H.R. 8250

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8250 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8250

To require operating system providers to verify the age of any user of 
an operating system, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 13, 2026

Mr. Gottheimer (for himself and Ms. Stefanik) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To require operating system providers to verify the age of any user of 
an operating system, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Parents Decide Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRED AGE VERIFICATION FOR USERS OF OPERATING SYSTEMS.

(a) Requirements.--An operating system provider, with respect to 
any operating system of such provider, shall carry out the following:
(1) Require any user of the operating system to provide the 
date of birth of the user in order to--
(A) set up an account on the operating system; and
(B) use the operating system.
(2) If the relevant user of the operating system is under 
18 years of age, require a parent or legal guardian of the user 
to verify the date of birth of the user.
(3) Develop a system to allow an app developer to access 
any information as is necessary, collected by the operating 
system to carry out this section and any regulation promulgated 
under this section, to verify the date of birth of a user of an 
app of the app developer.
(b) Safe Harbor.--An operating system provider may not be held 
liable for a violation of a provision of this Act or a regulation 
promulgated under this Act if the provider follows the requirements 
described in such provision or regulation.
(c) Enforcement by Commission.--
(1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of 
this section or a regulation promulgated under this section 
shall be treated as a violation of a regulation under section 
18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
(2) Powers of commission.--The Commission shall enforce 
this section and any regulation promulgated under this section 
in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same 
jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms 
and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this Act. 
Any person who violates this section or a regulation 
promulgated under this section shall be subject to the 
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities 
provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act.
(d) Regulations.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate, 
under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, regulations 
to carry out this section, including regulations relating to 
the following:
(A) How an operating system provider can--
(i) verify the date of birth of a parent or 
legal guardian described in subsection (a)(2); 
and
(ii) carry out the requirements described 
in subsection (a) with respect to an operating 
system of such provider that may be shared by 
individuals of varying ages.
(B) Data protection standards related to how an 
operating system provider shall ensure a date of birth 
collected by the operating system provider from a user, 
or the parent or legal guardian of the user, to carry 
out this section and any regulation promulgated under 
this section--
(i) is collected in a secure manner to 
maintain the privacy of the user or the parent 
or legal guardian of the user; and
(ii) is not stolen or breached.
(C) How an operating system provider shall--
(i) ensure an app developer can access 
information collected by the operating system 
provider to carry out this section and any 
regulation promulgated under this section, 
subject to the data protection standards under 
subparagraph (B), to verify the date of birth 
of a user of an app of the app developer; and
(ii) ensure the parent or legal guardian of 
a user of an operating system who is under 18 
years of age is allowed to control what such 
user is allowed to access on a device.
(2) Briefing to congress.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 
brief Congress on the following information:
(A) The rulemaking process of the Commission with 
respect to such regulations.
(B) Any considerations of the Commission with 
respect to implementing such regulations.
(e) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report 
on--
(1) how operating system providers carry out the 
requirements described in subsection (a); and
(2) any recommendation for legislative action related to 
updating such requirements.
(f) Effective Date.--This section, and any regulation promulgated 
pursuant to subsection (d)(1), shall take effect on the date that is 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) App.--The term ``app'' means a software application or 
electronic service that may be run or directed by a user on a 
computer, mobile device, or any other general purpose computing 
device.
(2) App developer.--The term ``app developer'' means a 
person that owns or controls an app that is available for use 
in the United States.
(3) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
Trade Commission.
(4) Operating system.--The term ``operating system'' means 
software that supports the basic functions of a computer, 
mobile device, or any other general purpose computing device.
(5) Operating system provider.--The term ``operating system 
provider'' means a person that develops, licenses, or controls 
the operating system on a computer, mobile device, or any other 
general purpose computing device.
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