[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 797 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 797

To require transparency, accountability, and protections for consumers 
                                online.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 17 (legislative day, March 16), 2021

 Mr. Schatz (for himself and Mr. Thune) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require transparency, accountability, and protections for consumers 
                                online.

    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 ``Platform Accountability and Consumer 
Transparency Act'' or the ``PACT Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--Except as otherwise provided, the term 
        ``Commission'' means the Federal Trade Commission.
            (2) Demonetize.--The term ``demonetize'', with respect to 
        content on an interactive computer service, means to take 
        action to prohibit the information content provider that 
        generated or disseminated the content from receiving direct 
        financial compensation from the interactive computer service 
        provider based on the content.
            (3) Deprioritize.--The term ``deprioritize'', with respect 
        to content on an interactive computer service, means to take 
        affirmative, content-specific action to reduce the priority 
        level of the content.
            (4) Illegal activity.--The term ``illegal activity'' means 
        activity conducted by an information content provider that has 
        been determined by a trial or appellate Federal or State court 
        to violate Federal criminal or civil law.
            (5) Illegal content.--The term ``illegal content'' means 
        information provided by an information content provider that 
        has been determined by a trial or appellate Federal or State 
        court to violate--
                    (A) Federal criminal or civil law; or
                    (B) State defamation law.
            (6) Individual provider.--The term ``individual provider'' 
        means a provider of an interactive computer service that, 
        during the most recent 12-month period--
                    (A) received fewer than 100,000 unique monthly 
                visitors; and
                    (B) accrued revenue of less than $1,000,000.
            (7) Information content provider.--The term ``information 
        content provider'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230).
            (8) Interactive computer service.--The term ``interactive 
        computer service'' has the meaning given the term in section 
        230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230).
            (9) Potentially policy-violating content.--The term 
        ``potentially policy-violating content'' means content that may 
        violate the acceptable use policy of the provider of an 
        interactive computer service.
            (10) Small business provider.--The term ``small business 
        provider'' means a provider of an interactive computer service 
        that is not an individual provider and, during the most recent 
        12-month period--
                    (A) received fewer than 1,000,000 unique monthly 
                visitors; and
                    (B) accrued revenue of less than $50,000,000.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Technological advancements involving the internet and 
        interactive computer service providers have led to innovations 
        that offer substantial benefit to the people and the economy of 
        the United States.
            (2) People in the United States increasingly rely on 
        interactive computer services to communicate, gather 
        information, and conduct transactions that are central to our 
        economic, political, social, and cultural life.
            (3) The content moderation decisions made by providers of 
        interactive computer services shape the online information 
        ecosystem available to people in the United States and impact 
        free expression.
            (4) There is a compelling government interest in having 
        providers of interactive computer services provide information 
        to the public about their content moderation policies and 
        practices because of the impact those policies may have on the 
        speech interests of their consumers.
            (5) The people of the United States benefit from 
        transparent information about the decisions interactive 
        computer service providers make regarding their content 
        moderation practices, including removing, maintaining, 
        blocking, amplifying, prioritizing, or deprioritizing 
        information provided by other consumers.
            (6) The Federal Government should hold interactive computer 
        service providers accountable when they fail to respond to 
        consumers' concerns about their content moderation decisions.
            (7) Federal and State court decisions and Federal statutes 
        and regulations that apply to offline commerce do not always 
        govern online commerce and communications.
            (8) The rights of consumers should extend to online 
        commerce and communications to provide a level playing field 
        for all consumers and companies, and to prevent wrongdoing and 
        victimization of people in the United States.

SEC. 4. POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to preserve the internet and other interactive computer 
        services as forums for diversity of political discourse, 
        opportunities for cultural development, and places for 
        intellectual and commercial activity;
            (2) to ensure consumers have accessible and clear 
        information about the acceptable use policies of interactive 
        computer service providers so that consumers are informed about 
        the content moderation policies and practices of those 
        providers when they participate in, or engage with, those 
        services;
            (3) to create accountability and transparency measures to 
        diminish the likelihood that interactive computer service 
        providers are engaging in unfair or deceptive practices;
            (4) to encourage the development and use of technologies 
        that minimize illegal activities and content and potentially 
        policy-violating content;
            (5) to ensure that the consumer rights of users of 
        interactive computer services are maintained and extended to 
        activities that the users may participate in online; and
            (6) to hold interactive computer service providers 
        accountable, and exempt them from immunity protections under 
        section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (commonly known 
        as ``section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996'') 
        (47 U.S.C. 230), when they help develop illegal content or 
        contribute to illegal content or conduct online.

