Big Tech Accountability Act

(1) Treatment of publisher or speaker

(A) In general. In any civil action against a provider or user of an interactive computer service arising from information provided by another information content provider, the interactive computer service shall not be held liable as the publisher or speaker of that information unless the interactive computer service—

(i) engages in targeting the dissemination of the content to an individual or specific group of individuals;

(ii) acts knowingly, recklessly or negligently in encouraging or facilitating the spread of misinformation, disinformation, or violence; or

(iii) intentionally engages in a course of business that receives a financial benefit from amplifying misinformation, disinformation, or violence.

(B) Interactive computer service. In this paragraph, the term interactive computer service includes an agent, affiliate, vendor, or other person acting on behalf of the interactive computer service.

(5) Targeting the Dissemination of Content. The term targeting the dissemination of content to a particular individual or specific group of individuals—

(A) means to—

(i) perform or cause to perform any computational process (including one based on algorithmic models, machine learning, statistical analysis, or other data processing or artificial intelligence techniques) designed to transmit or display, highlight, emphasize, or make more prominent, the content to a subset of the users of such platform selected based on personal information pertaining to the individuals who make up the subset of users; or

(ii) allow another person to instruct an interactive computer service to transmit or display, highlight, emphasize, or make more prominent, the content to a subset of the users of such interactive computer service, including by providing to such interactive computer service a list of individuals, contact information of individuals or other personal information that can be used to identify individuals; and

(B) does not include displaying, highlighting, emphasizing, or making more prominent, content in direct response to requests made or search terms entered by an individual, such that any individual making such requests or entering such search terms would produce the same display, does not constitute targeting under this section.

(6) Personal information. The term personal information means any information that is linked or reasonably linkable to a specific individual or a specific device, including an individual’s actual or perceived characteristics or demographics and information that may be derived from such individual’s internet browsing history, and including de-identified information.

232. Restrictions on targeted online advertising

(a) Restrictions on advertisements targeted at individuals or at specific groups of individuals

(1) Restrictions. A covered online platform or an agent, affiliate, vendor, or other person acting on behalf of such a platform may not target the dissemination of an advertisement on such platform to an individual or to a specific group of individuals on any basis.

(2) Actions constituting targeting. A covered online platform or an agent, affiliate, vendor, or other person acting on behalf of such a platform shall be considered to target the dissemination of an advertisement to an individual or to a specific group of individuals if such platform—

(A)

(i) performs or causes to perform any computational process (including one based on algorithmic models, machine learning, statistical analysis, or other data processing or artificial intelligence techniques) designed to transmit or display, highlight, emphasize, or make more prominent, the advertisement to a subset of the users of such platform selected based on personal information pertaining to the individuals who make up the subset of users; or

(ii) allows another person to instruct a covered online platform to transmit or display, highlight, emphasize, or make more prominent, the advertisement to a subset of the users of such platform, including by providing to such platform a list of individuals, contact information of individuals, or other personal information that can be used to identify individuals; and

(B) receives a fee or other payment, directly or indirectly, for disseminating the advertisement or providing the information.

(3) Sorting based on individual search terms or requests. Displaying, highlighting, emphasizing or making more prominent, advertising or other content in direct response to requests made or search terms entered by an individual, such that any individual making such requests or entering such search terms would produce the same display, does not constitute targeting under this subsection.

(b) Private right of action

(1) Enforcement by individuals

(A) In general. Any person alleging a violation of this section by a covered online platform may bring a civil action in any State or Federal court of competent jurisdiction.

(B) Relief. In a civil action brought under this paragraph in which the plaintiff prevails, the court may award—

(i) an amount not less than $100 and not greater than $1,000 per violation against any person who negligently violates a provision of this section;

(ii) an amount not less than $500 and not greater than $5,000 per violation against any person who recklessly, willfully, or intentionally violates a provision of this section;

(iii) reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs; and

(iv) any other relief, including equitable or declaratory relief, that the court determines appropriate.

(C) Injury in fact. A violation of this section constitutes a concrete and particularized injury in fact to an individual.

