Connecticut 2025 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB06857 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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3		-	LCO 1 of 7
	3	+	LCO No. 4325 1 of 7
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5		-	General Assembly ~~Substitute~~ Bill No. 6857
	5	+	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6857
6	6		January Session, 2025
	7	+	LCO No. 4325
7	8
	9	+
	10	+	Referred to Committee on GENERAL LAW
	11	+
	12	+
	13	+	Introduced by:
	14	+	(GL)
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10	17
11	18
12	19		AN ACT CONCERNING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S
13	20		RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING SOCIAL MEDIA AND MINORS.
14	21		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
15	22		Assembly convened:
16	23
17	24		Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section: 1
18	25		(1) "Covered minor" means any covered user who is younger than 2
19	26		eighteen years of age; 3
20	27		(2) "Covered operator" means any operator who operates or provides 4
21	28		a platform that recommends, selects or prioritizes media items in the 5
22	29		manner set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section; 6
23	30		(3) "Covered user" means any user of a platform in this state who is 7
24	31		not acting as the operator, or as an agent or affiliate of the operator, of 8
25		-	~~the~~ platform; 9
	32	+	such platform; 9
26	33		(4) "Media item" means any text, image or video; 10
27	34		(5) "Operator" means any individual, corporation, limited liability 11
28	35		company, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, 12
29		-	association, joint stock company, unincorporated organization or other 13
30		-	legal entity that operates or provides a platform; and 14
31		-	(6) "Platform" means any Internet web site, online service, online 15 Substitute Bill No. 6857
	36	+	association, joint-stock company, unincorporated organization or other 13
	37	+	Raised Bill No. 6857
32	38
33	39
34		-	LCO 2 of 7
35	40
	41	+	LCO No. 4325 2 of 7
	42	+
	43	+	legal entity that operates or provides a platform; and 14
	44	+	(6) "Platform" means any Internet web site, online service, online 15
36	45		application or mobile application, including, but not limited to, any 16
37	46		social media platform, as defined in section 42-528 of the general 17
38	47		statutes, or any portion thereof. 18
39	48		(b) (1) No operator of a platform shall allow a covered user to access 19
40		-	any portion of the platform that, as a significant part of the services 20
41		-	offered by such portion of such platform, recommends, selects or 21
42		-	prioritizes for display, either concurrently or sequentially, media items 22
43		-	generated or shared by users of such platform if such recommendation, 23
44		-	selection or prioritization is based, in whole or in part, on any 24
45		-	information associated with the covered user or the covered user's 25
46		-	device, unless: 26
47		-	(A) (i) The operator has used commercially reasonable and 27
48		-	technically feasible methods to determine that the covered user is not a 28
49		-	covered minor; or 29
50		-	(ii) If the covered user is a covered minor, the operator has obtained 30
51		-	verifiable consent from the covered minor's parent or legal guardian to 31
52		-	recommend, select or prioritize media items for such covered minor in 32
53		-	the manner set forth in this subdivision; 33
54		-	(B) The recommendation, selection or prioritization (i) is based on 34
55		-	information that is not persistently associated with the covered user or 35
56		-	the covered user's device, and (ii) does not concern the covered user's 36
57		-	previous interactions with media items generated or shared by other 37
58		-	users of such platform; 38
59		-	(C) The recommendation, selection or prioritization is based on (i) 39
60		-	privacy or accessibility settings selected by the covered user, or (ii) 40
61		-	technical information concerning the covered user's device; 41
62		-	(D) The covered user has expressly and unambiguously requested 42
63		-	that any specific media item, media items from a specific author, creator 43
64		-	or poster to whom the covered user has subscribed or media items 44
65		-	shared by users to a specific page or group to which the covered user 45
66		-	has subscribed be displayed, blocked, prioritized or deprioritized; 46 Substitute Bill No. 6857
	49	+	any portion of the platform that recommends, selects or prioritizes for 20
	50	+	display, either concurrently or sequentially, media items generated or 21
	51	+	shared by users of such platform if such recommendation, selection or 22
	52	+	prioritization is based, in whole or in part, on any information 23
	53	+	associated with the covered user or the covered user's device, unless: 24
	54	+	(A) (i) The operator has used commercially reasonable and 25
	55	+	technically feasible methods to determine that the covered user is not a 26
	56	+	covered minor; or 27
