the confidentiality, integrity, and 
 accessibility of technology verification measure data 
 collected by the covered platform or a third party 
 employed by the covered platform; and
        (B) protect such technology verification measure 
 data against unauthorized access; and

    (2) retain the technology verification measure data for no 
 longer than is reasonably necessary to utilize a technology 
 verification measure or what is minimally necessary to 
 demonstrate compliance with the obligations under this Act.

SEC. 5. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENTS.

 In enforcing the requirements under 

section 4, the Commission shall 
consult with the following individuals, including with respect to the 
applicable standards and metrics for making a determination on whether 
a user of a covered platform is not a minor:

    (1) Individuals with experience in computer science and 
 software engineering.

    (2) Individuals with experience in--
        (A) advocating for online child safety; or
        (B) providing services to minors who have been 
 victimized by online child exploitation.

    (3) Individuals with experience in consumer protection and 
 online privacy.

    (4) Individuals who supply technology verification measure 
 products or have expertise in technology verification measure 
 solutions.

    (5) Individuals with experience in data security and 
 cryptography.

SEC. 6. COMMISSION REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Commission shall--

    (1) conduct regular audits of covered platforms to ensure 
 compliance with the requirements of 

section 4;

    (2) make public the terms and processes for the audits 
 conducted under paragraph

    (1) , including the processes for any 
 third party conducting an audit on behalf of the Commission;

    (3) establish a process for each covered platform to submit 
 only such documents or other materials as are necessary for the 
 Commission to ensure full compliance with the requirements of 
 

section 4 when conducting audits under this section; and

    (4) prescribe the appropriate documents, materials, or 
 other measures required to demonstrate full compliance with the 
 requirements of 

section 4.

    (b) Guidance.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
 enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue guidance to 
 assist covered platforms in complying with the requirements of 
 

section 4.

    (2) Limitations on guidance.--No guidance issued by the 
 Commission with respect to this Act shall confer any rights on 
 any person, State, or locality, nor shall operate to bind the 
 Commission or any person to the approach recommended in such 
 guidance. In any enforcement action brought pursuant to this 
 Act, the Commission shall allege a specific violation of a 
 provision of this Act. The Commission may not base an 
 enforcement action on, or execute a consent order based on, 
 practices that are alleged to be inconsistent with any such 
 guidelines, unless the practices allegedly violate a provision 
 of this Act.

SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Unfair or Deceptive Act or Practice.--A violation of 

section 4 
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.--

    (1) In general.--The Commission shall enforce 

section 4 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 
 title.

    (2) Privileges and immunities.--Any person who violates 
 

section 4 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.).

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

SEC. 8. GAO REPORT.

 Not later than 2 years after the date on which covered platforms 
are required to comply with the requirement of 

section 4

    (a) , the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 
report that includes--

    (1) an analysis of the effectiveness of the technology 
 verification measures required under such section;

    (2) an analysis of rates of compliance with such section 
 among covered platforms;

    (3) an analysis of the data security measures used by 
 covered platforms in the age verification process;

    (4) an analysis of the behavioral, economic, psychological, 
 and societal effects of implementing technology verification 
 measures;

    (5) recommendations to the Commission on improving 
 enforcement of 

section 4

    (a) , if any; and

    (6) recommendations to Congress on potential legislative 
 improvements to this Act, if any.

SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE.

 If any provision of this Act, or the application of such a 
provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be 
unconstitutional, the remaining provisions of this Act, and the 
application of such provisions to any other person or circumstance, 
shall not be affected thereby.
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