Foushee, Moylan Introduce Bipartisan SAFE Platforms Act to Protect Consumers from Online Scams

WASHINGTON, DC (September 21, 2026) — This week, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) and Congressman James Moylan (GU-AL) introduced H.R. 10433, the Stopping Abuse and Fraud Enabled by Platforms Act, or the SAFE Platforms Act , groundbreaking bipartisan legislation that would require online platforms to implement safety-by-design features and hold companies accountable for preventing fraudulent content targeting consumers, helping protect seniors and other vulnerable populations from scams, deception, and financial loss. “Online and AI-enabled scams are becoming more sophisticated and more devastating, costing North Carolina families $3 billion in financial losses last year,” said Congresswoman Foushee . “Scammers often exploit platform features to target users – especially seniors, veterans, and other communities – with few consequences for the platforms that enable and profit from this abuse. The SAFE Platforms Act sets clear guardrails and safety-by-design requirements so digital platforms verify advertisers, protect users’ privacy by default, and take steps to prevent fraud. I thank Congressman Moylan for his partnership on this critical legislation to protect consumers online.” “Online scams are becoming more sophisticated, and families should not be left to bear the consequences while the platforms being used to facilitate these schemes face little accountability,” said Congressman Moylan . “For Guam, where so much of our daily lives, commerce, and communication depend on online platforms, these protections matter. The SAFE Platforms Act puts commonsense safeguards in place to help prevent fraud before it happens, protect consumers’ personal and financial information, and give victims meaningful recourse when they are harmed. I’m proud to work across the aisle with Congresswoman Foushee to better protect consumers in Guam and across the country.” Americans are losing a staggering $119 billion every year to online scams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s Internet Crime Complaint Center report also shows that older Americans lost $4.8 billion to internet scams in 2024, a 43 percent increase from the previous year. Social media has emerged as a primary vehicle for these scams, with criminals exploiting direct messaging, fake profiles, recommendation algorithms, and ad-targeting tools to gain victims’ trust and spread deceptive content. The Better Business Bureau’s 2025 Scam Tracker Risk Report found that users primarily engaged with scammers on social media via advertisements, and that social media was the contact method with the highest percentage of reports with a dollar loss. The SAFE Platforms Act will hold platforms accountable when users are knowingly left vulnerable to these costly and emotionally distressing scams. Specifically, the SAFE Platforms Act would: Establish liability for platforms that knowingly help create or spread fraudulent content. Require platforms to configure default privacy-protective settings and prohibits a single “master setting” that would weaken all default privacy protections at once. Require platforms to detect and prevent the creation of fraudulent accounts and profiles and implement design features to prevent deceptive or misleading advertising practices. Standardize reporting and require online platforms to establish a fraud reporting system for users to report suspected fraud, including an accessible and clearly visible “Report Scam” button on all content that could contain advertisements, commercial, or promotional material. Require platforms to provide users with basic “know your customer” (KYC) information about advertisers, including their legal name, location, and length of time on the platform, and require additional verification for accounts that will be used for commercial purposes or high-risk categories like financial services, health products, housing, gambling, cryptocurrency, and age-restricted goods. Require platforms to implement accessibility and design requirements for advertising content, including minimum font size, clear labeling, and standards for making advertising content accessible to users with disabilities. Limits the application of section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 so that it does not impair enforcement of the Act. Provide a safe harbor from liability for platforms that implement reasonable policies and procedures for addressing fraudulent content. Direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce these requirements as violations of its unfair or deceptive acts or practices jurisdiction and empower state attorneys general and victims of platform-enabled scams with a private right of action when harms occur. The SAFE Platforms Act is endorsed by Consumer Federation of America, Hispanic Federation, Oregon Consumer Justice, and Public Citizen. “As concerns grow regarding the future dangers of unregulated AI, it is also important to highlight the harms it is enabling right now, said Emily Peterson-Cassin, Director of Competition and Market Fairness at the Consumer Federation of America . "Fraudulent content and scams, supercharged by AI, are taking over social media platforms and costing us billions. We applaud Rep. Foushee for this critical first step towards making our online spaces safer.” “Scammers are leveraging online platforms to find and target consumers, and it is only getting worse with AI super powering this issue. The SAFE Platforms Act recognizes that platforms have a role to play in preventing fraud, especially when their advertising systems, recommendation tools, and other design features help facilitate it. By giving victims meaningful recourse, requiring basic safeguards against scams, and holding Big Tech accountable, this legislation would provide consumers with protections that are badly needed in an era of sophisticated online and AI-enabled scams,” said J.B. Branch, Director of Federal AI Governance and Technology Policy at Public Citizen. The full text of the bill can be found here . ### Print Email Share Tweet