	57	+	(ii) If the covered user is a covered minor, the operator has obtained 28
	58	+	verifiable consent from the covered minor's parent or legal guardian to 29
	59	+	recommend, select or prioritize media items for such covered minor in 30
	60	+	the manner set forth in this subdivision; 31
	61	+	(B) The recommendation, selection or prioritization (i) is based on 32
	62	+	information that is not persistently associated with the covered user or 33
	63	+	the covered user's device, and (ii) does not concern the covered user's 34
	64	+	previous interactions with media items generated or shared by other 35
	65	+	users of such platform; 36
	66	+	(C) The recommendation, selection or prioritization is based on (i) 37
	67	+	privacy or accessibility settings selected by the covered user, or (ii) 38
	68	+	technical information concerning the covered user's device; 39
	69	+	(D) The covered user has expressly and unambiguously requested 40
	70	+	that any media item, media items from an author, creator or poster to 41
	71	+	whom the covered user has subscribed or media items shared by users 42
	72	+	Raised Bill No. 6857
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68	74
69		-	LCO 3 of 7
70	75
71		-	(E) The recommended, selected or prioritized media item is a direct 47
72		-	and private communication; 48
73		-	(F) The media item is recommended, selected or prioritized 49
74		-	exclusively in response to a specific search inquiry made by the covered 50
75		-	user; 51
76		-	(G) The media item is recommended, selected or prioritized for 52
77		-	display exclusively because the media item (i) immediately follows any 53
78		-	other media item in a preexisting sequence, and (ii) is from the same 54
79		-	author, creator, poster or source; or 55
80		-	(H) The recommendation, selection or prioritization is necessary to 56
81		-	comply with any other provision of this section. 57
82		-	(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, a 58
83		-	covered operator that has used commercially reasonable and technically 59
84		-	feasible methods to determine a covered user's age and cannot 60
85		-	determine whether the covered user is a covered minor shall presume 61
86		-	that such covered user is not a covered minor for the purposes of this 62
87		-	subsection. 63
88		-	(B) A covered operator shall treat a covered user as a covered minor 64
89		-	if the covered operator obtains actual knowledge that the covered user 65
90		-	is a covered minor. 66
91		-	(3) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision: 67
92		-	(i) No information that is collected for the purpose of determining a 68
93		-	covered user's age under this subsection shall be used for any other 69
94		-	purpose, and such information shall be deleted immediately after an 70
95		-	attempt is made to determine the covered user's age; and 71
96		-	(ii) No information that is collected for the purpose of obtaining 72
97		-	verifiable consent from a covered minor's parent or legal guardian shall 73
98		-	be used for any other purpose, and such information shall be deleted 74
99		-	immediately after an attempt is made to obtain such verifiable consent. 75 Substitute Bill No. 6857
	76	+	LCO No. 4325 3 of 7
	77	+
	78	+	to a page or group to which the covered user has subscribed be 43
	79	+	displayed, blocked, prioritized or deprioritized; 44
	80	+	(E) The recommended, selected or prioritized media item is a direct 45
	81	+	and private communication; 46
	82	+	(F) The media item is recommended, selected or prioritized 47
	83	+	exclusively in response to a specific search inquiry made by the covered 48
	84	+	user; 49
	85	+	(G) The media item is recommended, selected or prioritized for 50
	86	+	display exclusively because the media item (i) immediately follows any 51
	87	+	other media item in a preexisting sequence, and (ii) is from the same 52
	88	+	author, creator, poster or source; or 53
	89	+	(H) The recommendation, selection or prioritization is necessary to 54
	90	+	comply with any other provision of this section. 55
	91	+	(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, a 56
	92	+	covered operator that has used commercially reasonable and technically 57
	93	+	feasible methods to determine a covered user's age and cannot 58
	94	+	determine whether the covered user is a covered minor shall presume 59
	95	+	that such covered user is not a covered minor for the purposes of this 60
	96	+	subsection. 61
	97	+	(B) A covered operator shall treat a covered user as a covered minor 62
	98	+	if the covered operator obtains actual knowledge that the covered user 63
	99	+	is a covered minor. 64
	100	+	(3) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision: 65
	101	+	(i) No information that is collected for the purpose of determining a 66
	102	+	covered user's age under this subsection shall be used for any other 67
	103	+	purpose, and such information shall be deleted immediately after an 68
	104	+	attempt is made to determine the covered user's age; and 69
	105	+	(ii) No information that is collected for the purpose of obtaining 70
	106	+	Raised Bill No. 6857
