Sec. 103. Safeguards for minors
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/bill/119/s/1748/is/section-103A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
A covered platform shall provide a user or visitor that the covered platform knows is a minor with readily accessible and easy-to-use safeguards to, as applicable— limit the ability of other users or visitors to communicate with the minor; prevent other users or visitors, whether registered or not, from viewing the minor’s personal data collected by or shared on the covered platform, in particular restricting public access to personal data; limit by default design features that encourage or increase the frequency, time spent, or activity of minors on the covered platform, such as infinite scrolling, auto playing, rewards for time spent on the platform, notifications, and other design features that result in compulsive usage of the covered platform by the minor; control personalized recommendation systems, including the ability for a minor to have— a prominently displayed option to opt out of such personalized recommendation systems, while still allowing the display of content based on a chronological format; and a prominently displayed option to limit types or categories of recommendations from such systems; and restrict the sharing of the geolocation of the minor and provide notice regarding the tracking of the minor’s geolocation.
A covered platform shall provide a user that the covered platform knows is a minor with a readily accessible and easy-to-use option to limit the amount of time spent by the minor on the covered platform. A covered platform shall provide that, in the case of a user or visitor that the platform knows is a minor, the default setting for any safeguard described under paragraph
(1)shall be the option available on the platform that provides the most protective level of control that is offered by the platform over privacy and safety for that user or visitor, unless otherwise enabled by the parent of the minor. A covered platform shall provide readily accessible and easy-to-use parental tools for parents to support a user that the platform knows is a minor with respect to the use of the platform by that user. The parental tools provided by a covered platform under paragraph
(1)shall include— the ability to manage a minor’s privacy and account settings, including the safeguards and options established under subsection (a), in a manner that allows parents to— view the privacy and account settings; and in the case of a user that the platform knows is a child, change and control the privacy and account settings; the ability to restrict purchases and financial transactions by the minor, where applicable; and the ability to view metrics of total time spent on the covered platform and restrict time spent on the covered platform by the minor. A covered platform shall provide clear and conspicuous notice to a user when the tools described in this subsection are in effect and what settings or controls have been applied. A covered platform shall provide that, in the case of a user that the platform knows is a child, the tools required under paragraph
(1)shall be enabled by default. If, prior to the effective date of this subsection, a covered platform provided a parent of a user that the platform knows is a child with notice and the ability to enable the parental tools described under this subsection in a manner that would otherwise comply with this subsection, and the parent opted out of enabling such tools, the covered platform is not required to enable such tools with respect to such user by default when this subsection takes effect. A covered platform shall provide— a readily accessible and easy-to-use means for users and visitors to submit reports to the covered platform of harms to a minor on the covered platform; an electronic point of contact specific to matters involving harms to a minor; and confirmation of the receipt of such a report and, within the applicable time period described in paragraph (2), a substantive response to the individual that submitted the report. A covered platform shall establish an internal process to receive and substantively respond to such reports in a reasonable and timely manner, but in no case later than— 10 days after the receipt of a report, if, for the most recent calendar year, the platform averaged more than 10,000,000 active users on a monthly basis in the United States; 21 days after the receipt of a report, if, for the most recent calendar year, the platform averaged less than 10,000,000 active users on a monthly basis in the United States; and notwithstanding subparagraphs
(A)and (B), if the report involves an imminent threat to the safety of a minor, as promptly as needed to address the reported threat to safety. A covered platform shall not facilitate the advertising of narcotic drugs, cannabis products, tobacco products, gambling, or alcohol to an individual that the covered platform knows is a minor. With respect to safeguards and parental tools described under subsections
(a)and (b), a covered platform shall provide— information and control options in a clear and conspicuous manner that takes into consideration the differing ages, capacities, and developmental needs of the minors most likely to access the covered platform and does not encourage minors or parents to weaken or disable safeguards or parental tools; readily accessible and easy-to-use controls to enable or disable safeguards or parental tools, as appropriate; and information and control options in the same language, form, and manner as the covered platform provides the product or service used by minors and their parents. It shall be unlawful for any covered platform to design, embed, modify, or manipulate a user interface of a covered platform with the purpose or substantial effect of obscuring, subverting or impairing user autonomy, decision-making, or choice with respect to safeguards or parental tools required under this section. Subsections (a)(1)(C) and (b)(3) shall not require an online video game to interrupt the natural sequence of gameplay, such as progressing through game levels or finishing a competition. If a user’s device or user account does not have access to the internet at the time of a change to parental tools, a covered platform shall apply changes the next time the device or user is connected to the internet. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a covered platform from integrating its products or service with, or duplicate controls or tools provided by, third-party systems, including operating systems or gaming consoles, to meet the requirements imposed under subsections
(a)and
(b)relating to safeguards for minors and parental tools, provided that— the controls or tools meet such requirements; and the minor or parent is provided sufficient notice of the integration and use of the parental tools. In the event of a conflict between the controls or tools of a third-party system, including operating systems or gaming consoles, and a covered platform, the covered platform is not required to override the controls or tools of a third-party system if it would undermine the protections for minors from the safeguards or parental tools imposed under subsections
(a)and (b). A covered platform shall provide the safeguards and parental tools described in subsections
(a)and
(b)to an educational agency or institution (as defined in section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g(a)(3) )), rather than to the user or visitor, when the covered platform is acting on behalf of the educational agency or institution subject to a written contract that complies with the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act ( 15 U.S.C. 6501 et seq. ) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ). Nothing in this section shall be construed to— prevent a covered platform from taking reasonable measures to— block, detect, or prevent the distribution of unlawful, obscene, or other harmful material to minors as described in section 102(a); or block or filter spam, prevent criminal activity, or protect the security of a platform or service; require the disclosure of the browsing behavior, search history, messages, contact list, or other content or metadata of the communications of a minor; prevent a covered platform from using a personalized recommendation system to display content to a minor if the system only uses information on— the language spoken by the minor; the city the minor is located in; or the minor’s age; prevent an online video game from disclosing a username or other user identification for the purpose of competitive gameplay or to allow for the reporting of users; prevent a covered platform from contracting or entering into an agreement with a third-party entity, whose primary or exclusive function is to provide the safeguards or parental tools required under subsections
(a)and
(b)or to offer similar or stronger protective capabilities for minors, to assist with meeting the requirements imposed under subsections
(a)and (b); or prevent a parent or user from authorizing a third-party entity described in subparagraph
(5)to implement such safeguards or parental tools or provide similar or stronger protective capabilities for minors, at the choice of the parent or user.
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