The bill
Sammy’s Law
HR. 2657, 119th Congress — read as touching Big Tech Platforms.
Sponsored by
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]
ID: W000797
Follow the money
The bill
HR. 2657, 119th Congress — read as touching Big Tech Platforms.
The sponsor
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
30 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
The alignment
This bill's text tracks the "Federal Trade Commission" section, p. 908-910 of the Mandate for Leadership.
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
December 10, 2025
📍 Current Status
Next: The bill moves to the floor for full chamber debate and voting.
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Another "feel-good" bill from our esteemed lawmakers, designed to make them look like they're doing something about the "evils" of social media while actually serving the interests of their corporate donors.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The main purpose of HR 2657, aka "Sammy's Law," is to require large social media platforms (think Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) to create and maintain real-time application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow third-party safety software providers to manage online interactions, content, and account settings for children under the age of 17. The bill's sponsors claim this will help protect kids from cyberbullying, human trafficking, and other online harms.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill defines a "large social media platform" as one with over 100 million monthly active users or $1 billion in annual revenue. It requires these platforms to create APIs that allow third-party safety software providers to access user data (with parental consent, of course). The bill also establishes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as the primary regulator.
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects are affected here:
* Large social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) * Third-party safety software providers (who will likely be funded by these same social media companies) * Parents and guardians of children under 17 * The FTC, which gets to expand its regulatory powers
**Potential Impact & Implications:** Let's get real here. This bill is a Trojan horse for increased corporate control over online interactions. By requiring social media platforms to create APIs for third-party safety software providers, the bill creates a new revenue stream for these companies and their lobbyists.
The "safety" provisions are just a smokescreen. The real goal is to give corporations more power to collect and monetize user data under the guise of protecting children. And who benefits from this? The same social media companies that have been exploiting user data for years, along with their lobbyist friends and the politicians they've bought off.
The FTC gets to expand its powers, but we all know how effective they are at regulating corporate America (cough, cough).
In short, HR 2657 is just another example of our lawmakers serving the interests of their corporate donors while pretending to care about the well-being of children. How touching.
**Diagnosis:** This bill suffers from a bad case of "Corporate Capture-itis," where politicians prioritize the interests of their donors over those of their constituents. The symptoms include:
* Overly broad definitions that benefit large corporations * Vague language that allows for exploitation and abuse * Increased regulatory powers for the FTC, which will likely be used to further entrench corporate control
**Treatment:** A healthy dose of skepticism and critical thinking is needed here. We must recognize this bill for what it is: a thinly veiled attempt to increase corporate power and profits at the expense of our online freedoms
Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No committee contributions found
This bill has 10 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.
ID: C001103
Top Contributors
10
ID: S001216
Top Contributors
10
ID: M001215
Top Contributors
10
ID: S001201
Top Contributors
10
ID: F000466
Top Contributors
10
ID: G000583
Top Contributors
10
ID: W000804
Top Contributors
10
ID: M001217
Top Contributors
10
ID: H001093
Top Contributors
10
ID: R000599
Top Contributors
10
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 82 nodes and 45 connections (76 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $115,450
Showing top 24 donors by contribution amount
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 3 harmed.
Section 4(a)(1) requires large social media platform providers to create, maintain, and make available real-time APIs to third-party safety software providers, imposing operational and compliance costs on platforms like Meta, Google, etc.
Section 4(a)(1) applies to large social media platforms provided via internet website or mobile application, which relies on telecommunications infrastructure; compliance may impose indirect costs on ISPs and carriers.
Third-party safety software providers may rely on cloud infrastructure for data processing and storage; Section 4(b)(1)(A)(v) requires data to be processed on U.S.-based hardware, potentially increasing cloud compliance costs.
For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.
This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.
AI Analysis:
"HR 2657 directly supports the Project 2025 FTC objective of protecting children online by mandating platform APIs that enable parental oversight and third‑party safety tools, thereby addressing harms from social media use and enhancing parental control—core themes of the policy."
