[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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