Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)
Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act
A Democratic bill with 4 Republican cosponsors · See all 9 cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The "Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act" requires wagering and prediction market platforms to use facial recognition technology to verify that users are over 18 years old. It prohibits these platforms from allowing access or accepting bets from users who have not been verified this way. The bill grants the Federal Trade Commission enforcement power over these requirements. Additionally, it creates new rules for "event contracts," allowing the Commission to ban contracts based on activities like terrorism, war, or violence. It also establishes an Advisory Council on Consumer Protection and an Office of the Retail Advocate to protect individual investors.
Yes· 3 of 6
- Scored +9
Would children be better off under this?
Specifically designed to protect children by preventing their access to wagering platforms through facial recognition.
- Scored +8
Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices?
Establishes a Retail Advocate and an Advisory Council to protect individual investors from deceptive practices.
- Scored +5
Does this give the federal government more power?
Expands the enforcement powers of the FTC and the Commission over prediction markets.
The opposite
- Scored -3
Would business owners be better off under this?
Increases compliance costs and legal risks for wagering and prediction market operators.
- Scored -2
Does this protect people from being watched or searched?
Requires the submission of sensitive biometric data as a prerequisite for accessing certain services.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Child Protection: By requiring facial recognition to verify age, the bill aims to prevent individuals under 18 from accessing wagering or prediction platforms (Section 2(a)(1)).
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Data Privacy: The bill limits the collection of biometric data to only what is reasonably necessary for age verification and requires the deletion of unnecessary covered data (Section 2(a)(2)).
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Public Safety: The Commission can prohibit event contracts based on unlawful activity, terrorism, assassination, war, or violence if they are contrary to the public interest (Section 2(c)(2)(A)).
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Investor Protection: The bill establishes the Office of the Retail Advocate to help retail participants resolve transaction problems and research issues affecting them (Section 2(c)(7)(D)).
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Marketing Transparency: It prohibits promotional materials for event contracts from deceiving the public or mentioning profits without also discussing the risk of loss (Section 2(c)(3)(A)).
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Financial Security: The bill requires the segregation of member funds from the funds of the derivatives clearing organization (Section 2(c)(5)(A)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Biometric Data Collection: Users must submit "covered data," defined as biometric data that identifies them or is linkable to their identity, to access these platforms (Section 2(d)(2)).
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Financial Penalties: The Commission may establish financial penalties for designated contract markets or swap execution facilities that fail to follow standardized submission formats (Section 2(c)(2)(D)(iii)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices? — Establishes a Retail Advocate and an Advisory Council to protect individual investors from deceptive practices.
- Education And Technology
- Does this give people more control over their personal data? — Mandates data minimization and deletion of unnecessary biometric data, though it requires the collection of that data initially. Does this put more rules on large technology companies? — Imposes stricter verification and data minimization requirements on platform operators.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would children be better off under this? — Specifically designed to protect children by preventing their access to wagering platforms through facial recognition. Would business owners be better off under this? — Increases compliance costs and legal risks for wagering and prediction market operators.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this give the federal government more power? — Expands the enforcement powers of the FTC and the Commission over prediction markets. Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — Requires the Retail Advocate to submit annual reports to Congress on problem resolution. Does this protect people from being watched or searched? — Requires the submission of sensitive biometric data as a prerequisite for accessing certain services.
- 7/15/2026
- Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 9 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Robert BresnahanRepublican · Pennsylvania
Nick LaLotaRepublican · New York
Kristen McDonald RivetDemocrat · Michigan
Jimmy PanettaDemocrat · California
Darren SotoDemocrat · Florida
Thomas SuozziDemocrat · New York
Ritchie TorresDemocrat · New York
Jefferson Van DrewRepublican · New Jersey
Bruce WestermanRepublican · Arkansas