(2) Invalidity of pre-dispute arbitration agreements and pre-dispute joint action waivers

(A) In general. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no pre-dispute arbitration agreement or pre-dispute joint action waiver shall be valid or enforceable with respect to a dispute arising under this section.

(B) Applicability. Any determination as to whether or how this section applies to any dispute shall be made by a court, rather than an arbitrator, without regard to whether such agreement purports to delegate such determination to an arbitrator.

(C) Definitions. In this section:

(i) Dispute. The term dispute means any claim related to an alleged violation of this section and between an individual and a covered organization.

(ii) Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreement. The term pre-dispute arbitration agreement means any agreement to arbitrate a dispute that has not arisen at the time of making the agreement.

(iii) Pre-Dispute Joint-Action Waiver. The term pre-dispute joint-action waiver means an agreement, whether or not part of a pre-dispute arbitration agreement, that would prohibit, or waive the right of, one of the parties to the agreement to participate in a joint, class, or collective action in a judicial, arbitral, administration, or other forum, concerning a dispute that has not yet arisen at the time of making the agreement.

(c) Enforcement by attorney general

(1) Civil action. The Attorney General may bring a civil action in the appropriate United States district court against any person who engages in conduct in violation of this section. In any such action the district court may award appropriate relief in including a civil penalty of not more than $50,000 for each violation or the amount of compensation which the person received or offered for the prohibited conduct, whichever amount is greater. The imposition of a civil penalty under this subsection does not preclude any other remedy, which is available by law to the United States or any other person.

(2) Injunctive relief. If the Attorney General has reason to believe that a person is engaged in conduct in violation of this section, the Attorney General may petition an appropriate United States district court for an order prohibiting that person from engaging in such conduct. The court may issue an order prohibiting that person from engaging in such conduct if the court finds that the conduct constitutes such a violation. The filing of a petition under this section does not preclude any other remedy which is available by law to the United States or any other person.

(d) Effective date. This section shall take effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Big Tech Accountability Act.

(e) Definitions. In this section:

(1) Covered online platform. The term covered online platform means any website, web application, mobile application, smart device application, digital application (including a social network, or search engine), or advertising network (including a network disseminating advertisements on another website, web application, mobile application, smart device application, or digital application).

(2) Governmental district. The term governmental district means any of the following:

(A) Each State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands.

(B) Indian and tribal lands as defined and recognized under Federal law.

(C) A county, municipality, city, town, township, village, borough, or similar unit of general government incorporated under State law or as defined by the Census Bureau.

(D) A congressional district.

(3) Personal information. The term personal Information means any information that is linked or reasonably linkable to a specific individual or a specific device, including an individual’s actual or perceived characteristics or demographics and information that may be derived from such individual’s internet browsing history, and including de-identified information.

233. Restrictions on collection, aggregation and sale of personal information

(a) Congressional finding. The Congress finds that the widespread practice of websites, internet service companies, and data brokers, among others, collecting, aggregating and selling personal information of individuals derived from their internet activity (online personal information) poses a grave threat to personal privacy and autonomy.

(b) Congressional purpose and policy. The Congress declares it to be its purpose and policy to protect personal privacy and autonomy by restricting the exploitive collection, aggregation, and sale of online personal information and to prohibit the collection, aggregation and sale of any individual’s online personal information without the genuine, informed and meaningful consent of such individual.

(c) FTC recommendations To prohibit the aggregation and sale of personal information without consent. In order to protect personal privacy and autonomy, the Federal Trade Commission is hereby directed to study and make recommendations for specific reforms and legislation restricting the collection, aggregation, or sale of online personal information and prohibiting the collection, aggregation, or sale of any individual’s online personal information without the genuine, informed, and meaningful consent of such individual. Among other provisions, the Federal Trade Commission shall include in its recommendations, provisions establishing that blanket consent obtained as a condition to accessing information or services on the internet shall not be considered meaningful consent.

(d) Deadline for FTC recommendations. The Federal Trade Commission shall submit a report to Congress containing the recommendations required by this section within 120 days of the date of enactment of the Big Tech Accountability Act.