— 875 — Federal Trade Commission Protecting Children Online. The FTC has long protected children in a variety of different contexts. Internet platforms profit from obtaining information from children without parents’ knowledge or consent—and social media’s effect on the well-being of American children is well-documented. Around 2012, American teens experienced a dramatic decline in wellness. Depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, and suicide all increased sharply among U.S. adolescents between 2011 and 2019,16 with similar trends worldwide.17 The increase occurred at the same time that social media use moved from rare to ubiquitous among teens,18 making social media a prime suspect for the sudden rise in mental health issues among teens. In addition, excessive social media use is strongly linked to mental health issues among individuals. Several studies strongly support the notion that social media use is a cause, not just a correlation, of subjective well-being and poor mental health.19 Social media and other large platforms form millions of contracts every year with American children. And even though a minor can void most contracts into which he or she enters, most jurisdictions have laws that hold minors accountable for the benefits received under the contract. Thus, children can make enforceable contracts for which parents could end up bearing responsibility. Targeting chil- dren to create potentially harmful contracts or making parents responsible for such contractual relationships is an unfair trade practice. The FTC, therefore, has the authority, interest, and duty to protect children online from such contractual relationships. l The FTC should examine platforms’ advertising and contract- making with children as a deceptive or unfair trade practice, perhaps requiring written parental consent. Currently, the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)20 regulates the information internet firms can obtain from children. COPPA fails because it (1) only protects children under the age of 13, leaving older teenagers completely unprotected and (2) only prohibits platforms from collecting information from a child using “actual knowledge” rather than abiding by the “constructive knowledge” standard, which prohibits collecting information from a user reasonably assumed to be underage. The FTC has rulemaking authority under this statute but has done little with this authority, nor can it—given the statutory constraints. However, l The FTC can and should institute unfair trade practices proceedings against entities that enter into contracts with children without parental consent. Personal parental responsibility is, of course, key, but the law must respect, not undermine, lawful parental authority.
AI Analysis:
"HR 2657 aligns closely with Project 2025's FTC policy objective of protecting children online by addressing harmful platform practices and empowering parental oversight, particularly through mechanisms that counteract deceptive or unfair contractual relationships with minors. Both emphasize the need for stronger safeguards beyond COPPA and support parental authority in digital spaces."
— 875 — Federal Trade Commission Protecting Children Online. The FTC has long protected children in a variety of different contexts. Internet platforms profit from obtaining information from children without parents’ knowledge or consent—and social media’s effect on the well-being of American children is well-documented. Around 2012, American teens experienced a dramatic decline in wellness. Depression, self-harm, suicide attempts, and suicide all increased sharply among U.S. adolescents between 2011 and 2019,16 with similar trends worldwide.17 The increase occurred at the same time that social media use moved from rare to ubiquitous among teens,18 making social media a prime suspect for the sudden rise in mental health issues among teens. In addition, excessive social media use is strongly linked to mental health issues among individuals. Several studies strongly support the notion that social media use is a cause, not just a correlation, of subjective well-being and poor mental health.19 Social media and other large platforms form millions of contracts every year with American children. And even though a minor can void most contracts into which he or she enters, most jurisdictions have laws that hold minors accountable for the benefits received under the contract. Thus, children can make enforceable contracts for which parents could end up bearing responsibility. Targeting chil- dren to create potentially harmful contracts or making parents responsible for such contractual relationships is an unfair trade practice. The FTC, therefore, has the authority, interest, and duty to protect children online from such contractual relationships. l The FTC should examine platforms’ advertising and contract- making with children as a deceptive or unfair trade practice, perhaps requiring written parental consent. Currently, the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)20 regulates the information internet firms can obtain from children. COPPA fails because it (1) only protects children under the age of 13, leaving older teenagers completely unprotected and (2) only prohibits platforms from collecting information from a child using “actual knowledge” rather than abiding by the “constructive knowledge” standard, which prohibits collecting information from a user reasonably assumed to be underage. The FTC has rulemaking authority under this statute but has done little with this authority, nor can it—given the statutory constraints. However, l The FTC can and should institute unfair trade practices proceedings against entities that enter into contracts with children without parental consent. Personal parental responsibility is, of course, key, but the law must respect, not undermine, lawful parental authority. — 876 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise Other conservatives are more skeptical concerning the effect of online expe- rience on the young, comparing