Assessing Safety Tools for Parents and Minors Act
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Fulcher (for himself and Mr. Landsman) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Assessing Safety Tools for Parents and Minors Act directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to study how technology companies are protecting children online. Within 6 months, the FTC must begin reviewing industry efforts like parental controls, age-appropriate content labels, privacy settings, and educational initiatives. The FTC will then submit a report to Congress with findings and recommendations within 3 years.
Who Benefits and How
Social media and technology companies benefit from a "study first, regulate later" approach that delays any mandatory requirements. The bill only requires their consultation and participation in the review, not compliance with new rules. Parents and children may indirectly benefit if the resulting recommendations lead to better safety tools, though no immediate protections are mandated.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Federal Trade Commission bears the primary burden, as it must conduct an extensive review consulting with industry, parents, technology experts, privacy experts, and mental health professionals. Tech companies face a minor burden of participating in consultations. There is no significant cost to taxpayers as the bill is exempt from the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Key Provisions
- Requires FTC to initiate a review of industry online safety efforts within 6 months of enactment
- Mandates consultation with industry, parents, and various experts (technology, privacy, mental health)
- Focuses on parental controls, age-appropriate content labels, privacy settings, and educational tools
- Requires FTC report to Congress within 3 years with findings and recommendations
- Defines "minor" as anyone under age 17
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires the Federal Trade Commission to conduct a review of industry efforts to promote online safety for minors and submit a report with findings and recommendations to Congress.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Information gathering and assessment approach rather than direct regulation; relies on industry consultation and expert input to develop recommendations"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Social media and tech companies (soft approach with no immediate mandates)
- Federal Trade Commission (expanded oversight role)
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal Trade Commission (must conduct review and produce report)
- Tech industry (must consult and participate in review process)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_commission"
- → Federal Trade Commission
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Federal Trade Commission
An individual under the age of 17
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology