# 119-hr-9706: Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act

119-hr-9706, Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-24).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9706
- As of: 2026-08-24
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9706
- Congress: 119
- Title: Facial Recognition to Protect Children Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-15
- Sponsor: Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ)
- Cosponsors: 9
- Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-24

## Summary

**Facial-recognition age checks to protect children** are paired with a wide rewrite of rules for prediction-market "event contracts" to block harmful listings and boost retail safeguards. The bill forces platforms to verify users are 18 or older and strengthens market oversight to protect ordinary participants.

## Cosponsors (9)

- Rep. Van Drew, Jefferson [R-NJ-2] (R-NJ), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9] (D-FL), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Torres, Ritchie [D-NY-15] (D-NY), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bresnahan, Robert P. [R-PA-8] (R-PA), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McDonald Rivet, Kristen [D-MI-8] (D-MI), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. LaLota, Nick [R-NY-1] (R-NY), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] (D-NY), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Westerman, Bruce [R-AR-4] (R-AR), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Retail advocate and advisory council: benefit, low. If enacted, the Commission would create an Office of the Retail Advocate to help retail participants resolve major transaction problems and study rule impacts. The Retail Advocate would be appointed by the Chairman and must send an annual report to Congress by September 30. An Ombudsman would be na…
- Stronger fund protections and AML checks: mixed, medium. If enacted, rules would require customer (member) funds tied to certain event contracts to be segregated from a clearing organization's own funds. Clearing organizations would have to treat fully collateralized customer contracts separately from leveraged contracts when managing defaults. Brokers a…
- Block harmful event contracts and ads: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Commission would be able to bar event contracts it finds contrary to the public interest, including contracts tied to unlawful activity, terrorism, assassination, war, violence, or gambling. The Commission would set criteria for these bans and give at least a 60-day public comment p…
- Facial ID age checks for platforms: mixed, low. If enacted, wagering and prediction platforms would have to verify users are over 18 using commercial facial recognition before allowing access, wagers, or orders. Platforms would be allowed to collect only the biometric data reasonably needed for that age check and must delete biometric data not n…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250
- 119-hr-1151: Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-9706 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9706)

## Related
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422)
- [119-hr-9250: Great American Outdoors Act 250](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9250)
- [119-hr-1151: Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1151)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9706 (as of 2026-08-24).