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101	108
102		-	LCO 4 of 7
103	109
104		-	(B) Any information that is collected for any purpose set forth in 76
105		-	subparagraph (A) of this subdivision may be used or retained if such 77
106		-	use or retention is necessary to comply with any federal law or 78
107		-	regulation or any other law or regulation of this state. 79
108		-	(4) No covered operator shall withhold or degrade, or reduce the 80
109		-	quality or increase the price of, any product, service or feature due to 81
110		-	the prohibition against recommending, selecting or prioritizing media 82
111		-	items in the manner set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection, unless 83
112		-	such withholding, degradation, reduction or increase is necessary for 84
113		-	such covered operator to comply with the provisions of this subsection. 85
114		-	(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any 86
115		-	covered operator from taking any action to restrict access to, or the 87
116		-	availability of, any media item that such covered operator in good faith 88
117		-	considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, 89
118		-	harassing or otherwise objectionable, regardless of whether such media 90
119		-	item is protected under the Constitution of the state or the Constitution 91
120		-	of the United States. 92
121		-	(c) (1) No covered operator shall send any notification to a covered 93
122		-	minor concerning any recommendation, selection or prioritization 94
123		-	made in the manner set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this 95
124		-	section unless: 96
125		-	(A) Such notification is sent to the covered minor during the hours 97
126		-	between eight o'clock a.m. and nine o'clock p.m. eastern time; or 98
127		-	(B) The covered operator has obtained verifiable consent from the 99
128		-	covered minor's parent or legal guardian to send notifications to such 100
129		-	covered minor outside of the time frame set forth in subparagraph (A) 101
130		-	of this subdivision. 102
131		-	(2) Each covered operator shall: 103
132		-	(A) As a default setting for such covered operator's platform and 104
133		-	unless otherwise required by a covered minor's verified parent or legal 105 Substitute Bill No. 6857
	110	+	LCO No. 4325 4 of 7
	111	+
	112	+	verifiable consent from a covered minor's parent or legal guardian shall 71
	113	+	be used for any other purpose, and such information shall be deleted 72
	114	+	immediately after an attempt is made to obtain such verifiable consent. 73
	115	+	(B) Any information that is collected for any purpose set forth in 74
	116	+	subparagraph (A) of this subdivision may be used or retained if such 75
	117	+	use or retention is necessary to comply with any federal law or 76
	118	+	regulation or any other law or regulation of this state. 77
	119	+	(4) No covered operator shall withhold or degrade, or reduce the 78
	120	+	quality or increase the price of, any product, service or feature due to 79
	121	+	the prohibition against recommending, selecting or prioritizing media 80
	122	+	items in the manner set forth in subdivision (1) of this subsection, unless 81
	123	+	such withholding, degradation, reduction or increase is necessary for 82
	124	+	such covered operator to comply with the provisions of this subsection. 83
	125	+	(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any 84
	126	+	covered operator from taking any action to restrict access to, or the 85
	127	+	availability of, any media item that such covered operator in good faith 86
	128	+	considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, 87
	129	+	harassing or otherwise objectionable, regardless of whether such media 88
	130	+	item is protected under the Constitution of the state or the Constitution 89
	131	+	of the United States. 90
	132	+	(c) (1) No covered operator shall send any notification to a covered 91
	133	+	minor concerning any recommendation, selection or prioritization 92
	134	+	made in the manner set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this 93
	135	+	section unless: 94
	136	+	(A) Such notification is sent to the covered minor during the hours 95
	137	+	between six o'clock a.m. and twelve o'clock midnight eastern time; or 96
	138	+	(B) The covered operator has obtained verifiable consent from the 97
	139	+	covered minor's parent or legal guardian to send notifications to such 98
	140	+	covered minor outside of the time frame set forth in subparagraph (A) 99
	141	+	of this subdivision. 100
	142	+	Raised Bill No. 6857
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135	144
136		-	LCO 5 of 7
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138		-	guardian pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, (i) prevent 106
139		-	the covered minor from accessing or receiving any notification 107
140		-	described in subdivision (1) of this subsection outside of the time frame 108
141		-	set forth in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, (ii) 109
