SMART Act
Latest action · Jul 30, 2019 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 30, 2019
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act or the SMART Act
This bill requires social media companies to structure their platforms in a manner calculated to reduce the risks of internet addiction.
The bill prohibits social media companies from using infinite scroll, auto refill, and autoplay functions and restricts them from giving users awards for higher levels of engagement. The bill further instructs social media companies to automatically limit users' time spent on their platforms across all devices to a default of 30 minutes per day and to implement regular stopping points designed to end scrolling after 3 minutes. Social media companies are also charged to conspicuously display a notification at least twice an hour showing users how much time they have spent on the platform that day.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Jul 30, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 30, 2019Introduced in Senate
- Jul 30, 2019Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to prohibit social media companies from using practices that exploit human psychology or brain physiology to substantially impede freedom of choice, to require social media companies to take measures to mitigate the risks of internet addiction and psychological exploitation, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- SMART Act
- Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Consumer affairs
- Digital media
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Mental health
- Science, Technology, Communications
- State and local government operations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 30, 2019Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
