[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2418 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2418

To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish university 
 labs for student-developed technology-based solutions for countering 
               online recruitment of violent extremists.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 17, 2015

Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Johnson) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
                        and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish university 
 labs for student-developed technology-based solutions for countering 
               online recruitment of violent extremists.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Online Recruitment of 
Violent Extremists Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate Congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and 
        the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
        Representatives.
            (2) Center for homeland security.--The term ``center for 
        homeland security'' means a university-based center the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security designates under section 
        308(b)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
        188(b)(2)).
            (3) Countering violent extremism.--The terms ``countering 
        violent extremism'' and ``CVE''--
                    (A) mean proactive and relevant actions to counter 
                efforts by extremists to radicalize, recruit, and 
                mobilize followers to violence and to address the 
                conditions that allow for violent extremist recruitment 
                and radicalization; and
                    (B) do not include disruptive actions that focus on 
                stopping acts of terrorism by individuals who have 
                already subscribed to violence.
            (4) CVE lab.--The term ``CVE Lab'' means a physical space 
        and academic program at a center for homeland security 
        designated for participating students to develop and test 
        technology-based CVE solutions.
            (5) Institution of higher education.--The term 
        ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1001).
            (6) Participating student.--The term ``participating 
        student'' means a student participating in a CVE Lab.
            (7) Technology-based cve solution.--The term ``technology-
        based CVE solution'' means an instrument developed by a 
        participating student under section 5(b)(1) that--
                    (A) appeals to young consumers of online and social 
                media;
                    (B) counters online recruitment of violent 
                extremists or builds resilience against online 
                extremist recruitment amongst participating students' 
                peers; and
                    (C) operates on a technological platform or is 
                technological in nature, including social media 
                campaigns and mobile software applications.
            (8) Violent extremism.--The term ``violent extremism'' 
        means ideologically motivated international terrorism or 
        domestic terrorism, as those terms are defined in section 2331 
        of title 18, United States Code.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds and declares the following:
            (1) The ability to rapidly disseminate graphic images and 
        ideas to shape the public narrative makes social media a 
        strategic messaging and recruitment mechanism for terrorists, 
        insurgent groups, and governments engaged in conflict.
            (2) The United States Government and its partners around 
        the world have not been effective in using social media to 
        produce alternative narratives to stem terrorist recruitment 
        through social media.
            (3) Due to the strategic role the Internet plays in 
        recruitment to terrorist violence, online counter-narratives 
        promoted by non-governmental peers are most likely to directly 
        reach and resonate with individuals who aspire to become 
        foreign fighters or carry out terrorist attacks.
            (4) There exists youth-led demand for action-oriented 
        solutions to countering violent extremism, as evidenced by the 
        Youth Action Agenda to Prevent Violent Extremism and Promote 
        Peace, which was produced by young activists at the Global 
        Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism on the margins of the 
        70th United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, on 
        September 28, 2015.
            (5) The establishment of university-based labs for students 
        to develop technology-based solutions will enable more 
        innovative and effective alternative narratives to counter 
        violent extremist recruitment online.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF CVE LABS.

    In carrying out clause (xv) of section 308(b)(2)(B) of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 188(b)(2)(B)), as added by section 7, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Under Secretary 
for Science and Technology and in coordination with the office within 
the Department of Homeland Security responsible for coordinating the 
CVE efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, may--
            (1) establish 1 or more CVE Labs; and
            (2) reprioritize grants to centers for homeland security to 
        fund each CVE Lab.

SEC. 5. FUNCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS OF CVE LABS.

    (a) Requirements.--The head of an institution of higher education 
at which a CVE Lab is established shall ensure that the faculty of the 
CVE Lab--
            (1) create a curriculum for participating students to 
        develop and test technology-based CVE solutions that--
                    (A) may be drawn from pre-existing curricula or 
                courses at an institution of higher education;
                    (B) incorporates a CVE orientation program for 
                students participating in the Lab that is informed by 
                cross-cultural communication issues experienced by CVE 
                practitioners;
                    (C) incorporates technology-based business 
                development curricula; and
                    (D) requires participating students develop a final 
                business plan describing how the technology-based CVE 
                solution would be scaled up for investment and possible 
                deployment by private sector entities, philanthropic 
                organizations, or Federal, State, local, or tribal 
                agencies;
            (2) invite Federal Government officials to participate in 
        the orientation required by paragraph (1)(B);
            (3) provide each participating student a CVE safety 
        briefing by Federal Government officials during the program 
        orientation that outlines precautions participating students 
        can take to protect themselves from becoming a target of 
        terrorists; and
            (4) supervise any deployment of a technology-based CVE 
        solution by a participating student.
    (b) Additional Functions of CVE Labs.--The head of an institution 
of higher education at which a CVE Lab is established shall ensure that 
the faculty of the CVE Lab, in coordination with the Department of 
Homeland Security and other appropriate entities including each CVE 
Lab--
            (1) develop a framework for participation and support of 
        other programs that encourage students to develop peer-to-peer 
        solutions for CVE;
            (2) develop a common inventory of research, in conjunction 
        with other university-based centers for homeland security that 
        establish CVE Labs, on core CVE issues to inform CVE Lab 
        curricula in subsequent years;
            (3) analyze social networks to identify individuals on 
        social media who are susceptible to recruitment to violent 
        extremism and at whom technology-based CVE solutions can be 
        directed, and indicators of susceptibility recruitment to 
        violent extremism; and
            (4) identify experts in CVE who can apply the technology-
        based CVE solutions to target individuals who are susceptible 
        to recruitment to violent extremism.
    (c) Administration of CVE Lab.--The head of an institution of 
higher education at which a CVE Lab is established--
            (1) may determine the department and faculty of the 
        institution of higher education that will be responsible for 
        administering the CVE Lab and have final approval of who will 
        be participating students at the CVE Lab; and
            (2) shall ensure that the faculty administering the CVE 
        Lab, additional CVE Lab instructors and advisors, and 
        participating students represent an interdisciplinary cross-
        section of the institution of higher education, including 
        disciplines not traditionally associated with counterterrorism.

SEC. 6. ASSESSMENT AND REPORT.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which a CVE 
Lab is first established, the head of the institution of higher 
education at which the CVE Lab is established shall submit to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security and the appropriate congressional 
committees a report regarding the impact of the CVE Lab.
    (b) Assessment.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through 
the Under Secretary for Science and Technology and in coordination with 
the office within the Department of Homeland Security responsible for 
coordinating the CVE efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, 
shall--
            (1) commission an independent third-party assessment of the 
        impact of each CVE Lab; and
            (2) not later than 180 days after the date on which the 
        assessment required under paragraph (1) is completed, provide 
        the assessment to the appropriate Congressional committees.

SEC. 7. FUNCTIONS OF CENTERS FOR HOMELAND SECURITY.

    Section 308(b)(2)(B) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
188(b)(2)(B)) is amended in section 308(b)(2)(B), by adding at the end 
the following:
                            ``(xv) Countering violent extremism.''.

SEC. 8. SUNSET.

    Sections 1 through 6 shall expire on the date that is 7 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act.
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