the concern about social media to concern about video games, television, and bicycle safety. They point out, as does Cato fellow Jeffrey A. Singer, that the psychiatric profession has yet to designate “internet addiction” or “social media addiction” as a mental disorder in the authoritative Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR).21 These con- servatives also maintain that calling for regulation undermines conservatives’ calls for parental empowerment on education or vaccines as well as personal parenting responsibility. In addition, some of the methods used to regulate children’s internet access pose the risk of unintended harms. For instance, age verification regulations would inevitably increase the amount of data collection involved, increasing privacy con- cerns. Users would have to submit to platforms proof of their age, which raises the risks of data breach or illegitimate data usage by the platforms or bad actors. Limited-government conservatives would prefer the FTC play an educational role instead. That might include best practices or educational programs to empower parents online. Antitrust Enforcement. As is evidenced by a relentless focus on bringing Big Tech lawsuits, state attorneys general (AGs) are far more responsive to their con- stituents than is the FTC. Such a “boots on the ground” approach would benefit the FTC enormously. Practically, this would mean establishing a distinct role in the FTC Chairman’s office focused on state AG cooperation and inviting state AGs to Washington, D.C., to discuss enforcement policy in key sectors under the FTC’s jurisdiction: Big Tech, hospital mergers, supermarket mergers, and so forth. FTC regional offices are substantially more in touch with local issues. Over the past few decades, the reach and influence of regional offices has shrunk dramati- cally. The FTC should consider returning authority to these offices. Some conservatives however are less supportive of this idea. Conservative enthusiasm for the idea of adding regional FTC offices to the states is a break from the majority conservative position. Endorsing the federal government as a pre- mier job creator runs counter to decades of conservative opinion that holds that New Deal agencies and subsequent government bodies should never have been created in the first place, and that their red tape and interference is a dominant cause of economic inefficiency. Republicans used to seethe when Democrats tried to move federal offices into the states. In the early 1990s, House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich fumed about Senator Robert Byrd’s campaign to transfer certain national intelligence facilities to West Virginia, calling it a “pure abuse of power.” Some contributors to this chapter would remind conservatives that the unseen mechanics of redistribution—by which taxpayer money paid to state employees is taken from taxpayers nationwide—is a drag on the economy of the entire country. Many conservatives fear that it would be impossible to uproot or even prune back
AI Analysis:
"Both HR 2657 and the Project 2025 FCC policy aim to increase platform accountability and empower parents/consumers with tools to manage children's online experiences, aligning on child safety, transparency, and Section 230 reform goals."
— 849 — Federal Communications Commission Big Tech, and it should look to Section 230 and the Consolidated Reporting Act as potential sources of authority.19 In acting, the FCC could require these platforms to provide greater specificity regarding their terms of service, and it could hold them accountable by prohibiting actions that are inconsistent with those plain and particular terms. Within this framework, Big Tech should be required to offer a transparent appeals process that allows for the challenging of pretextual takedowns or other actions that violate clear rules of the road. l Support legislation that scraps Section 230’s current approach. The FCC should work with Congress on more fundamental Section 230 reforms that go beyond interpreting its current terms. Congress should do so by ensuring that Internet companies no longer have carte blanche to censor protected speech while maintaining their Section 230 protections. As part of those reforms, the FCC should work with Congress to ensure that antidiscrimination provisions are applied to Big Tech—including “back-end” companies that provide hosting services and DDoS protection. Reforms that prohibit discrimination against core political viewpoints are one way to do this and would track the approach taken in a social media law passed in Texas, which was upheld on appeal in late 2022 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.20 In all of this, Congress can make certain points clear. It could focus legislation on dominant, general-use platforms rather than specialized ones. This could include excluding comment sections in online publications, specialized message boards, or communities within larger platforms that self-moderate. Similarly, Congress could legislate in a way that does not require any platform to host illegal content; child pornography; terrorist speech; and indecent, profane, or similar categories of speech that Congress has previously carved out. l Support efforts to empower consumers. The FCC and Congress should work together to formulate rules that empower consumers. Section 230 itself codifies “user control” as an express policy goal and encourages Internet platforms to provide tools that will “empower” users to engage in their own content moderation. As Congress takes up reforms, it should therefore be mindful of how we can return to Internet users the power to control their online experiences. One idea is to empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any. The FCC should also work with Congress to ensure stronger protections against young children accessing social media sites despite age restrictions that generally prohibit their use of these sites.
Showing 3 of 5 policy matches
Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.