[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2917 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2917
To establish a Federal tort against social media companies that cause
bodily injury to children or harm the mental health of children.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 30, 2021
Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a Federal tort against social media companies that cause
bodily injury to children or harm the mental health of children.
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 ``Federal Big Tech Tort Act''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL TORT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA HARM TO CHILDREN.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``covered interactive computer service'' means
an interactive computer service--
(A) provided through a website, online application,
or mobile application (including a single interactive
computer service that is provided through more than one
such website or application);
(B) through which information provided by another
information content provider is distributed;
(C) that enables an individual user to create an
account for the purpose of viewing, generating, or
modifying content that can be viewed, shared, or
otherwise interacted with by other third-party users of
the interactive computer service; and
(D) that does not have peer-to-peer messaging as
its principal function;
(2) the term ``interactive computer service'' has the
meaning given the term in section 230 of the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230); and
(3) the term ``social media company''--
(A) means a company that provides, in or affecting
interstate or foreign commerce, a covered interactive
computer service; and
(B) does not include an organization described in
section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and
exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
(b) Liability.--A social media company shall be liable in
accordance with this section to any individual who suffers bodily
injury or harm to mental health that is attributable, in whole or in
part, to the individual's use of a covered interactive computer service
provided by the social media company when the individual was less than
16 years of age.
(c) Private Right of Action.--An individual who suffers bodily
injury or harm to mental health that is attributable, in whole or in
part, to the individual's use of a covered interactive computer service
provided by a social media company as described in subsection (b) may
bring a civil action against the social media company in an appropriate
district court of the United States or a State court of competent
jurisdiction for--
(1) compensatory damages in an amount equal to the greater
of--
(A) the amount obtained by--
(i) for each year in which the individual
suffered such injury or harm attributable, in
whole or in part, to such use, dividing--
(I) the annual revenue of the
social media company in the United
States during that year, by
(II) the number of active users of
the covered interactive computer
service during the month that had the
fewest such users during that year; and
(ii) adding together the amounts calculated
under clause (i) for each year in which the
individual suffered such injury or harm
attributable, in whole or in part, to such use;
or
(B) actual damages;
(2) punitive damages; and
(3) attorney's fees and costs.
(d) Affirmative Defense.--It shall be an affirmative defense to an
action brought by or on behalf of a user of a covered interactive
computer service provided by a social media company under subsection
(c) that the social media company, at all relevant times--
(1) took reasonable, affirmative steps to ascertain the age
of each user of the covered interactive computer service; and
(2) did not know and had no reason to know that the user in
question was less than 16 years of age when the user used the
interactive computer service.
(e) Effective Date; Applicability.--This Act--
(1) shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) shall not apply to any use of a covered interactive
computer service that took place before the effective date
under paragraph (1).
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