SEC. 5. TRANSPARENCY AND PROCESS REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Acceptable Use Policy.--
            (1) Publication of acceptable use policy.--A provider of an 
        interactive computer service shall publish an acceptable use 
        policy in accordance with paragraph (2) in a location that is 
        easily accessible to the user.
            (2) Contents of policy.--The acceptable use policy of a 
        provider of an interactive computer service shall--
                    (A) reasonably inform users about the types of 
                content that are allowed on the interactive computer 
                service;
                    (B) explain the steps the provider takes to ensure 
                content complies with the acceptable use policy;
                    (C) explain the means by which users can notify the 
                provider of potentially policy-violating content, 
                illegal content, or illegal activity, which shall 
                include--
                            (i) subject to subsection (e), making 
                        available a live company representative through 
                        a toll-free telephone number during regular 
                        business hours for not fewer than 8 hours per 
                        day and 5 days per week to assist users with 
                        the process of making a complaint;
                            (ii) an email address or relevant intake 
                        mechanism to handle user complaints; and
                            (iii) subject to subsection (e), a 
                        complaint system described in subsection (b); 
                        and
                    (D) include publication of a biannual transparency 
                report outlining actions taken to enforce the policy, 
                as described in subsection (d).
    (b) Complaint System.--Subject to subsection (e), a provider of an 
interactive computer service shall provide a system that is easily 
accessible to a user through which the user may submit in good faith, 
and track, a complaint regarding any content or activity on the 
interactive computer service, including a complaint regarding--
            (1) potentially policy-violating content, illegal content, 
        or illegal activity; or
            (2) a decision of the interactive computer service provider 
        to remove content posted by the information content provider.
    (c) Processing of Complaints.--
            (1) Complaints regarding illegal content, illegal activity, 
        or potentially policy-violating content.--
                    (A) Illegal content or illegal activity.--
                            (i) In general.--Subject to subsection (e), 
                        and except as provided in clause (ii), if a 
                        provider of an interactive computer service 
                        receives notice of illegal content or illegal 
                        activity on the interactive computer service 
                        that substantially complies with the 
                        requirements under paragraph (3)(B)(ii) of 
                        section 230(c) of the Communications Act of 
                        1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)), as added by section 
                        6(a), the provider shall remove the content or 
                        stop the activity not later than 4 days after 
                        receiving the notice, subject to reasonable 
                        exceptions, including concerns about the 
                        legitimacy of the notice.
                            (ii) Timeline for notice emanating from 
                        default judgments and stipulated agreements.--
                        If a notice of illegal content or illegal 
                        activity described in clause (i) emanates from 
                        a default judgment or stipulated agreement, 
                        that clause shall be applied by substituting 
                        ``10 days'' for ``4 days''.
                    (B) Potentially policy-violating content.--Subject 
                to subsection (e), if a provider of an interactive 
                computer service receives a complaint made in good 
                faith through the complaint system of the provider 
                established under subsection (b) regarding potentially 
                policy-violating content on the interactive computer 
                service, the provider shall, not later than 14 days 
                after receiving the complaint--
                            (i) review the content;
                            (ii) determine whether the content adheres 
                        to the acceptable use policy of the provider; 
                        and
                            (iii) initiate appropriate steps based on 
                        the determination made under clause (ii), 
                        subject to reasonable extensions in cases 
                        requiring extraordinary investigation.
            (2) Process after removal of content.--
                    (A) Removal based on user complaint.--
                            (i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), if 
                        a provider of an interactive computer service 
                        removes potentially policy-violating content 
                        based on a user complaint, the provider of the 
                        interactive computer service shall, 
                        concurrently with the removal--
                                    (I) notify the information content 
                                provider and the complainant of the 
                                removal and explain why the content was 
                                removed;
                                    (II) allow the information content 
                                provider to appeal the decision; and
                                    (III) notify the information 
                                content provider and the complainant 
                                of--
                                            (aa) the determination 
                                        regarding the appeal under 
                                        subclause (II); and
                                            (bb) in the case of a 
                                        reversal of the decision to 
                                        remove the content in question, 
                                        the reason for the reversal.
