[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5824-S5825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6320. Mr. MANCHIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title X, add the following:
Subtitle H--Reporting Suspicious Transmissions
SEC. 1081. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``See Something, Say
Something Online Act of 2022''.
SEC. 1082. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 230) (commonly known as the ``Communications Decency
Act of 1996'') was never intended to provide legal protection
for websites or interactive computer service providers that
do nothing after becoming aware of instances of individuals
or groups planning, committing, promoting, and facilitating
terrorism, serious drug offenses, and violent crimes;
(2) it is not the intent of this subtitle to remove or
strip all liability protection from websites or interactive
computer service providers that are proactively working to
resolve these issues; and
(3) should websites or interactive computer service
providers fail to exercise due care in the implementation,
filing of the suspicious transmission activity reports, and
reporting of major crimes, Congress intends to look at
removing liability protections under the Communications
Decency Act of 1996 in its entirety.
SEC. 1083. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Justice.
(2) 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).
(3) Known suspicious transmission.--The term ``known
suspicious transmission'' means any suspicious transmission
that a provider of an interactive computer service--
(A) should have reasonably known to have occurred; or
(B) was notified of by a director, officer, employee,
agent, interactive computer service user, or State or Federal
law enforcement agency.
(4) Major crime.--The term ``major crime'' means a Federal
criminal offense--
(A) that is a crime of violence (as defined in section 16
of title 18, United States Code);
(B) relating to domestic or international terrorism (as
those terms are defined in section 2331 of title 18, United
States Code); or
(C) that is a serious drug offense (as defined in section
924(e) of title 18, United States Code).
(5) STAR.--The term ``STAR'' means a suspicious
transmission activity report required to be submitted under
section 1084.
(6) Suspicious transmission.--The term ``suspicious
transmission'' means any public or private post, message,
comment, tag, transaction, or any other user-generated
content or transmission that commits, facilitates, incites,
promotes, or otherwise assists the commission of a major
crime.
SEC. 1084. REPORTING OF SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY.
(a) Mandatory Reporting of Suspicious Transmissions.--
(1) In general.--If a provider of an interactive computer
service detects a suspicious transmission, the provider,
including any director, officer, employee, agent, or
representative of the provider, shall submit to the
Department a STAR describing the suspicious transmission in
accordance with this section.
(2) Requirements.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (C), a
STAR required to be submitted under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted not later than 30 days after the date on which the
provider of an interactive computer service--
(i) initially detects the suspicious transmission; or
(ii) is alerted to the suspicious transmission on the
platform of such service.
(B) Immediate notification.--In the case of a suspicious
transmission that requires immediate attention, such as an
active sale or solicitation of sale of drugs or a threat of
terrorist activity, the provider of an interactive computer
service shall--
(i) immediately notify, by telephone, an appropriate law
enforcement authority; and
(ii) file a STAR in accordance with this section.
(C) Delay of submission.--The 30-day period described in
subparagraph (A) may be extended by 30 days if the provider
of an interactive computer service provides a valid
[[Page S5825]]
reason to the agency designated or established under
subsection (b)(2).
(b) Reporting Process.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall establish a
process by which a provider of an interactive computer
service may submit STARs under this section.
(2) Designated agency.--
(A) In general.--In carrying out this section, the Attorney
General shall designate an agency within the Department, or,
if the Attorney General determines appropriate, establish a
new agency within the Department, to which STARs should be
submitted under subsection (a).
(B) Consumer reporting.--The agency designated or
established under subparagraph (A) shall establish a
centralized online resource, which may be used by individual
members of the public to report suspicious activity related
to major crimes for investigation by the appropriate law
enforcement or regulatory agency.
(C) Cooperation with industry.--The agency designated or
established under subparagraph (A)--
(i) may conduct training for enforcement agencies and for
providers of interactive computer services on how to
cooperate in reporting suspicious activity;
(ii) may develop relationships for promotion of reporting
mechanisms and resources available on the centralized online
resource required to be established under subparagraph (B);
and
(iii) shall coordinate with the National White Collar Crime
Center to convene experts to design training programs for
State and local law enforcement agencies, which may include
using social media, online ads, paid placements, and
partnering with expert non-profit organizations to promote
awareness and engage with the public.
(c) Contents.--Each STAR submitted under this section shall
contain, at a minimum--
(1) the name, location, and other such identification
information as submitted by the user to the provider of the
interactive computer service;
(2) the date and nature of the post, message, comment, tag,
transaction, or other user-generated content or transmission
detected for suspicious activity such as time, origin, and
destination; and
(3) any relevant text, information, and metadata related to
the suspicious transmission.
(d) Retention of Records and Nondisclosure.--
(1) Retention of records.--Each provider of an interactive
computer service shall--
(A) maintain a copy of any STAR submitted under this
section and the original record equivalent of any supporting
documentation for the 5-year period beginning on the date on
which the STAR was submitted;
(B) make all supporting documentation available to the
Department and any appropriate law enforcement agencies upon
request; and
(C) not later than 30 days after the date on which the
provider submits a STAR under this section, take action
against the website or account reported unless the provider
receives a notification from a law enforcement agency that
the website or account should remain open.
(2) Nondisclosure.--Except as otherwise prescribed by the
Attorney General, no provider of an interactive computer
service, or officer, director, employee, or agent of such a
provider, subject to an order under subsection (a) may
disclose the existence of, or terms of, the order to any
person.
(e) Disclosure to Other Agencies.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Attorney
General shall--
(A) ensure that STARs submitted under this section and
reports from the public submitted under subsection (b)(2)(B)
are referred as necessary to the appropriate Federal, State,
or local law enforcement or regulatory agency;
(B) make information in a STAR submitted under this section
available to an agency, including any State financial
institutions supervisory agency or United States intelligence
agency, upon request of the head of the agency; and
(C) develop a strategy to disseminate relevant information
in a STAR submitted under this section in a timely manner to
other law enforcement and government agencies, as
appropriate, and coordinate with relevant nongovernmental
entities, such as the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children.
(2) Limitation.--The Attorney General may only make a STAR
available under paragraph (1) for law enforcement purposes.
(f) Compliance.--Any provider of an interactive computer
service that fails to report a known suspicious transmission
shall not be immune from civil or criminal liability for such
transmission under section 230(c) of the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)).
(g) Application of FOIA.--Any STAR submitted under this
section, and any information therein or record thereof, shall
be exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5,
United States Code, or any similar State, local, Tribal, or
territorial law.
(h) Rulemaking Authority.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall
promulgate regulations to carry out this section.
(i) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to
Congress a report describing the plan of the Department for
implementation of this subtitle, including a breakdown of the
costs associated with implementation.
(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Attorney General such sums as may
be necessary to carry out this subtitle.
SEC. 1085. AMENDMENT TO COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT.
Section 230(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
230(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Loss of liability protection for failure to submit
suspicious transmission activity report.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph, the terms `known
suspicious transmission' and `suspicious transmission' have
the meanings given those terms in section 1083 of the See
Something, Say Something Online Act of 2022.
``(B) Requirement.--Any provider of an interactive computer
service shall take reasonable steps to prevent or address
unlawful users of the service through the reporting of
suspicious transmissions.
``(C) Failure to comply.--Any provider of an interactive
computer service that fails to report a known suspicious
transmission may be held liable as a publisher for the
related suspicious transmission.
``(D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to impair or limit any claim or cause of
action arising from the failure of a provider of an
interactive computer service to report a suspicious
transmission.''.
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