[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 419 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 419
To require social media platforms to verify that all individuals who
create an account on the platform are age 16 or older, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 14, 2023
Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require social media platforms to verify that all individuals who
create an account on the platform are age 16 or older, 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 ``Making Age-Verification Technology
Uniform, Robust, and Effective Act'' or the ``MATURE Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIRING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO VERIFY THAT ACCOUNT HOLDERS
ARE OF APPROPRIATE AGE.
(a) Requirement.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (c),
beginning on the date that is 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the operator of a social media platform
shall not allow an individual to create an account on the
platform unless the individual is age 16 or older, as verified
by the platform using an age verification process that meets
the requirements specified in paragraph (2).
(2) Age verification process requirements.--The
requirements specified in this paragraph are, with respect to
an age verification process and a social media platform, that
the platform require any individual who attempts to create an
account on the platform to provide the platform with--
(A) the individual's full legal name;
(B) the individual's date of birth; and
(C) a scan, image, or upload of government-issued
identification of the individual that verifies the
information required under subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(b) Use of Data Collected for Age Verification Purposes; Deletion
of Data.--
(1) In general.--The operator of a social media platform
shall not sell, transfer, or use any information collected from
an individual for the purpose of verifying the individual's
identity and age for any other purpose.
(2) Deletion of data.--If an account on a social media
platform is deleted (whether at the request of the account
holder or otherwise), the operator of the social media platform
shall delete any information collected from an individual for
the purpose of verifying the individual's identity and age not
later than 30 days after the date of such deletion.
(c) Application to Existing Accounts.--The operator of a social
media platform may continue to allow an individual to maintain and use
an account on the platform without verifying that the individual is age
16 or older as required under subsection (a) if--
(1) the account was created by the individual before the
date that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act;
and
(2) no other individual uses the account.
SEC. 3. FTC COMPLIANCE AUDITS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, and not less frequently than every 6 months thereafter,
the Commission shall conduct an audit of each large social media
platform by comparing the age verification information associated with
a randomly selected sample of all accounts created on the platform
since the last audit was conducted under this section (or, in the case
of the first audit conducted under this section, since the date that is
6 months after the date of enactment of this Act) to State and Federal
records to confirm that the individuals creating such accounts are age
16 or older.
(b) Compliance Standards.--An operator of a large social media
platform shall not be considered to be in violation of the requirements
of section 2(a) if--
(1) with respect to the first and second audits conducted
under this section, the Commission determines that 90 percent
of the accounts reviewed under the audit are accurate and in
compliance with the requirements of such section;
(2) with respect to the third and fourth audits conducted
under this section, the Commission determines that 95 percent
of the accounts reviewed under the audit are accurate and in
compliance with the requirements of such section; and
(3) with respect to the fifth audit and any subsequent
audit conducted under this section, the Commission determines
that 100 percent of the accounts reviewed under the audit are
accurate and in compliance with the requirements of such
section.
SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices.--A violation of section
2 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)).
(b) Powers of the Commission.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall enforce section 2 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.
(2) Privileges and immunities.--Any person who violates
section 2 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) Effect on other laws.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any
other provision of law.
(c) Private Right of Action.--
(1) In general.--Any parent or guardian of an individual
less than 16 years of age to whom a social media account is
provided in violation of this Act 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--
(A) injunctive relief;
(B) damages; and
(C) attorney's fees and costs.
(2) Application.--Paragraph (1) shall apply to any
violation that occurs after the fourth audit described in
section 3(b)(2).
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(2) Government-issued identification.--The term
``government-issued identification'' means, with respect to an
individual, a government-issued document that demonstrates the
individual's identity and age, including--
(A) a passport or visa;
(B) a birth certificate;
(C) a driver's license;
(D) an identification card issued by a State; or
(E) another document determined appropriate by the
Commission.
(3) Social media platform; large social media platform.--
(A) Social media platform.--The term ``social media
platform'' means any electronic medium, such as
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Twitter (as such
services existed in 2023), a live-chat system, or an
electronic dating service that--
(i) primarily serves as a medium for users
to interact with original content generated by
other third-party users of the medium;
(ii) enables users to create accounts or
profiles specific to the medium or to import
profiles from another medium; and
(iii) enables 1 or more users to generate
original content that can be viewed by other
third-party users of the medium.
(B) Large social media platform.--The term ``large
social media platform'' means a social media platform
that--
(i) averages more than 1,000,000 unique
users on a monthly basis; or
(ii) has more than 1,000,000 user accounts.
(C) Exclusion.--The term ``social media platform''
shall not include a platform that only permits users to
interact via a predetermined set of phrases, emoticons,
or nonlinguistic symbols.
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