,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ecac ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #aa1 #bjbe,mr4 ,fry introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,a ,,bill ,to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the app marketplace1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,app ,store ,freedom ,act4 #b4 ,protecting a competitive app market 7a7 ,requirements 7#a7 ,interoperability ,a covered company that owns or controls the operating system on which an app store owned or controlled by the covered company operates shall allow and provide readily accessible means for a user of such operating system to-- 7,a7 choose a third-party app or app store as a default2 7,b7 install a third-party app or app store through means other than the app store owned or controlled by the covered company2 and 7,c7 hide or delete an app or app store provided or pre-installed by the covered company 7or any business partner of the covered company74 7#b7 ,open app development ,a covered company1 in a timely manner1 without cost1 and on terms that are equivalent to the terms of access by the covered company or any business partner of the covered company1 shall provide to a developer of an app accessible on an operating system1 or distributed through an app store1 owned or controlled by the covered company-- 7,a7 access to any interface and hardware and software feature of the operating system that are generally available to the covered company and any business partner of the covered company2 and 7,b7 documentation and development information sufficient to access any such interface and feature4 7#c7 ,compliance ,a covered company shall be in compliance with the requirements described under paragraph 7#b7 if that company-- 7,a7 licenses any intellectual property that the developer of an app needs to access any interface or hardware or software feature of such operating system2 or 7,b7 limits the interfaces and hardware and software features of the operating system generally available to the covered company and any businesses partner of the company to interfaces and hardware and software features that do not implicate such intellectual property rights4 7b7 ,prohibitions 7#a7 ,exclusivity and tying ,a covered company may not-- 7,a7 require1 as a condition for an app to be accessible on an operating system or distributed through an app store that is owned or controlled by the covered company1 that-- 7i7 a developer of the app use or enable an in-app payment system owned or controlled by the covered company or any business partner of the covered company2 or 7ii7 pricing or other terms of sale be equal to or more favorable on such operating system or app store than on another operating system or app store2 or 7,b7 take punitive action or otherwise impose less favorable terms and conditions against a developer of an app distributed outside of an app store that is owned or controlled by the covered company-- 7i7 for using or offering different pricing or other terms of sale on an app store or through an in-app payment system that is not owned or controlled by the covered company2 or 7ii7 on the basis that such app provides access to a third-party app that is not owned or controlled by the covered company through remote electronic services rather than through download from an operating system or an app store that is owned or controlled by the covered company4 7#b7 ,interference with legitimate business communications 7,a7 ,in general ,a covered company may not impose any restriction or fee on the communication of a developer of an app accessible on an operating system or distributed through an app store that is owned or controlled by the covered company with a user of the app1 whether through such app or direct outreach to such user1 concerning legitimate business offers1 including pricing or other terms of sale and product or service offerings4 7,b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this paragraph may be construed to prohibit a covered company from requiring that consent of a user be obtained prior to collecting and sharing data of the user through an app accessible on an operating system or distributed through an app store that is owned or controlled by the covered company if the apps and services of the company are subject to the same consent4 7#c7 ,nonpublic business information ,a covered company may not use nonpublic business information derived from an app accessible on an operating system or distributed through an app store that is owned or controlled by the covered company for the purpose of competing with such app4 #c4 ,enforcement 7a7 ,enforcement by ,federal trade commission 7#a7 ,unfair or deceptive acts or practices ,a violation of this ,act shall be treated as a violation of a regulation under section #ah7;a77#a77;,b7 of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #eg;a7a77#a77;,b77 regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices4 7#b7 ,powers of commission ,except as provided in paragraph 7#c7-- 7,a7 the ,commission shall enforce this ,act in the same manner1 by the same means1 and with the same jurisdiction1 powers1 and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #da et seq47 were incorporated into and made a part of this ,act2 and 7,b7 any covered company who violates this ,act shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act4 7#c7 ,penalties 7,a7 ,additional civil penalty ,in addition to any penalty applicable under the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act1 any covered company who violates this ,act shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than #a1jjj1jjj for each violation4 7,b7 ,method ,any civil penalty described in subparagraph 7,a7 shall be obtained in the same manner as a civil penalty for a violation of a regulation under section #ah7;a77#a77;,b7 of the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #eg;a7a77#a77;,b774 7#d7 ,authority preserved ,nothing in this section may be construed to limit the authority of the ,commission under any other provision of law4 7b7 ,enforcement by states 7#a7 ,in general ,if the attorney general of a ,state1 or an official or agency of a ,state1 has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of the ,state has been or is threatened or adversely affected by an act or practice that violates this ,act1 the ,state may bring a civil action on behalf of the residents of the ,state in an appropriate district court of the ,united ,states to obtain appropriate relief4 7#b7 ,rights of commission 7,a7 ,notice to commission 7i7 ,in general ,except as provided in clause 7iii71 an attorney general1 official1 or agency of a ,state1 before filing a civil action under paragraph 7#a71 shall provide written notification to the ,commission that the attorney general1 official1 or agency intends to bring such civil action4 7ii7 ,contents ,the notification required under clause 7i7 shall include a copy of the complaint for the civil action4 7iii7 ,exception ,if it is not feasible