                            (ii) Exceptions.--A provider of an 
                        interactive computer service shall not be 
                        required to provide an information content 
                        provider with notice or an opportunity to 
                        appeal under clause (i) if--
                                    (I) the provider of the interactive 
                                computer service is unable to contact 
                                the information content provider after 
                                taking reasonable steps to do so; or
                                    (II)(aa) the provider of the 
                                interactive computer service reasonably 
                                believes that such notice would risk 
                                imminent harm to any person or impede 
                                law enforcement activities; or
                                    (bb) a law enforcement agency, 
                                based on a reasonable belief that such 
                                notice would interfere with an ongoing 
                                investigation, requests that the 
                                provider of the interactive computer 
                                service not provide such notice.
                    (B) Removal based on moderation decisions of 
                interactive computer service provider.--If a provider 
                of an interactive computer service receives notice, 
                through a complaint from the information content 
                provider, that the provider of the interactive computer 
                service removed content of the information content 
                provider that the information content provider believes 
                does not violate the acceptable use policy of the 
                provider of the interactive computer service, the 
                provider of the interactive computer service shall, not 
                later than 14 days after receiving notice--
                            (i) review the content;
                            (ii) determine whether the content adheres 
                        to the acceptable use policy of the provider of 
                        the interactive computer service;
                            (iii) take appropriate steps based on the 
                        determination made under clause (ii); and
                            (iv) notify the information content 
                        provider regarding the determination made under 
                        clause (ii) and steps taken under clause (iii).
    (d) Biannual Transparency Report.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to subsection (e), as part of the 
        acceptable use policy required under subsection (a), a provider 
        of an interactive computer service shall publish a transparency 
        report every 6 months in accordance with this subsection.
            (2) Requirements.--A provider of an interactive computer 
        service shall include in the transparency report required under 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) the total number of unique monthly visitors to 
                the interactive computer service during the preceding 
                6-month and 12-month periods;
                    (B) the number of instances during the preceding 6-
                month period in which illegal content, illegal 
                activity, or potentially policy-violating content was 
                flagged--
                            (i) due to a complaint by a user of the 
                        interactive computer service;
                            (ii) internally, by--
                                    (I) an employee or contractor of 
                                the provider; or
                                    (II) an internal automated 
                                detection tool, not including content 
                                or activity identified as--
                                            (aa) spam; or
                                            (bb) fraudulent activity; 
                                        or
                            (iii) by another type of entity, such as a 
                        government agency, third-party researcher, or 
                        other provider of an interactive computer 
                        service;
                    (C) the number of instances during the preceding 6-
                month period in which the interactive computer service 
                provider took action with respect to illegal content, 
                illegal activity, or known potentially policy-violating 
                content due to its nature as illegal content, illegal 
                activity, or known potentially policy-violating 
                content, respectively, and the type of action taken, 
                including the number of instances of content removal, 
                content demonetization, content deprioritization, 
                appending content with an assessment, account 
                suspension, account removal, or any other action taken 
                in accordance with the acceptable use policy of the 
                provider, categorized by--
                            (i) the category of rule violated, with 
                        respect to the acceptable use policy;
                            (ii) the source of the flag, including 
                        government, user, internal automated detection 
                        tool, coordination with other interactive 
                        computer service providers, or personnel 
                        employed or contracted for by the provider;
                            (iii) the country of the information 
                        content provider; and
                            (iv) whether the action was in response to 
                        a coordinated campaign, as determined by the 
                        interactive computer service provider;
                    (D) the number of instances during the preceding 6-
                month period in which the interactive computer service 
                provider decided to not take action under subsection 
                (c)(1)(B)(iii) with respect to content that violated 
                the acceptable use policy of the provider;
                    (E)(i) the number of instances during the preceding 
                6-month period in which an information content provider 
                appealed a decision to remove potentially policy-
                violating content; and
                    (ii) the percentage of appeals described in clause 
                (i) that resulted in the restoration of content;
                    (F) a descriptive summary of the kinds of tools, 
                practices, actions, and techniques used during the 
                preceding 6-month period in enforcing the acceptable 
                use policy of the interactive computer service provider 
                that does not jeopardize the effectiveness of these 
                tools; and
                    (G) any other information with respect to the 
                preceding 6-month period that would enhance the 
                effectiveness of the transparency report, as determined 
                by the interactive computer service provider.
            (3) Privacy.--An interactive computer service provider 
        shall publish the transparency report under paragraph (1) in a 
        manner that preserves the privacy of information content 
        providers.
