Bot Disclosure and Accountability Act of 2018 (S. 3127) — DIED
United States · S. 3127, 115th Cong. (2018) — died in committee
Sen. Dianne Feinstein's June 2018 bill would have required social media platforms to mandate disclosure of automated bots and would have banned political campaigns from using bots in disguised political ads. The first federal bot-disclosure proposal — never received committee action but inspired CA SB 1001 (2018, enacted) and NJ Bot Disclosure Act (2019, enacted).
Technical detail
S. 3127 (115th Cong., 2018) — would have (1) directed FTC to require social media providers to implement automated-bot disclosure rules, and (2) amended the Federal Election Campaign Act to bar candidates, campaigns, and political organizations from using bots to disguise online political advertising or deceive voters. Referred to Senate Commerce; no further action.
Who is protected: Social media users; voters (would have)
Who must comply: Social media platforms; political campaigns (would have)
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | United States |
|---|---|
| Level | Federal |
| Status | Expired |
| Protection strength | Unknown |
| Citation | S. 3127, 115th Cong. (2018) — died in committee |
| Enforced by | Would have been FTC + FEC |
| Private right of action | No — agency enforcement only |
| Topics | AI disclosure and transparency · election deepfakes · deepfakes |
| Last verified | 2026-06-17 |
| Official source | S. 3127 — Bot Disclosure and Accountability Act of 2018 ↗ |
More AI rules in United States
- FTC Act Section 5 (unfair/deceptive AI) · In effect
- TAKE IT DOWN Act · In effect
- FCRA (AI in credit & background checks) · In effect
- ECOA / Regulation B (AI credit discrimination) · In effect
- Title VII / ADA (AI hiring) · In effect
- COPPA + 2025 Rule (childrens data) · In effect
Related AI disclosure and transparency rules elsewhere
- CCPA/CPRA + ADMT Regulations · In effect
- AB 2013 (Training Data Transparency) · In effect
- SB 942 (AI Transparency Act) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
- SB 53 (Frontier AI Safety) · In effect
- Colorado AI Act (repealed) · Repealed / replaced
- SB 26-189 (Colorado ADMT Law) · Enacted (not yet in effect)
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