The SOCIAL MEDIA Act would require social media platforms to create a dedicated law enforcement portal within 90 days of enactment. This portal must provide clear, platform-specific law enforcement contact information (including a U.S.-based 24/7 call center) and details about enforcement-related policies, such as user notice during investigations. The bill also creates the Federal Trade Commission Platform Safety Advisory Committee to develop and publish uniform reporting metrics on illegal content, platform referrals to law enforcement, and platform responsiveness to inquiries. Platforms would annually report on these metrics, and the FTC would enforce the Act similarly to other unfair or deceptive practices authorities. The measure also broadens FTC enforcement to cover certain common carriers and nonprofit organizations in connection with this Act. In short, the bill aims to strengthen coordination between social media platforms and law enforcement, standardize how platforms monitor and report illicit activity (including counterfeit drugs like fentanyl), and provide transparent, publicly accessible accountability through annual reporting and FTC oversight.
Key Points
- 1Law Enforcement Portal requirements
- 2- Each social media platform must create a law enforcement portal within 90 days, link to it from the platform’s homepage, and provide clear contact information for the platform’s lead law enforcement liaison, a 24/7 U.S.-based phone line, and an email contact.
- 3- The portal must disclose the platform’s procedures related to law enforcement investigations, including user notice and timing.
- 4Federal Trade Commission Platform Safety Advisory Committee
- 5- Establishes an 11-member FTC advisory panel to develop uniform reporting metrics on illegal content, platform referrals to law enforcement, and responsiveness to law enforcement inquiries.
- 6- Members include representatives from the FTC, DEA, ICE-HSI, social media platforms, local and state law enforcement, transparency advocates, FBI, victims’ advocates, U.S. Marshals, and DOJ’s Criminal Division.
- 7- The committee appoints members for 3-year terms, limits individuals to up to 3 terms, and members serve without additional compensation.
- 8Reporting metrics and public reporting
- 9- The advisory committee will propose metrics, and the FTC will publish guidance on adopted metrics.
- 10- Platforms must, starting within 180 days after FTC guidance and annually thereafter, publicly report metrics (e.g., ads/promotions for counterfeit substances or fentanyl, referral practices, law-enforcement subpoenas/records, and average subpoena response times) and efforts to monitor illicit activity.
- 11Enforcement framework
- 12- Violations of the law enforcement portal or reporting requirements are treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the FTC Act.
- 13- The FTC would enforce the Act with the same authority as under the FTC Act, including rulemaking, and would extend enforcement to certain common carriers and non-profit organizations in specified circumstances.
- 14Definitions
- 15- Defines key terms such as “social media platform,” “illicit activity,” and “counterfeit substance,” and specifies that the platform includes networks, marketplaces, chat rooms, and other content-delivery forms primarily aimed at advertising.