# 119-s-3292: Platform Accountability and Transparency Act

119-s-3292, Platform Accountability and Transparency Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3292
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-3292
- Congress: 119
- Title: Platform Accountability and Transparency Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-12-01
- Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. [D-DE] (D-DE)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Establishes platform transparency and controlled researcher access to platform-held data.** The bill would create a joint National Science Foundation and Federal Trade Commission process to approve vetted research projects and require public disclosures about content, advertising, algorithms, and moderation. - Qualified researchers at U.S. universities or 501(c) nonprofit organizations could access approved, privacy-protected datasets for noncommercial, public-interest projects, but requests must be necessary, proportional, and cannot include direct messages, biometric data, or precise geolocation. Judicial review of approval decisions would be barred. - Platforms with at least 50 million unique monthly U.S. users would have to provide required data, maintain data dictionaries, and support public repositories and APIs under security and privacy safeguards. Platforms may appeal or explain infeasibility, must notify the FTC of access restrictions, and receive a safe harbor when they follow the Act's safeguards. - The public would get a content repository for widely viewed posts and an advertising library that covers the full ad display period plus one year. The bill would also require semiannual disclosures about recommender or ranking algorithms and detailed moderation and violating content statistics.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-12-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA] (R-PA), 2026-01-08T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Federal research data access rules: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would require the NSF, with the FTC, to create a program for approved U.S. university and nonprofit researchers to get platform data. Platforms would have to provide specified data under FTC privacy and cybersecurity safeguards. Sensitive data like private messages, biometric d…
- More platform transparency for ads and content: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would make big platforms publish more data and APIs about ads, viral content, moderation, and recommendation systems. Ads would be kept while shown and for one year after last display, and listings must show sponsor, payer, targeting rules, and reach without personal recipient…
- Which platforms are covered: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would say which online services must follow the rules. Platforms would be covered if they let users make accounts, host user-created content, and mainly serve user interaction and ads. Platforms must have at least 50,000,000 unique U.S. monthly users in most months to be covere…
- Protections for journalists and researchers: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would protect journalists and researchers from platform lawsuits when they collect publicly available information using allowed digital methods for public-interest work. They would have to use covered methods, limit use to the stated public purpose, and take reasonable privacy…

## Related bills

- 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-2647: International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
- 119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-3292 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3292)

## Related
- [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-2647: International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2647)
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [119-s-1816: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1816)
- [119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1261)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3292 (as of 2026-09-10).