Digital Platform Commission Act of 2023

Digital Platform Commission Act of 2023

This bill establishes a commission to regulate digital platforms. These are online services that facilitate interactions between users and between users and entities (including online services) that offer goods and services.

The bill provides the commission with rulemaking, investigative, and related authorities to regulate access to, competition among, and consumer protections for digital platforms. This includes setting standards for age verification and age-appropriate design. The bill also provides for administrative and judicial enforcement of the regulations.

The commission must establish a council of technical experts, representatives of digital platforms, and other experts (e.g., representatives of nonprofit public interest groups and academics) to recommend standards for algorithmic processes and other policies.

Additionally, the commission may designate systemically important digital platforms. The bill includes criteria for the commission to use when designating a platform as systemically important (e.g., whether its operations have significant nationwide economic, social, or political impacts).

The bill also requires that the commission receive pre-merger notifications concerning designated platforms. The commission may provide recommendations about such mergers to the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, and those agencies must give the recommendations substantial weight when reviewing such mergers.

The bill also requires the commission and any relevant federal agency to consult each other when investigating or regulating the effects of digital platforms on certain matters, including competition and consumer protection.

The President must appoint an independent panel to evaluate the commission after five years and recommend whether to extend the commission.