Sec. 109. Guidance
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/bill/118/hr/7891/ih/section-109·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission, in consultation with the Kids Online Safety Council established under section 111, shall issue guidance to— provide information and examples for covered platforms and auditors regarding, with consideration given to differences across English and non-English languages— identifying design features that encourage or increase the frequency, time spent, or activity of minors on the covered platform; safeguarding minors against the possible misuse of parental tools; best practices in providing minors and parents the most protective level of control over safety; using indicia or inferences of age of users for assessing use of the covered platform by minors; methods for evaluating the efficacy of safeguards set forth in this Act; and providing additional parental tool options that allow parents to address the harms described in section 102(a); and outline conduct that does not have the purpose or substantial effect of subverting or impairing user autonomy, decision making, or choice, or of causing, increasing, or encouraging compulsive usage for a minor, such as— de minimis user interface changes derived from testing consumer preferences, including different styles, layouts, or text, where such changes are not done with the purpose of weakening or disabling safeguards or parental tools; and establishing default settings that provide enhanced protection to users or otherwise enhance their autonomy and decision-making ability.
Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission and the Kids Online Safety Council established under section 111, shall issue guidance to assist elementary and secondary schools in using the notice, safeguards and tools provided under this Act and providing information on online safety for students and teachers. No guidance issued by the Federal Trade Commission with respect to this Act shall— confer any rights on any person, State, or locality; or operate to bind the Federal Trade Commission or any court, person, State, or locality to the approach recommended in such guidance.
In any enforcement action brought pursuant to this Act, the Federal Trade Commission or a State attorney general, as applicable— shall allege a violation of a provision of this Act; and may not base such enforcement action on, or execute a consent order based on, practices that are alleged to be inconsistent with guidance issued by the Federal Trade Commission with respect to this Act, unless the practices are alleged to violate a provision of this Act.