Protecting the Information of our Vulnerable Adolescents, Children, and Youth Act

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Defunct
• Most recent activity date: 2025-01-03

Risk subdomain coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the risk subdomain are explicitly described.

• Compromise of privacy
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• Fraud, scams, and targeted manipulation
• Lack of transparency or interpretability

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Unfair discrimination and misrepresentation
• Overreliance and unsafe use
• Loss of human agency and autonomy

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has good coverage of approximately 8-10 subdomains, with strong focus on privacy compromise (2.1), security vulnerabilities (2.2), fraud and manipulation (4.3), overreliance and unsafe use (5.1), loss of agency and autonomy (5.2), and lack of transparency (7.4). Coverage is concentrated in privacy, security, human-computer interaction, and AI system transparency domains.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Information

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Finance & Insurance
• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Educational Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance
• Arts, Entertainment & Recreation
• National Security

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

The document governs digital services across multiple sectors, with primary focus on Information (technology platforms, social media, online services) and broad applicability to any sector operating digital services that process children's or teenagers' data. It explicitly covers Educational Services, Health Care, and has implications for Finance, Entertainment, and other sectors that operate digital services accessible to youth.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding federal statute enacted by the United States Congress with mandatory obligations, enforcement mechanisms including civil penalties up to $63,795 per violation, FTC enforcement authority, and private right of action. The Act uses mandatory language throughout ('shall', 'must', 'required') and establishes specific legal obligations with penalties for non-compliance.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is a Congressional Act ('This Act may be cited as the Protecting the Information of our Vulnerable Adolescents, Children, and Youth Act') proposed and enacted by the United States Congress as federal legislation.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Developer, AI_Deployer
• Entities: Operators of children's services, operators of digital services likely to be accessed by children or teenagers, covered entities including organizations not organized for profit, common carriers subject to the Communications Act
• Summary: The Act targets 'operators' of digital services, defined as covered entities that operate services processing covered information. This includes websites, online services, applications, and mobile applications that are directed to children or likely to be accessed by children/teenagers. The definition of covered entity explicitly includes entities under FTC authority, nonprofits, and common carriers.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal banking agencies, Farm Credit Administration, National Credit Union Administration Board, Securities and Exchange Commission, State attorneys general
• Summary: The Act designates the FTC as the primary enforcement body with authority to prevent violations and impose civil penalties. It also grants enforcement authority to specific Federal banking and financial regulatory agencies for entities under their jurisdiction, and to State attorneys general.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Youth Privacy and Marketing Division, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives
• Summary: The Act establishes a Youth Privacy and Marketing Division within the FTC to monitor and address youth privacy and marketing practices. The FTC is granted audit authority over Privacy and Security Impact Assessments. Congressional committees receive biennial reports on implementation and effectiveness.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Plan and Design
• Collect and Process Data
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document does not explicitly reference AI lifecycle stages but focuses on data processing operations across digital services. It implicitly covers design (through PSIAM requirements), deployment (through service operation requirements), and monitoring (through ongoing compliance and security monitoring). The document is technology-neutral and applies to any digital service processing covered information.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

No technical scope terms identified.

Technical Scope Summary

The document does not explicitly mention AI models, AI systems, or specific AI categories. It is technology-neutral, applying to any 'digital service' that processes covered information, which includes websites, online services, and applications. The document focuses on data processing operations rather than specific AI technologies, and does not reference compute thresholds, model types, or AI-specific technical concepts.