S823-118

Introduced

To hold social media companies liable for hosting or distributing child sexual abuse material.

118th Congress Introduced Mar 15, 2023

Summary

What This Bill Does

The bill exempts definitions In this Act: The term child sexual abuse material has the meaning given the term child pornography in section 2256 of title 18, United States Code, requires civil liability for social media companies hosting prohibited content It shall be unlawful for a social media company to knowingly or recklessly host or distribute child sexual abuse material, and requires notice process for companies hosting prohibited content A social media company shall— provide a notice process for persons to make the company aware that the company is hosting or distributing content. It relies on compliance mandates, exemptions, liability protections, and definition changes. The main policy areas are Telecommunications, Technology, Finance, and Environment.

Who Benefits and How

Telecommunications providers and users affected by the bill could face lower compliance burdens, Homeowners, tenants, or housing market participants affected by the bill could face lower compliance burdens, and Businesses and employers affected by the bill could face lower compliance burdens.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause would take on compliance duties, Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause could face increased risk, and Telecommunications providers and users affected by the bill would take on compliance duties.

Key Provisions

  • Exempts definitions In this Act: The term child sexual abuse material has the meaning given the term child pornography in section 2256 of title 18, United States Code.
  • Requires civil liability for social media companies hosting prohibited content It shall be unlawful for a social media company to knowingly or recklessly host or distribute child sexual abuse material.
  • Requires notice process for companies hosting prohibited content A social media company shall— provide a notice process for persons to make the company aware that the company is hosting or distributing content...
  • Creates qui tam civil action If a person provides notice to a social media company regarding a visual depiction under the notice process required under section 4(a) and the social media company does not disable access...

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

The bill exempts definitions In this Act: The term child sexual abuse material has the meaning given the term child pornography in section 2256 of title 18, United States Code, requires civil liability for social media companies hosting prohibited content It shall be unlawful for a social media company to knowingly or recklessly host or distribute child sexual abuse material, and requires notice process for companies hosting prohibited content A social media company shall— provide a notice process for persons to make the company aware that the company is hosting or distributing content.

Key Policy Areas

Telecommunications, Technology, Finance, Environment

Primary Purpose

The bill exempts definitions In this Act: The term child sexual abuse material has the meaning given the term child pornography in section 2256 of title 18, United States Code, requires civil liability for social media companies hosting prohibited content It shall be unlawful for a social media company to knowingly or recklessly host or distribute child sexual abuse material, and requires notice process for companies hosting prohibited content A social media company shall— provide a notice process for persons to make the company aware that the company is hosting or distributing content.

Policy Domains

Telecommunications Technology Finance Environment

Whole bill

Identified Gains
  • Telecommunications providers and users affected by the bill
  • Homeowners, tenants, or housing market participants affected by the bill
  • Businesses and employers affected by the bill
  • Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is
Businesses and employers affected by the bill:
Telecommunications providers and users affected by the bill:
Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause:
Homeowners, tenants, or housing market participants affected by the bill:
Identified Costs
  • Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause
  • Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause
  • Telecommunications providers and users affected by the bill
  • Regulated entities and members of the public affected by the bill
  • Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities
Model: codex-gpt-5:bulk-repair | Version: bill_summary_v2 | Source: is
Telecommunications providers and users affected by the bill:
Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities:
Regulated entities and members of the public affected by the bill:
Public beneficiaries or protected communities affected by the clause: ,
Federal, state, or local agencies responsible for implementing the clause: , ,

Legislative Progress

Introduced
Introduced Committee Passed
Mar 15, 2023

Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice …

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Law Enforcement
1 mention across 1 clause
-1 negative

Law enforcement, justice-system actors, and affected communities

4/5
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Telecommunications Technology Finance Environment

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