142		-	limit the covered minor's access to any portion of such covered 110
143		-	operator's platform that recommends, selects or prioritizes media items 111
144		-	in the manner set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section 112
145		-	to a maximum period of one hour per day, and (iii) set the covered 113
146		-	minor's platform account to a mode that exclusively allows users to 114
147		-	whom such covered minor is connected to view or respond to content 115
148		-	posted by such covered minor; and 116
149		-	(B) Establish and maintain a mechanism by which a covered minor's 117
150		-	verified parent or legal guardian may require such covered operator to 118
151		-	(i) prevent the covered minor from accessing or receiving any 119
152		-	notification described in subdivision (1) of this subsection outside of a 120
153		-	time frame specified by such parent or legal guardian, (ii) limit the 121
154		-	covered minor's access to any portion of such covered operator's 122
155		-	platform that recommends, selects or prioritizes media items in the 123
156		-	manner set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section to a 124
157		-	maximum daily period specified by such parent or legal guardian, or 125
158		-	(iii) set the covered minor's platform account to a mode that exclusively 126
159		-	allows users to whom such covered minor is connected to view or 127
160		-	respond to content posted by such covered minor. 128
161		-	(d) Not later than March 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, each 129
162		-	covered operator shall publicly disclose, in a form and manner specified 130
163		-	by the Attorney General, the following information for the preceding 131
164		-	calendar year: 132
165		-	(1) The total number of covered users who used the covered 133
166		-	operator's platform during such year; 134
167		-	(2) The portion of the total number of covered users described in 135
168		-	subdivision (1) of this subsection for whom the covered operator 136
169		-	obtained verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian under 137 Substitute Bill No. 6857
	146	+	LCO No. 4325 5 of 7
	147	+
	148	+	(2) Each covered operator shall: 101
	149	+	(A) As a default setting for such covered operator's platform and 102
	150	+	unless otherwise required by a covered minor's verified parent or legal 103
	151	+	guardian pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, (i) prevent 104
	152	+	the covered minor from accessing or receiving any notification 105
	153	+	described in subdivision (1) of this subsection outside of the time frame 106
	154	+	set forth in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, (ii) 107
	155	+	limit the covered minor's access to any portion of such covered 108
	156	+	operator's platform that recommends, selects or prioritizes media items 109
	157	+	in the manner set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section 110
	158	+	to a maximum period of one hour per day, and (iii) set the covered 111
	159	+	minor's platform account to a mode that exclusively allows users to 112
	160	+	whom such covered minor is connected to view or respond to content 113
	161	+	posted by such covered minor; and 114
	162	+	(B) Establish and maintain a mechanism by which a covered minor's 115
	163	+	verified parent or legal guardian may require such covered operator to 116
	164	+	(i) prevent the covered minor from accessing or receiving any 117
	165	+	notification described in subdivision (1) of this subsection outside of a 118
	166	+	time frame specified by such parent or legal guardian, (ii) limit the 119
	167	+	covered minor's access to any portion of such covered operator's 120
	168	+	platform that recommends, selects or prioritizes media items in the 121
	169	+	manner set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section to a 122
	170	+	maximum daily period specified by such parent or legal guardian, or 123
	171	+	(iii) set the covered minor's platform account to a mode that exclusively 124
	172	+	allows users to whom such covered minor is connected to view or 125
	173	+	respond to content posted by such covered minor. 126
	174	+	(d) Not later than March 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, each 127
	175	+	covered operator shall publicly disclose, in a form and manner specified 128
	176	+	by the Attorney General, the following information for the preceding 129
	177	+	calendar year: 130
	178	+	(1) The total number of covered users who used the covered 131
	179	+	Raised Bill No. 6857
170	180
171	181
172		-	LCO 6 of 7
173	182
174		-	subparagraph (A)(ii) of subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section; 138
175		-	(3) The portion of the total number of covered users described in 139
176		-	subdivision (1) of this subsection for whom the default settings set forth 140
177		-	in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section 141
178		-	were enabled, and the portion of such total number of covered users for 142
179		-	whom such default settings were not enabled; and 143
