119-s1634

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1634 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1634

 To promote competition and reduce consumer switching costs in the 
 provision of online communications services.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 May 7, 2025

Mr. Warner (for himself, Mr. Hawley, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To promote competition and reduce consumer switching costs in the 
 provision of online communications services.

 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 ``Augmenting Compatibility and 
Competition by Enabling Service Switching Act of 2025'' or the ``ACCESS 
Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

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

    (2) Communications provider.--The term ``communications 
 provider'' means a consumer-facing communications and 
 information services provider.

    (3) Competing communications provider.--The term 
 ``competing communications provider'', with respect to a large 
 communications platform provider, means another communications 
 provider offering, or planning to offer, similar products or 
 services to consumers.

    (4) Competing communications service.--The term ``competing 
 communications service'', with respect to a large 
 communications platform, means a similar product or service 
 provided by a competing communications provider.

    (5) Custodial third-party agent.--The term ``custodial 
 third-party agent'' means an entity that is duly authorized by 
 a user to interact with a large communications platform 
 provider on that user's behalf to manage the user's online 
 interactions, content, and account settings.

    (6) Interoperability interface.--The term 
 ``interoperability interface'' means an electronic interface 
 maintained by a large communications platform for purposes of 
 achieving interoperability.

    (7) Large communications platform.--The term ``large 
 communications platform'' means a product or service provided 
 by a communications provider that--
        (A) generates income, directly or indirectly, from 
 the collection, processing, sale, or sharing of user 
 data; and
        (B) has more than 100,000,000 monthly active users 
 in the United States.

    (8) Large communications platform provider.--The term 
 ``large communications platform provider'' means a 
 communications provider that provides, manages, or controls a 
 large communications platform.

    (9) User data.--
        (A) In general.--The term ``user data'' means 
 information that is--
            (i) collected directly by a communications 
 provider; and
            (ii) linked, or reasonably linkable, to a 
 specific person.
        (B) Exclusion.--The term ``user data'' does not 
 include information that is rendered unusable, 
 unreadable, de-identified, or anonymized.

SEC. 3. PORTABILITY.

    (a) General Duty of Large Communications Platform Providers.--A 
large communications platform provider shall, for each large 
communications platform it operates, maintain a set of transparent, 
third-party-accessible interfaces (including application programming 
interfaces) to initiate the secure transfer of user data to a user, or 
to a competing communications provider acting at the direction of a 
user, in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.

    (b) General Duty of Competing Communications Providers.--A 
competing communications provider that receives ported user data from a 
large communications platform provider shall reasonably secure any user 
data it acquires.
            (c) Exemption for Certain Services.--The obligations under this 
section shall not apply to a product or service by which a large 
communications platform provider does not generate any income or other 
compensation, directly or indirectly, from collecting, using, or 
sharing user data.

SEC. 4. INTEROPERABILITY.

    (a) General Duty of Large Communications Platform Providers.--A 
large communications platform provider shall, for each large 
communications platform it operates, maintain a set of transparent, 
third-party-accessible interfaces (including application programming 
interfaces) to facilitate and maintain technically compatible, 
interoperable communications with a user of a competing communications 
provider.

    (b) General Duty of Competing Communications Providers.--A 
competing communications provider that accesses an interoperability 
interface of a large communications platform provider shall reasonably 
secure any user data it acquires, processes, or transmits.
            (c) Interoperability Obligations for Large Communications Platform 
Providers.--

    (1) In general.--In order to achieve interoperability under 
 subsection

    (a) , a large communications platform provider shall 
 fulfill the duties under paragraphs

    (2) through

    (6) of this 
 subsection.