for an attorney general1 official1 or agency of a ,state to provide the notification required under clause 7i7 before filing a civil action under paragraph 7#a71 the attorney general1 official1 or agency shall provide the notification to the ,commission immediately upon the filing of the civil action4 7,b7 ,intervention by commission ,the ,commission may-- 7i7 intervene in any civil action filed by an attorney general1 official1 or agency of a ,state under paragraph 7#a72 and 7ii7 upon so intervening-- 7,i7 be heard on all matters arising in the civil action2 and 7,,ii7 appeal a decision in the civil action4 7,c7 ,limitation on state action while ,federal action is pending ,if the ,commission or the ,attorney ,general of the ,united ,states has instituted a civil action for violation of this ,act 7referred to in this subparagraph as the ,federal action71 no ,state attorney general1 official1 or agency may bring an action under paragraph 7#a7 during the pendency of the ,federal action against any defendant named in the complaint in the ,federal action for any violation of such ,act alleged in such complaint4 7#c7 ,rule of construction ,for purposes of bringing a civil action under paragraph 7#a71 nothing in this ,act may be construed to prevent an attorney general1 official1 or agency of a ,state from exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general1 official1 or agency by the laws of the ,state to conduct investigations1 administer oaths or affirmations1 or compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of documentary or other evidence4 #d4 ,effect on ,state law 7a7 ,in general ,a ,state1 or political subdivision of a ,state1 may not maintain1 enforce1 prescribe1 or continue in effect any law1 rule1 regulation1 requirement1 standard1 or other provision having the force and effect of law of the ,state1 or political subdivision of the ,state1 that-- 7#a7 prohibits a covered company from engaging in any conduct prohibited by section #b2 or 7#b7 requires a covered company to take any action required by section #b4 7b7 ,rule of construction ,this section may not be construed to-- 7#a7 preempt any law of a ,state or political subdivision of a ,state relating to contracts1 torts1 or unfair competition2 or 7#b7 preempt any law of a ,state or political subdivision of a ,state to the extent that such law relates to an act of fraud1 unauthorized access to personal information1 or notification of unauthorized access to personal information4 #e4 ,rules of construction ,nothing in this ,act may be construed-- 7#a7 to limit-- 7,a7 any authority of the ,federal ,trade ,commission under the ,federal ,trade ,commission ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #da et seq471 or any other provision of law2 or 7,b7 the application of any ,federal law2 7#b7 to require a covered company-- 7,a7 to provide service under a hardware or software warranty for damage caused by a third-party app or app store installed through means other than an app store owned or controlled by the covered company2 or 7,b7 to provide customer service for the installation or operation of such a third-party app or app store2 7#c7 to prevent an action taken by a covered company that is reasonably tailored to protect the rights of a person under section #ajf1 #aaja1 #abja1 or #adja of title #ag1 ,united ,states ,code1 or rights actionable under sections #cb or #dc of the ,act entitled ,an ,act to provide for the registration and protection of trademarks used in commerce1 to carry out the provisions of certain international conventions1 and for other purposes1 approved ,july #e1 #aidf 7commonly known as the ,lanham ,act or the ,trademark ,act of #aidf7 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #aaad1 #aabe71 or corollary ,state law2 7#d7 to require a covered company to license any intellectual property1 including any trade secrets1 owned by or licensed to the covered company2 7#e7 to prevent a covered company from asserting rights of the covered company under intellectual property law to prevent the unlawful use of any intellectual property owned by or duly licensed to the covered company2 7#f7 to require a covered company to work with or share data with any person who-- 7,a7 is on any list maintained by the ,federal ,government by which entities are identified as limited or prohibited from engaging in economic transactions as part of ,united ,states sanctions or export control regimes2 7,b7 is a foreign entity that has been identified by the ,federal ,government as a national security1 intelligence1 or law enforcement risk1 including the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china or the government of a foreign adversary 7as defined in section #h7;c77#b7 of the ,secure and ,trusted ,communications ,networks ,act of #bjai 7#dgc ,u4,s4,c4 #afjg7;c77#b7772 or 7,c7 is a foreign adversary controlled application 7as defined in section #b7;g77#c7 of the ,protecting ,americans from ,foreign ,adversary ,controlled ,applications ,act 7,public ,law #aah-ej2 #ae ,u4,s4,c4 #iija note772 or 7#g7 to limit any ,federal or ,state law relating to antitrust4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,app ,the term app means a software application or electronic service that may be run or directed by a user on a computer1 a mobile device1 or any other general purpose consumer computing device4 7#b7 ,app store ,the term app store means a publicly available website1 software application1 or other electronic service that may distribute apps from third-party developers to users of a computer1 a mobile device1 or any other general purpose consumer computing device4 7#c7 ,commission ,the term ,commission means the ,federal ,trade ,commission4 7#d7 ,covered company ,the term covered company means any person who owns or controls-- 7,a7 an app store for which the number of users in the ,united ,states exceeds #ajj1jjj1jjj2 and 7,b7 the operating system on which such app store operates4 7#e7 ,developer ,the term developer means a person who owns or controls an app or an app store4 7#f7 ,in-app payment system ,the term in-app payment system means an application1 service1 or user interface to manage billing or process a payment from a user of an app4 7#g7 ,nonpublic business information ,the term nonpublic business information means nonpublic data that is-- 7,a7 derived from a developer or an app or app store owned or controlled by a developer1 including an interaction between a user and the app or app store of the developer2 and 7,b7 collected by a covered company in the course of operating an app store or providing an operating system4 7#h7 ,operating system ,the term operating system includes an operating system configuration4 #g4 ,guidance2 effective date 7a7 ,,ftc guidance ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,commission shall issue guidance to assist covered companies in complying with this ,act4 7b7 ,effective date ,this ,act shall take effect on the date on which the ,commission issues guidance under subsection 7a74