            (4) Format.--A provider of an interactive computer service 
        shall publish the information described in paragraph (2) with 
        an open license, in a machine-readable and open format, and in 
        a location that is easily accessible to consumers.
    (e) Individual and Small Business Provider Exemptions.--
            (1) Individual providers.--The following provisions shall 
        not apply to an individual provider:
                    (A) Clauses (i) and (iii) of subsection (a)(2)(C) 
                (relating to a live company representative and a 
                complaint system, respectively).
                    (B) Subsection (b) (relating to a complaint 
                system).
                    (C) Paragraphs (1)(B) and (2) of subsection (c) 
                (relating to processing complaints regarding 
                potentially policy-violating content and the process 
                after removal of such content, respectively).
                    (D) Subsection (d) (relating to a transparency 
                report).
            (2) Small business providers.--
                    (A) In general.--The following provisions shall not 
                apply to a small business provider:
                            (i) Subsection (a)(2)(C)(i) (relating to a 
                        live company representative).
                            (ii) Subsection (d) (relating to a 
                        transparency report).
                    (B) Deadline for processing complaints regarding 
                potentially policy-violating content.--Subsection 
                (c)(1)(B) shall be applied to a small business provider 
                by substituting ``21 days'' for ``14 days''.
    (f) Internet Infrastructure Service Exemption.--Subsections (a) 
through (e) shall not apply to--
            (1) a provider of an interactive computer service that is 
        used by another interactive computer service for the 
        management, control, or operation of that other interactive 
        computer service, including for services such as web hosting, 
        domain registration, content delivery networks, caching, 
        security, back-end data storage, and cloud management; or
            (2) a provider of broadband internet access service, as 
        that term is defined in section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of 
        Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).
    (g) Enforcement by Commission.--
            (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--
                    (A) In general.--A violation of subsection 
                (c)(1)(B), (c)(2), or (d) shall be treated as a 
                violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act 
                or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 
                Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
                    (B) Limitation on authority.--Nothing in 
                subparagraph (A) shall be construed to supersede 
                paragraph (1) or (2) of section 230(c) of the 
                Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)) or to 
                otherwise authorize the Commission to review any action 
                or decision by a provider of an interactive computer 
                service related to the application of the acceptable 
                use policy of the provider.
            (2) Powers of commission.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (C), the Commission shall enforce this section in the 
                same manner, by the same means, and with the same 
                jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 
                applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 
                Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated 
                into and made a part of this Act.
                    (B) Privileges and immunities.--Except as provided 
                in subparagraph (C), any person who violates this 
                section shall be subject to the penalties and entitled 
                to the privileges and immunities provided in the 
                Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
                    (C) Nonprofit organizations.--Notwithstanding 
                section 4 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
                U.S.C. 44) or any jurisdictional limitation of the 
                Commission, the Commission shall also enforce this 
                section, in the same manner provided in subparagraphs 
                (A) and (B) of this paragraph, with respect to 
                organizations not organized to carry on business for 
                their own profit or that of their members.
    (h) No Effect on Other Laws.--Nothing in this section shall impair, 
limit, expand, or otherwise affect the scope or application of--
            (1) rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;
            (2) section 1651 of title 28, United States Code (commonly 
        known as the ``All Writs Act''); or
            (3) any law pertaining to intellectual property, 
        including--
                    (A) title 17, United States Code; and
                    (B) the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the 
                registration and protection of trademarks used in 
                commerce, to carry out the provisions of certain 
                international conventions, and for other purposes'', 
                approved July 5, 1946 (commonly known as the 
                ``Trademark Act of 1946'' or the ``Lanham Act'') (15 
                U.S.C. 1051 et seq.).
    (i) GAO Report on Whistleblower Protection and Awards.--Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall submit a report to Congress 
assessing the viability, including the anticipated cost and benefit to 
consumers, of establishing a whistleblower protection and award program 
for employees and contractors of interactive computer services, to be 
administered by the Commission, that would enable reporting and 
enforcement of violations of consumer protections that take place 
online.
    (j) NIST Voluntary Framework.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute 
        of Standards and Technology shall develop a voluntary 
        framework, with input from relevant experts, that consists of 
        nonbinding standards, guidelines, and best practices to manage 
        risk and shared challenges related to, for the purposes of this 
        Act, good faith moderation practices by interactive computer 
        service providers.
