Audit; report

(a) Audit required Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, a covered platform shall have an independent, third-party auditor conduct an independent, third-party audit of the covered platform. (b) Audit specifications (1) Criteria In conducting an audit required by subsection (a), an independent, third-party auditor shall do the following: (A) Consider widely accepted or evidence-based approaches, best practices, frameworks, and methods related to the measures, safeguards for minors, and parental tools required under this Act. (B) Consider widely accepted or evidence-based approaches, best practices, frameworks, and methods related to identifying, preventing, and mitigating the harms to minors listed in section 3(a) of this Act. (C) Consult with parents (including parents with relevant experience), public health and mental health nonprofit organizations, health and development organizations, and experts in freedom of expression about methods to identify, prevent, and mitigate such harms. (2) Contents An audit required by subsection (a) shall include the following: (A) An assessment of the extent to which the relevant covered platform is likely to be accessed by minors, including differences between children and teens. (B) An accounting of the following: (i) The number of users using such covered platform that such covered platform knows to be minors located in the United States. (ii) The median and mean amounts of time spent on such covered platform by such users during the year in which such audit is conducted. (iii) A description of the policies, practices, and procedures implemented to address the harms described in section 3. (iv) The number of times that the safeguards for minors described in section 4(a) have been exercised during the year in which such audit is conducted. (v) The number of times that the parental tools described in section 4(b) have been exercised during the year in which such audit is conducted. (vi) The number of reports received by such covered platform through the reporting mechanism described in section 4(c) during the year in which such audit is conducted. (C) A description of such safeguards for minors and parental tools that are available to minors and parents on such covered platform. (D) A description of how such covered platform handles reports received through such reporting mechanism, including the rate of response to such a report and the timeliness and substantiveness of any such response. (E) A description of whether, how, and for what purpose such covered platform collects or processes categories of personal information of minors. (F) If the covered platform has a process used to create, implement, or evaluate the impact of a design feature of the covered platform used by minors, a description of such process. (3) Cooperation by covered platform A covered platform shall facilitate an audit of the covered platform required by subsection (a) by doing the following: (A) Provide or otherwise make available to the independent, third-party auditor that conducts such audit all information and materials in the possession, custody, or control of such covered platform relevant to such audit. (B) Provide or otherwise make available to such auditor access to all networks, systems, and assets relevant to such audit. (C) Disclose all material facts to such auditor and not misrepresent any material fact. (c) Report to Commission Not later than 30 days after the date on which an audit required by subsection (a) is completed, the relevant covered platform shall submit to the Commission the results of the audit.