SCREEN Act
House Committee Reviews SCREEN Act to Require Real Age Checks on Adult Content Sites
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- Would require online platforms that make money from adult sexual content to use age-check technology to keep minors out.
- Self-check boxes like “I’m over 18” would not count; platforms would need a real verification process and must publicly describe how it works.
- Platforms would have to run age checks on users’ IP addresses, including known VPN/proxy IPs, unless the platform can tell the user is outside the U.S.
- The Federal Trade Commission would audit platforms, issue non-binding guidance within 180 days of the law taking effect, and enforce violations like other consumer protection cases.
- Platforms (or their contractors) would have to protect age-check data and keep it only as long as needed to run verification or show they followed the law.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
How this policy affects specific groups of people
Milestones
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
5 articles
Toward a Federal Framework for Online Age Assurance
The SCREEN Act requires age verification at the platform level for services hosting content harmful to minors. It envisions a narrow, platform-level obligation that functions as a backstop for web services that app stores do not reach, requiring methods that prohibit minor access with certainty.
Tech: Age verification momentum
Sen. Mike Lee's SCREEN Act, which would require all porn sites to verify age, mostly resembles the Texas law that passed muster in the Supreme Court. Lawmakers said SCOTUS' vindication of age verification should propel Congress to act on a federal standard.
House committee to mark up package of kids safety bills on Thursday
The House Energy and Commerce committee is looking to advance 18 bills focused on children's online safety and privacy, including H.R. 1623, the Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act, which mandates age verification for adult content.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
SCREEN Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
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