Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The Online Consumer Protection Act requires social media platforms and online marketplaces to publish clear, machine-readable terms of service and a detailed consumer protection policy. Covered services must establish consumer protection programs, appoint a consumer protection officer, file annual reports with the FTC (publicly available), and comply with FTC regulations; violations are treated as unfair or deceptive acts enforceable by the FTC.
Liberals emphasize user remedies and transparency; conservatives stress federal overreach and liability.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a substantive statutory reform that creates new legal obligations for social media platforms and online marketplaces, establishes reporting and program requirements, and sets out enforcement by the FTC, state attorneys general, and private litigants.
The Online Consumer Protection Act requires social media platforms and online marketplaces to publish clear, machine-readable terms of service and a detailed consumer protection policy.
Covered services must establish consumer protection programs, appoint a consumer protection officer, file annual reports with the FTC (publicly available), and comply with FTC regulations; violations are treated as unfair or deceptive acts enforceable by the FTC.
The Act creates a private right of action with actual damages, invalidates pre-dispute arbitration and class-waiver agreements for claims under the Act, and specifies that Section 230 does not apply to violations of this Act.
Broad, consequential changes to platform liability, private rights of action, and Section 230 carve‑outs face strong political, legal, and industry resistance.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a substantive statutory reform that creates new legal obligations for social media platforms and online marketplaces, establishes reporting and program requirements, and sets out enforcement by the FTC, state attorneys general, and private litigants. It integrates with existing statutes and provides many concrete operational requirements while delegating some substantive details to FTC rulemaking.
Liberals emphasize user remedies and transparency; conservatives stress federal overreach and liability.
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Liberals emphasize user remedies and transparency; conservatives stress federal overreach and liability.
Likely to view the bill positively as strengthening consumer protections, transparency, and accountability for large online platforms.
Values the public filings, private right of action, and limits on forced arbitration as empowering users and remedying harms from unsafe or deceptive practices.
Generally supportive of increased transparency and consumer protections but cautious about regulatory costs, vagueness, and unintended effects on content moderation and litigation.
Wants clearer regulatory definitions and scalable obligations tied to platform size.
Likely to oppose the bill as government overreach that undermines Section 230 protections, increases regulatory and litigation burdens, and intrudes on platforms' content-moderation discretion.
Concerned about expanded FTC power and federal intrusion into private contracts.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Broad, consequential changes to platform liability, private rights of action, and Section 230 carve‑outs face strong political, legal, and industry resistance.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Liberals emphasize user remedies and transparency; conservatives stress federal overreach and liability.
Broad, consequential changes to platform liability, private rights of action, and Section 230 carve‑outs face strong political, legal, and…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a substantive statutory reform that creates new legal obligations for social media platforms and online marketplaces, establishes reporting and program requirement…
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