            (2) Contents.--The framework developed under paragraph (1) 
        shall include--
                    (A) technical standards and processes for the 
                sharing of information among providers of an 
                interactive computer service;
                    (B) recommendations on automated detection tools 
                and the appropriate nature and level of human review to 
                correct for machine error in assessing nuanced or 
                context-specific issues;
                    (C) standards and processes for providing 
                researchers access to data to conduct scientific, 
                historical, statistical, and other relevant research, 
                including with respect to content that is removed, 
                demonetized, or deprioritized by the provider of an 
                interactive computer service; and
                    (D) methods to strengthen the capacity of a 
                provider of an interactive computer service to 
                authenticate documentation of a determination by a 
                court that content or an activity violates Federal law 
                or State defamation law.

SEC. 6. PROTECTION EXEMPTIONS.

    (a) Exemption From Liability Protection.--Section 230(c) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(3) Protection exemption.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                protection under paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 
                provider of an interactive computer service, with 
                respect to illegal content shared or illegal activity 
                occurring on the interactive computer service, if the 
                provider--
                            ``(i) has actual knowledge of the illegal 
                        content or illegal activity; and
                            ``(ii) does not remove the illegal content 
                        or stop the illegal activity--
                                    ``(I) within 4 days of acquiring 
                                that knowledge, subject to reasonable 
                                exceptions based on concerns about the 
                                legitimacy of the notice; or
                                    ``(II) if the knowledge is acquired 
                                from a notice that emanates from a 
                                default judgment or stipulated 
                                agreement--
                                            ``(aa) within 10 days of 
                                        acquiring that knowledge; or
                                            ``(bb) if the provider 
                                        seeks to vacate the default 
                                        judgment or stipulated 
                                        agreement under subparagraph 
                                        (B)(i)(III) and the proceeding 
                                        initiated under that 
                                        subparagraph results in a 
                                        determination that the default 
                                        judgment or stipulated 
                                        agreement should remain intact, 
                                        within 24 hours of that 
                                        determination.
                    ``(B) Notice emanating from default judgment or 
                stipulated agreement.--
                            ``(i) Vacatur of default judgment or 
                        stipulated agreement.--Subparagraph (A) shall 
                        not apply to a provider of an interactive 
                        computer service if--
                                    ``(I) a notice of illegal content 
                                or illegal activity described in that 
                                subparagraph emanates from a default 
                                judgment or stipulated agreement;
                                    ``(II) the notice described in 
                                subclause (I) does not include a sworn 
                                affidavit with sufficient evidence to 
                                constitute a prima facie showing in 
                                support of each underlying cause of 
                                action upon which the default judgment 
                                or stipulated agreement was obtained;
                                    ``(III) not later than 10 days 
                                after receiving the notice, the 
                                interactive computer service provider 
                                files, in good faith, to intervene and 
                                seek to vacate the default judgment or 
                                stipulated agreement in the court in 
                                which the judgment was obtained; and
                                    ``(IV) the proceeding initiated 
                                under subclause (III) results in 
                                vacatur of the default judgment or 
                                stipulated agreement.
                            ``(ii) Costs and fees.--If the proceeding 
                        initiated under clause (i)(III) results in a 
                        determination that the default judgment or 
                        stipulated agreement was sought fraudulently, 
                        the provider of the interactive computer 
                        service may seek reimbursement of costs and 
                        fees relating to the proceeding.
                    ``(C) Notice of illegal content or illegal 
                activity.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A provider of an 
                        interactive computer service shall be deemed to 
                        have actual knowledge of illegal content or 
                        illegal activity for purposes of subparagraph 
                        (A) only if the provider receives notice of 
                        such content or activity that substantially 
                        complies with the requirements under clause 
                        (ii) of this subparagraph.
                            ``(ii) Elements.--Notice of illegal content 
                        or illegal activity provided to a provider of 
                        an interactive computer service as described in 
                        clause (i) shall be in writing and include the 
                        following:
                                    ``(I) A copy of the order from a 
                                trial or appellate Federal or State 
                                court, in its entirety, and unsealed if 
                                the court has ordered it to be sealed, 
                                under which the content or activity was 
                                determined to violate Federal criminal 
                                or civil law or State defamation law, 
                                and to the extent available, any 
                                references substantiating the validity 
                                of the order, such as the web addresses 
                                of public court docket information.
                                    ``(II) Information that is 
                                reasonably sufficient to allow the 
                                provider to identify and locate the 
                                illegal content or illegal activity, 
                                including each user or account engaged 
                                in the illegal activity and specific 
                                locations of content or accounts 
                                involved in the illegal content or 
                                activity, such as URLs, links, or 
                                unique usernames.