180		-	(4) The average amount of time per day that covered users used the 144
181		-	covered operator's platform, broken down by user age and hour of day. 145
182		-	(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to (1) require a covered 146
183		-	operator to provide a covered minor's parent or legal guardian with 147
184		-	access to, or control over, such minor's platform account or any data 148
185		-	associated therewith, unless provision of such access or control is 149
186		-	specifically required by this section, or (2) impose liability for any 150
187		-	commercial activity or action by an operator subject to 15 USC 6501, as 151
188		-	amended from time to time, that is inconsistent with the manner in 152
189		-	which such commercial activity or action is treated under 15 USC 6502, 153
190		-	as amended from time to time. 154
191		-	(f) A violation of subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section shall 155
192		-	be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under subsection (a) of 156
193		-	section 42-110b of the general statutes. 157
	183	+	LCO No. 4325 6 of 7
	184	+
	185	+	operator's platform during such year; 132
	186	+	(2) The portion of the total number of covered users described in 133
	187	+	subdivision (1) of this subsection for whom the operator obtained 134
	188	+	verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian under subparagraph 135
	189	+	(A)(ii) of subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section; 136
	190	+	(3) The portion of the total number of covered users described in 137
	191	+	subdivision (1) of this subsection for whom the default settings set forth 138
	192	+	in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (2) of subsection (c) of this section 139
	193	+	were enabled, and the portion of such total number of covered users for 140
	194	+	which such default settings were not enabled; and 141
	195	+	(4) The average amount of time per day that covered users used the 142
	196	+	covered operator's platform, broken down by user age and hour of day. 143
	197	+	(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to (1) require a covered 144
	198	+	operator to provide a covered minor's parent or legal guardian with 145
	199	+	access to, or control over, such minor's platform account or any data 146
	200	+	associated therewith, unless provision of such access or control is 147
	201	+	specifically required by this section, or (2) impose liability for any 148
	202	+	commercial activity or action by an operator subject to 15 USC 6501, as 149
	203	+	amended from time to time, that is inconsistent with the manner in 150
	204	+	which such commercial activity or action is treated under 15 USC 6502, 151
	205	+	as amended from time to time. 152
	206	+	(f) A violation of this section shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive 153
	207	+	trade practice under subsection (a) of section 42-110b of the general 154
	208	+	statutes, and the provisions of this section shall be enforced exclusively 155
	209	+	by the Attorney General. 156
194	210		This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
195	211		sections:
196	212
197	213		Section 1 July 1, 2026 New section
198	214
199		-	Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
200		-	In Subsec. (a)(3), "such platform" was changed to "the platform" for
201		-	internal consistency; in Subsec. (b)(1)(D), "any media item" was changed
202		-	to "any specific media item", "an author" was changed to "a specific
203		-	author" and "a page" was changed to "a specific page" for clarity; in
204		-	Subsec. (d)(2), "the operator" was changed to "the covered operator" for
205		-	internal consistency; in Subsec. (d)(3), "which" was changed to "whom"
206		-	for internal consistency; and in Subsec. (f), "this section" was changed to
207		-	"subsections (b) to (d), inclusive, of this section" for accuracy. Substitute Bill No. 6857
	215	+	Raised Bill No. 6857
208	216
209	217
210		-	LCO 7 of 7
211	218
	219	+	LCO No. 4325 7 of 7
212	220
213		-	GL Joint Favorable Subst.
	221	+	Statement of Purpose:
	222	+	To (1) restrict a minor's ability to access any portion of a social media
	223	+	platform that recommends, selects or prioritizes certain media items, (2)
	224	+	provide for age verification to ensure that a minor does not access
	225	+	certain portions of a social media platform without consent from the
	226	+	minor's parent or legal guardian, (3) subject to modification by a minor's
	227	+	parent or legal guardian, restrict (A) the hours during which (i) a social
	228	+	media platform may send certain notifications to a minor, and (ii) a
	229	+	minor may access certain portions of a social media platform, and (B)
	230	+	who may view or respond to content a minor posts on a social media
	231	+	platform, and (4) require social media platforms to publicly disclose
	232	+	certain information on an annual basis.
	233	+	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
	234	+	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
	235	+	underlined.]
214	236