Sec. 5426. Study on the role of online platforms and tenant screening companies in the housing market
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The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall, jointly, carry out a study to— assess the role of online platforms and tenant screening companies in the housing market, including purchasing homes and providing housing-related services to landlords and consumers, including tenants, homeowners, and prospective homebuyers; assess how such entities currently comply with fair housing, fair lending, and consumer financial protection laws and regulations (including the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and other relevant statutes and regulations determined relevant by the Secretary and the Director), including in their digital advertising, digital listing, and tenant screening practices; assess how such entities are currently using artificial intelligence, including machine learning, in their services, and how these technologies are being assessed for compliance with appropriate fair housing and fair lending laws; and assess the impact of how such entities and their use of artificial intelligence technologies, including machine learning, affect low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color in particular, including any impediments to fair housing and fair lending.
The Secretary and the Director shall, jointly, issue an initial report to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and issue a final report to such committees not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, containing— all findings and determinations made in carrying out the study required under subsection (a); and any recommendations on how to improve entities’, as described under subsection (a)(1), compliance with fair housing, fair lending, and consumer financial protection laws and regulations, including to affirmatively further fair housing, to prevent algorithmic bias, and to promote greater transparency, explainability, privacy, and fairness in the development and implementation of artificial intelligence technologies, including machine learning, with respect to the products and services they offer.
The Secretary and the Director may, either individually or jointly, issue updates to the final report described under paragraph (1), as the Secretary or the Director determines necessary.