                                    ``(III) Information reasonably 
                                sufficient to permit the provider to 
                                contact the complaining party, which 
                                shall include--
                                            ``(aa) if the complaining 
                                        party is a user of the 
                                        interactive computer service, 
                                        information identifying the 
                                        user account; and
                                            ``(bb) if the complaining 
                                        party is not a user of the 
                                        interactive computer service, 
                                        an email address of the 
                                        complaining party.
                                    ``(IV) A statement by the 
                                complaining party, made under penalty 
                                of perjury in accordance with section 
                                1746 of title 28, United States Code, 
                                that--
                                            ``(aa) the information in 
                                        the notice is accurate; and
                                            ``(bb) the content or 
                                        activity described in the 
                                        notice has been determined by a 
                                        trial or appellate Federal or 
                                        State court to violate Federal 
                                        criminal or civil law or State 
                                        defamation law.
                    ``(D) Notice to information content provider before 
                removal or stopping.--A provider of an interactive 
                computer service that receives notice of illegal 
                content or illegal activity shall notify the 
                information content provider before removing the 
                content or stopping the activity, subject to 
                commercially reasonable expectations.
                    ``(E) Limitations for internet infrastructure 
                services.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with 
                respect to--
                            ``(i) an interactive computer service that 
                        is used by another interactive computer service 
                        for the management, control, or operation of 
                        that other interactive computer service, 
                        including for services such as web hosting, 
                        domain registration, content delivery networks, 
                        caching, security, back-end data storage, and 
                        cloud management; or
                            ``(ii) a provider of broadband internet 
                        access service, as that term is defined in 
                        section 8.1(b) of title 47, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations (or any successor regulation).
                    ``(F) Monitoring or affirmative fact-seeking not 
                required.--Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 
                to condition the applicability of paragraph (1) to a 
                provider of an interactive computer service on the 
                provider monitoring the interactive computer service or 
                affirmatively seeking facts indicating illegal content 
                or illegal activity in order to identify instances of 
                content or activity additional to any instances about 
                which the provider has received notice.
                    ``(G) Enforcement exemption.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph shall be construed to impair or limit the 
                application of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (e).
                    ``(H) No effect on other laws.--Nothing in this 
                paragraph shall impair, limit, expand, or otherwise 
                affect the scope or application of--
                            ``(i) rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
                        Procedure;
                            ``(ii) section 1651 of title 28, United 
                        States Code (commonly known as the `All Writs 
                        Act'); or
                            ``(iii) any law pertaining to intellectual 
                        property, including--
                                    ``(I) title 17, United States Code; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) the Act entitled ``An Act to 
                                provide for the registration and 
                                protection of trademarks used in 
                                commerce, to carry out the provisions 
                                of certain international conventions, 
                                and for other purposes'', approved July 
                                5, 1946 (commonly known as the 
                                ``Trademark Act of 1946'' or the 
                                `Lanham Act') (15 U.S.C. 1051 et 
                                seq.).''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 230(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Illegal activity.--The term `illegal activity' means 
        activity conducted by an information content provider that has 
        been determined by a trial or appellate Federal or State court 
        to violate Federal criminal or civil law.
            ``(6) Illegal content.--The term `illegal content' means 
        information provided by an information content provider that 
        has been determined by a trial or appellate Federal or State 
        court to violate--
                    ``(A) Federal criminal or civil law; or
                    ``(B) State defamation law.''.
    (c) Technical Correction.--Section 230(c)(2)(B) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)(2)(B)) is amended by 
striking ``paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (A)''.

SEC. 7. FEDERAL AND STATE ENFORCEMENT.

     Section 230(e)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
230(e)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) No effect on federal criminal or civil law.--Nothing 
        in this section shall be construed to limit, impair, or prevent 
        the enforcement or investigation by the Federal Government or a 
        State attorney general, as applicable, of--
                    ``(A) any other Federal criminal or civil statute; 
                or
                    ``(B) any regulation of an Executive agency (as 
                defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) 
                or an establishment in the legislative branch of the 
                Federal Government.''.

SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or an amendment made by this Act, or 
the application of such a provision or amendment to any person or 
circumstance, is held to be unenforceable or invalid, the remaining 
provisions of this Act and amendments made by this Act, and the 
application of the provision or amendment so held to other persons not 
similarly situated or to other circumstances, shall not be affected 
thereby.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>