    (2) Non-discrimination.--
        (A) In general.--A large communications platform 
 provider shall facilitate and maintain interoperability 
 with competing communications services for each of its 
 large communications platforms through an 
 interoperability interface, based on fair, reasonable, 
 and nondiscriminatory terms.
        (B) Reasonable thresholds, access standards, and 
 fees.--
            (i) In general.--A large communications 
 platform provider may establish reasonable 
 thresholds related to the frequency, nature, 
 and volume of requests by a competing 
 communications provider to access resources 
 maintained by the large communications platform 
 provider, beyond which the large communications 
 platform provider may assess a reasonable fee 
 for such access.
            (ii) Usage expectations.--A large 
 communications platform provider may establish 
 fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory usage 
 expectations to govern access by competing 
 communications providers, including fees or 
 penalties for providers that exceed those usage 
 expectations.
            (iii) Limitation on fees and usage 
 expectations.--Any fees, penalties, or usage 
 expectations assessed under clauses
            (i) and
            (ii) shall be reasonably proportional to the 
 cost, complexity, and risk to the large 
 communications platform provider of providing 
 such access.
            (iv) Notice.--A large communications 
 platform provider shall provide public notice 
 of any fees, penalties, or usage expectations 
 that may be established under clauses
            (i) and
            (ii) , including reasonable advance notice of 
 any changes.
            (v) Security and privacy standards.--A 
 large communications platform provider shall, 
 consistent with industry best practices, set 
 privacy and security standards for access by 
 competing communications services to the extent 
 reasonably necessary to address a threat to the 
 large communications platform or user data, and 
 shall report any suspected violations of those 
 standards to the Commission.
            (C) Prohibited changes to interfaces.--A change to 
 an interoperability interface or terms of use made with 
 the purpose, or substantial effect, of unreasonably 
 denying access or undermining interoperability for 
 competing communications services shall be considered a 
 violation of the duty under subparagraph
        (A) to 
 facilitate and maintain interoperability based on fair, 
 reasonable, and nondiscriminatory terms.

    (3) Functional equivalence.--A large communications 
 platform provider that maintains interoperability between its 
 own large communications platform and other products, services, 
 or affiliated offerings of such provider shall offer a 
 functionally equivalent version of that interface to competing 
 communications services.

    (4) Interface information.--
        (A) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the 
 date of enactment of this Act, a large communications 
 platform provider shall disclose to competing 
 communications providers complete and accurate 
 documentation describing access to the interoperability 
 interface required under this section.
        (B) Contents.--The documentation required under 
 subparagraph
        (A) --
            (i) is limited to interface documentation 
 necessary to achieve development and operation 
 of interoperable products and services; and
            (ii) does not require the disclosure of the 
 source code of a large communications platform.

    (5) Notice of changes.--A large communications platform 
 provider shall provide reasonable advance notice to a competing 
 communications provider, which may be provided through public 
 notice, of any change to an interoperability interface 
 maintained by the large communications platform provider that 
 will affect the interoperability of a competing communications 
 service.

    (6) Non-commercialization by a large communications 
 platform provider.--A large communications platform provider 
 may not collect, use, or share user data obtained from a 
 competing communications service through the interoperability 
 interface except for the purposes of safeguarding the privacy 
 and security of such information or maintaining 
 interoperability of services.
            (d) Non-Commercialization by a Competing Communications Provider.--
A competing communications provider that accesses an interoperability 
interface may not collect, use, or share user data obtained from a 
large communications platform provider through the interoperability 
interface except for the purposes of safeguarding the privacy and 
security of such information or maintaining interoperability of 
services.

    (e) Exemption for Certain Services.--The obligations under this 
section shall not apply to a product or service by which a large 
communications platform provider does not generate any income or other 
compensation, directly or indirectly, from collecting, using, or 
sharing user data.

SEC. 5. DELEGATABILITY.

    (a) General Duty of Large Communications Platform Providers.--A 
large communications platform provider shall maintain a set of 
transparent third-party-accessible interfaces by which a user may 
delegate a custodial third-party agent to manage the user's online 
interactions, content, and account settings on a large communications 
platform on the same terms as a user.

    (b) Authentication.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall establish rules and 
procedures to facilitate a custodial third-party agent's ability to 
obtain access pursuant to subsection

    (a) in a way that ensures that a 
request for access on behalf of a user is a verifiable request.
            (c) Registration With the Commission.--A custodial third-party 
agent shall register with the Commission as a condition of, and prior 
to, accessing an interface described in subsection

    (a) .
            (d) Deregistration by the Commission.--The Commission shall 
establish rules and procedures to deregister a custodial third-party 
agent that the Commission determines has violated the duties 
established in this section.

    (e) Revocation of Access Rights.--A large communications platform 
provider may revoke or deny access for any custodial third-party agent 
that--

    (1) fails to register with the Commission; or

    (2) repeatedly facilitates fraudulent or malicious 
 activity.

