[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 413 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 413
To establish requirements for the labeling and user agreements of
internet-connected toys for children, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 20, 2023
Mr. Edwards introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish requirements for the labeling and user agreements of
internet-connected toys for children, 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 ``Transparency Over Toys Spying Act''
or the ``TOTS Act''.
SEC. 2. LABELING AND USER AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNET-CONNECTED
TOYS.
(a) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate under section
553 of title 5, United States Code, regulations that require a
manufacturer introducing into interstate commerce an internet-connected
toy to include--
(1) on the packaging associated with the toy, a label that
clearly indicates--
(A) that the toy has the ability to--
(i) connect to the internet; and
(ii) collect and transmit the personal
information of a user of the toy; and
(B) whether personal information collected by the
toy is retained--
(i) in the toy; or
(ii) by the manufacturer or another entity;
and
(2) in any user agreement or privacy policy associated with
the toy, highlighted information that is easy to read, is the
first text presented by the agreement or policy, and
describes--
(A) how personal information may be collected by
the toy and what personal information may be collected;
(B) what personal information may be retained in
the toy;
(C) what personal information may be transmitted
from the toy and to whom the personal information may
be transmitted;
(D) how transmitted personal information may be
provided to, retained, and used by the manufacturer or
another entity;
(E) any actions taken by the manufacturer to
minimize the collection, retention, or transmission of
personal information;
(F) the protections available to the user with
respect to collected, retained, or transmitted personal
information, including protections under Federal law;
and
(G) whether the toy can be used in a manner that
prevents the collection, retention, or transmission of
personal information, including without connection to
the internet or another internet-connected device.
(b) Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission.--
(1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of
a regulation promulgated under subsection (a) shall be treated
as a violation of a regulation under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the
Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding
unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
(2) Powers of commission.--The Commission shall enforce the
regulations promulgated under 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 Act. Any
person who violates such a regulation shall be subject to the
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities
provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Internet-connected toy.--The term ``internet-connected
toy'' means a device--
(A) introduced into interstate commerce and
targeted to a child or likely to be operated by a
child;
(B) the purpose of which is entertainment or
amusement;
(C) that is able to be connected to the internet,
directly or through another internet-connected device;
and
(D) through which the personal information of a
child may be collected and transmitted to a person
other than the child or the parent of the child.
(2) Personal information.--The term ``personal
information'' means individually identifiable information about
an individual, including--
(A) a first and last name;
(B) a home or other physical address, including
street name and name of a city or town;
(C) an e-mail address;
(D) a telephone number;
(E) a Social Security number;
(F) a photo, video, or audio recording;
(G) any other identifier that the Commission
determines permits the physical or online contacting of
a specific individual; or
(H) information concerning a child or the parents
of that child collected from the child and combined
with an identifier described in this paragraph.
(3) Terms defined in children's online privacy protection
act of 1998.--The terms ``child'', ``Commission'', ``parent'',
and ``person'' have the meanings given each of those terms
respectively in section 1302 of the Children's Online Privacy
Protection Act of 1998 (15 U.S.C. 6501).
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