[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5803 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5803
To require covered entities to implement and disclose information
moderation policies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 1, 2021
Mr. Rice of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, and Mr.
Norman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require covered entities to implement and disclose information
moderation policies, 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 ``Promoting Responsibility Over
Moderation In the Social-media Environment Act'' or the ``PROMISE
Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to ensure that users of a covered entity
have the necessary information regarding such entity's policy on
moderating information provided by a user or other information content
provider. Access to such a policy enables users to make informed
choices regarding the use or purchase of services provided by the
covered entity and promotes a competitive marketplace for such
services.
SEC. 3. INFORMATION MODERATION POLICIES.
(a) Requirement.--
(1) In general.--A covered entity--
(A) shall implement and operate in accordance with
an information moderation policy (as described in
paragraph (2));
(B) shall disclose such information moderation
policy in a publicly available and easily accessible
manner; and
(C) shall not make a deceptive policy statement
with respect to such information moderation policy.
(2) Information moderation policy.--The information
moderation policy described in this paragraph is a policy that
accurately describes, in plain, easy to understand language,
information regarding the business practices of a covered
entity with respect to the standards, processes, and policies
of the covered entity on moderating information provided by a
user or other information content provider, including--
(A) any category of information that--
(i) the covered entity does not permit on
its service; or
(ii) is subject to moderation by users or
providers of such covered entity;
(B) the process which a user or provider of the
covered entity utilizes to moderate information posted,
published, or otherwise displayed on the service; and
(C) the notification process, if any, which the
covered entity uses to inform a user--
(i) that such user's information has been
moderated;
(ii) of the rationale justifying the
moderation decision; and
(iii) of the user's options for redress, if
any.
(b) Enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission.--
(1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of
subsection (a) shall constitute an unfair or deceptive act or
practice in commerce in violation of section 5(a) of the
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 45(a)).
(2) Powers of commission.--Subject to paragraphs (4) and
(5), the Commission shall enforce subsection (a) 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 section.
Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be subject to the
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities
provided in such Act.
(3) Regulations.--The Commission shall prescribe, in
accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code,
such regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of
this section, including regulations as may be necessary or
appropriate to administer and carry out the purposes and
objectives of this section.
(4) Presumption of materiality.--With respect to a
violation of subsection (a), there shall be a rebuttable
presumption that a deceptive policy statement is material and
likely to cause injury.
(5) Application to common carriers.--Notwithstanding the
definition of the term ``Acts to regulate commerce'' in section
4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 44) and the
exception provided by section 5(a)(2) of such Act (15 U.S.C.
45(a)(2)) for common carriers, the Commission shall enforce
subsection (a), in the same manner provided in paragraphs (1)
through (4), with respect to covered entities that are common
carriers for purposes of such section 5(a)(2).
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(2) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means an
entity that--
(A) is an interactive computer service;
(B) is engaged in interstate or foreign commerce;
and
(C) moderates information provided by a user or
other information content provider.
(3) Deceptive policy statement.--The term ``deceptive
policy statement'' means an oral or written representation,
omission, or practice made by an officer, director, or other
authorized agent of a covered entity regarding such covered
entity's information moderation policy that--
(A) misleads or is likely to mislead a reasonable
individual regarding the covered entity's service; and
(B) affects or is likely to affect a reasonable
individual's choice to use or use of the covered
entity's service.
(4) Information content provider.--The term ``information
content provider'' has the meaning given such term in section
230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)).
(5) Interactive computer service.--The term ``interactive
computer service'' has the meaning given such term in section
230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)).
(6) Moderate.--With respect to information provided by a
user or other information content provider, the term
``moderate'' means--
(A) to remove or otherwise restrict access to or
the availability of such information;
(B) to edit or otherwise alter such information; or
(C) to post, publish, or otherwise display a
warning, fact-check notice, or other label in
conjunction with such information.
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