Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act

The bill requires manufacturers of certain internet-connected consumer products to clearly and prominently disclose, before purchase, whether the device includes a camera or microphone. This is meant to apply to “covered devices,” which are smart products that connect to the internet and have a camera or microphone as one part of the device. Some devices are not covered. Phones (including mobile phones), laptops, tablets, and other devices that people would normally expect to have a camera or microphone are excluded. Devices that are marketed specifically as cameras, microphones, or telecommunications devices are also excluded, as well as certain communications and accessibility devices listed in the Communications Act of 1934. The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission to treat failures to disclose as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under existing FTC law. The FTC will use its current powers, penalties, and procedures to enforce the new requirement, and its other legal authority is not reduced. Within 180 days after the bill becomes law, the FTC must issue guidance to help manufacturers comply. This guidance should include best practices for making the disclosure clear, noticeable, and as age appropriate as possible, and it may include the use of simple pictures or icons to show that a device has a camera or microphone. Manufacturers may ask the FTC for tailored guidance on how to meet the disclosure rules, but the guidance does not create legal rights and does not bind the FTC; enforcement must still be based on an actual violation of the statute. The law would apply only to covered devices made after a date that is 180 days after the FTC issues its guidance. It would not apply to devices that were made, sold, or otherwise put into interstate commerce before that date.

Many everyday products, like speakers, appliances, toys, and home systems, now include internet connections, cameras, or microphones. This bill aims to make sure buyers know when such features are built into products they might not expect to record sound or video. Clear disclosure could affect how people choose and place devices in their homes, workplaces, and around children. It may also influence how manufacturers design labels and packaging and how they explain product features online and in stores. For regulators, the bill gives the FTC a specific role in overseeing these disclosures under its existing unfair or deceptive practices authority. The exact impact on privacy, business practices, and product design will depend on how the FTC guidance is written and how manufacturers respond, which is not fully predictable from the text alone.

• Covers internet-connected consumer products that include a camera or microphone, except for phones, laptops, tablets, and devices people would reasonably expect to have these features.
• Excludes devices marketed specifically as cameras, microphones, or telecommunications devices, and certain communications and accessibility devices defined in the Communications Act of 1934.
• Requires manufacturers to disclose, clearly and conspicuously and before purchase, if a covered device has a camera or microphone.
• Treats a failure to make the required disclosure as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act.
• Directs the FTC to enforce the law using the same powers, penalties, and procedures it already has under the Federal Trade Commission Act.
• Requires the FTC, within 180 days of enactment, to issue guidance to help manufacturers comply, including best practices for clear, conspicuous, and age-appropriate disclosures and possible use of pictorial symbols.
• Allows manufacturers to petition the FTC for tailored guidance on how to meet the disclosure requirement under existing FTC rules of practice.
• States that FTC guidance does not create legal rights, does not bind the FTC or any person, and cannot be the sole basis for an enforcement action; enforcement must be tied to a violation of the statute.
• Makes the law applicable only to covered devices manufactured after 180 days following the FTC’s issuance of guidance, and not to devices made, sold, or introduced into interstate commerce before that date.
• As of the text provided, the bill has passed the House and has been received and placed on the Senate calendar.

• The bill’s definition of “covered device” excludes products that consumers would reasonably expect to have a camera or microphone, which means some commonly used recording devices will not require the new disclosure.
• FTC guidance must be created through outreach to private entities, but that guidance cannot be used by itself as the basis for enforcement; the FTC must show a specific violation of the statute.
• The effective date is linked to when the FTC issues guidance, not to the date of enactment, which could delay when the requirements actually start to apply in practice.
• Existing devices already manufactured, sold, or introduced into interstate commerce before the effective date are completely exempt, so many products in use will never be covered by this law.