Bots Research Act

Core Policy Mechanism Top 1

FTC Bot Task Force Establishment

Creates a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) task force of government, academic, nonprofit, and industry experts to study how automated social media accounts affect public discourse and elections, then report findings to Congress.

• Population Scope Low The provision directly affects only the small set of task force members and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff assigned to support the study; downstream effects on the public are indirect and contingent on future congressional action.
• Budgetary Magnitude Low No funds are authorized or appropriated; members serve without pay or travel reimbursement and FTC support draws solely from existing agency resources.
• Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium The bill creates a new procedural statutory duty — a mandatory study-and-report obligation placed on FTC Chairman — rather than a substantive prohibition, enforceable right, or restructuring of agency authority.
• Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Chairman must establish the task force and appoint members with required sectoral representation, but retains discretion over total membership size, selection of specific individuals, and determination of any additional appropriate experts.
• Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low The provision imposes no enforcement mechanism, penalty, or compliance obligation on any external party; the only administrative load is internal FTC staff coordination to support the task force.
• Temporal Commitment High The statutory duty to have established this task force and delivered the report binds FTC with no expiration date or reauthorization requirement, persisting in statute until Congress acts to repeal it.