Social Media DATA Act
Latest action · May 31, 2021 Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
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.
- IntroducedMay 20, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Social Media Disclosure And Transparency of Advertisements Act of 2021 or the Social Media DATA Act
This bill requires consumer-facing websites and mobile applications with a large number of users to maintain advertisement libraries and make them available to academic researchers and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Each library must include, among other things, a digital copy of the advertisement content, a description of the target audience, and the number of views generated from the advertisement. The FTC and state attorneys general are authorized to enforce these requirements, and the FTC must use information from the advertisement libraries to enforce other laws within its jurisdiction.
Additionally, the bill establishes a working group to address social media research access and make policy recommendations with respect to the information an interactive computer service (e.g., a social media company) should make available to academic researchers.
Cosponsors 23
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 20, 2021 to Apr 1, 2022; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-FL | Kathy Castor | Original | May 20, 2021 |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Jun 15, 2021 | |
| D-VA | Jennifer Wexton | Jun 15, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Jun 15, 2021 | |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Jun 30, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Tony Cárdenas | Jul 28, 2021 | |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Jul 28, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Aug 13, 2021 | |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Aug 13, 2021 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Oct 12, 2021 | |
| D-FL | Val Butler Demings | Oct 12, 2021 | |
| D-WA | Kim Schrier | Oct 19, 2021 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Oct 19, 2021 | |
| D-CO | Ed Perlmutter | Oct 27, 2021 | |
| D-NY | Kathleen M. Rice | Nov 1, 2021 | |
| D-TX | Lizzie Fletcher | Nov 5, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Lucille Roybal-Allard | Nov 5, 2021 | |
| D-MI | Debbie Dingell | Dec 13, 2021 | |
| D-IL | Sean Casten | Dec 20, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Jan 28, 2022 | |
| D-NY | Mondaire Jones | Mar 7, 2022 | |
| D-VA | Donald S. Beyer, Jr. | Apr 1, 2022 | |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Apr 1, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Energy and Commerce Committee | Referred May 20, 2021 |
| Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee | Referred May 31, 2021 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 31, 2021Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
- May 20, 2021Introduced in House
- May 20, 2021Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 88, May 20, 2021, page H2654.
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 117-723 | DISRUPTING DANGEROUS ALGORITHMS: ADDRESSING THE HARMS OF PERSUASIVE TECHNOLOGY116 pages | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Dec 9, 2021 |
| Serial No. 117-61 | HOLDING BIG TECH ACCOUNTABLE: LEGISLATION TO BUILD A SAFER INTERNET175 pages | Energy and Commerce Committee | Dec 9, 2021 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R47662 | Defining and Regulating Online Platforms | Report | Aug 25, 2023 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To require covered platforms to provide information about their advertising to academic researchers, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Social Media DATA Act
- Social Media Disclosure And Transparency of Advertisements Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Commerce.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 20, 2021Introduced in House
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.
