Digital Services Oversight and Safety Act of 2022
Bill journey · stage 2 of 5
Under committee review
What it doesSummary introduced in house (Feb 18, 2022)
Digital Services Oversight and Safety Act of 2022
This bill establishes the Bureau of Digital Services Oversight and Safety within the Federal Trade Commission to provide oversight for content moderation by online platforms (e.g., social media companies). Content moderation includes actions taken by a platform to detect and address user content that is illegal or incompatible with the platform's community standards.
Specifically, the commission and the bureau may conduct investigative studies concerning the dissemination of illegal content or goods through the platforms, discrimination of individuals by the platforms, and the risk of harm caused by the malfunction or intentional manipulation of the platforms. The bill also provides whistleblower protections for individuals who assist with federal investigations related to such platforms.
Further, platforms must include in their community standards the policies and procedures for content moderation, and they must publish transparency reports about the platform's content moderation.
Additionally, platforms with at least 10 million average monthly users must provide a complaint-handling system that allows users to appeal content moderation actions by the platform.
Platforms with at least 66 million average monthly users must conduct risk assessments and report on the measures taken to minimize the risk of the potential widespread dissemination of illegal content or content that violates the platform's community standards. The bill also provides for the regulation of automated content recommendations to users of these large platforms.
The bill provides for enforcement by the commission.
The bill also provides for various research activities related to online content moderation.
What just happenedFeb 22, 2022
Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
Who’s behind it
- Introduced in HouseFeb 18, 2022
- Feb 22, 2022Committee
Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee - Feb 18, 2022IntroReferralH11100
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Judiciary Committee - Feb 18, 2022IntroReferralH11100
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Education and the Workforce Committee - Feb 18, 2022IntroReferralH11100
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Energy and Commerce Committee - Feb 18, 2022IntroReferralIntro-H
Introduced in House
- Feb 18, 2022IntroReferral1000
Introduced in House