Bill bans hidden bots that scrape websites without disclosure.
H.R. 9915 — Stealth Bot Prohibition Act · Filed by Laurel Lee (R-FL) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 23, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill stops automated software from accessing websites without saying who it is. It stops bots from hiding their purpose. The FTC and state attorneys general can sue violators. Each violation costs up to $53,000. The amount rises each year with inflation. The law starts 180 days after Congress passes it.
Who it affects
Website owners gain protection from unauthorized scraping. Companies that use bots to train AI models could face lawsuits and fines.
One thing to notice
The bill requires bots to say their specific nature and purpose when accessing a website. It is unclear what counts as specific enough, which may confuse legitimate companies.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
5 cosponsors: 3 Republicans, 2 Democrats.
- Jul 23, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 23, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- scraping — Automatically collecting data from websites without permission.
- FTC — The Federal Trade Commission, the federal agency that protects people from unfair business practices.
- violation — Breaking a rule or law.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (6,646 characters) on Oct 31, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,778 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-31.
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