    (f) Duties of a Custodial Third-Party Agent.--A custodial third-
party agent--

    (1) shall reasonably safeguard the privacy and security of 
 user data provided to it by a user, or accessed on a user's 
 behalf;

    (2) shall not access or manage a user's online 
 interactions, content, or account settings in any way that--
        (A) will benefit the custodial third-party agent to 
 the detriment of the user;
        (B) will result in any reasonably foreseeable harm 
 to the user; or
            (C) is inconsistent with the directions or 
 reasonable expectations of the user; and

    (3) shall not collect, use, or share any user data provided 
 to it by a user, or accessed on a user's behalf, for the 
 commercial benefit of the custodial third-party agent.

    (g) Fees.--A custodial third-party agent may charge users a fee for 
the provision of the products or services described in subsection

    (a) .

    (h) Extent of Access Rights.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to confer greater rights of access for a custodial third-
party agent to a large communications platform than are accessible to a 
user.

SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations to implement 

section 4
            (c) (2)
        (B)
            (v) and subsections

    (b) ,
            (c) , and
            (d) of 

section 5.

    (b) Authentication.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Commission, in consultation with relevant 
industry stakeholders, shall establish rules and procedures to 
facilitate the verification of the validity of requests from users and 
competing communications providers to obtain user data under sections 
3

    (a) and 4

    (a) .
            (c) Technical Standards.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology shall develop and publish model technical 
standards by which to make interoperable popular classes of 
communications or information services, including--

    (1) online messaging;

    (2) multimedia sharing; and

    (3) social networking.
            (d) Compliance Assessment.--The Commission shall regularly assess 
compliance by large communications platform providers with the 
provisions of this Act.

    (e) Complaints.--The Commission shall establish procedures under 
which a user, a large communications platform provider, a competing 
communications provider, and a custodial third-party agent may file a 
complaint alleging that a large communications platform provider, a 
competing communication provider, or a custodial third-party agent has 
violated this Act.

    (f) Enforcement.--

    (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of 
 this Act, or regulations enacted pursuant to this Act, shall be 
 treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or 
 deceptive act or practice prescribed under 

section 18

    (a)

    (1)
        (B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a

    (a)

    (1)
        (B) ).

    (2) Powers of commission.--
        (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph
            (C) , the Commission shall enforce this Act 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 Act.
        (B) Privileges and immunities.--Except as provided 
 in subparagraph
            (C) , any person who violates 

section 3 
 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.).
            (C) Nonprofit organizations and common carriers.--
 Notwithstanding 

section 4 or 5

    (a)

    (2) of the Federal 
 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44, 45

    (a)

    (2) ) or any 
 jurisdictional limitation of the Commission, the 
 Commission shall also enforce this Act, in the same 
 manner provided in subparagraphs
        (A) and
        (B) of this 
 paragraph, with respect to common carriers subject to 
 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).
            (D) Fines.--In assessing any fine for a violation 
 of this Act, the Commission shall consider each 
 individual user affected by a violation of this Act as 
 an individual violation.

    (g) Reliance on Open Standards.--Any large communications platform 
provider that establishes and maintains interoperability through an 
open standard established under subsection
            (c) shall be entitled to a 
rebuttable presumption of providing access on fair, reasonable, and 
nondiscriminatory terms.

    (h) Preemption.--The provisions of this Act shall preempt any State 
law only to the extent that such State law is inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act.
            (i) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect on the date on 
which the Commission promulgates regulations under subsection

    (a) .

SEC. 7. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.

 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify, limit, or 
supersede the operation of any privacy or security provision in--

    (1) section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly 
 known as the ``Privacy Act of 1974'');

    (2) the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 
 3401 et seq.);

    (3) the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.);

    (4) the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692 
 et seq.);

    (5) the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 
 (15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.);

    (6) title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (15 U.S.C. 6801 
 et seq.);

    (7) chapters 119, 123, and 206 of title 18, United States 
 Code;

    (8) section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 
 U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly referred to as the ``Family Educational 
 Rights and Privacy Act of 1974'');

    (9) section 445 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 
 U.S.C. 1232h);

    (10) the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 2000aa 
 et seq.);

    (11) the regulations promulgated under 

section 264
            (c) of 
 the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 
 (42 U.S.C. 1320d-2 note), as those regulations relate to--
        (A) a person described in 

section 1172

    (a) of the 
 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d-1

    (a) ); or
        (B) transactions referred to in 

section 1173

    (a)

    (1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d-2

    (a)

    (1) );

    (12) the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act 
 (47 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.);

    (13) sections 222 and 227 of the Communications Act of 1934 
 (47 U.S.C. 222, 227); or

    (14) any other privacy or security provision of Federal 
 law.
 <all>