TOTAL Screen Time Act

This bill proposes a voluntary technical standard, not a mandatory regulation. It falls within the power of Congress to promote the general Welfare and to regulate interstate commerce, as the standard would facilitate uniformity across devices that move in commerce. The voluntary nature avoids any commandeering of state authority or infringement on individual liberty. The delegation to the Director of NIST is a proper exercise of legislative discretion, as it concerns a technical matter requiring expert judgment, and the standard is merely advisory.

The Constitution grants the federal government only enumerated powers. The Tenth Amendment reserves to the States or the people all powers not delegated to the United States. Nowhere in the Constitution is Congress authorized to regulate voluntary technical standards for screentime limits on private devices. Such an action exceeds the limited sphere of federal authority and intrudes upon the liberties of the people and the prerogatives of the States. Even if the standard is termed 'voluntary,' the involvement of a federal agency in its development implies a federal influence over private condu…

The Constitution does not delegate to the United States any power over the regulation of screentime on devices, which pertains to public health and consumer behavior—matters reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment. The bill directs a federal officer to support a voluntary technical standard for this purpose, but even voluntary federal action in an area not enumerated in Article I, Section 8 exceeds the limited powers granted to the general government. The Tenth Amendment and the principle of enumerated powers, as articulated in Federalist No. 45, require that all actions of the federa…

Congress may, under its power to regulate commerce among the several states, encourage the development of voluntary technical standards that facilitate uniformity and reduce burdens on interstate commerce. However, the Constitution requires that such legislation be consistent with the principles of federalism and not exceed the enumerated powers. If the bill merely directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to support the creation of a voluntary standard—without coercing compliance or imposing penalties—it likely falls within the necessary and proper means to promote commerce, …