Informing Consumers about Smart Devices Act

Summary

Requires makers of internet-connected consumer products to clearly disclose, before purchase, whether the product contains a camera or a microphone. Enforcement is handled by the Federal Trade Commission, which must issue compliance guidance and may bring enforcement actions for failures to disclose. The rule applies only to covered devices manufactured after the law’s effective date, excludes phones, laptops, tablets and devices consumers would reasonably expect to include cameras/microphones, and includes a timeline tying the effective date to FTC guidance.

• Manufacturers must disclose before purchase whether an internet-connected consumer device contains a camera or microphone.
• The law applies only to "covered devices": internet-connected consumer products that include a camera or microphone component, with several specific exclusions (phones, laptops, tablets, marketed cameras, etc.).
• Violations are enforced by the Federal Trade Commission under its unfair or deceptive acts and practices authority.
• The FTC must issue compliance guidance within 180 days of enactment; the law takes effect 180 days after the FTC issues that guidance.
• Devices manufactured, sold, or introduced into interstate commerce before the effective date are exempt.
• Guidance will recommend clear, conspicuous, age-appropriate disclosures and may allow pictorial/visual representations; guidance itself is not independently enforceable.
• Manufacturers may petition the FTC for tailored guidance, but enforcement actions must allege violations of the statute, not merely inconsistency with guidance.
• No private right of action is created in the statute; only the FTC is given enforcement authority.
• The bill aims to reduce consumer surprise about embedded cameras/microphones and increase transparency at point of sale.
• Compliance will impose labeling/notification costs on manufacturers and sellers of affected devices.