,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ebji ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,november #ba1 #bjai,mr4 ,rose of ,new ,york 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,miss ,rice of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,underwood1 ,mr4 ,payne1 and ,ms4 ,slotkin7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology of the ,department of ,homeland ,security to design and administer a voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercise program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,raising the ,bar ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,homeland ,security voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercise program 7a7 ,establishment of exercise program ,the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 in consultation with the ,under ,secretary for ,strategy1 ,policy1 and ,plans1 the ,officer for ,civil ,rights and ,civil ,liberties1 and the ,privacy ,officer of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 shall design and administer a voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercise program4 ,under such program1 the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology shall-- 7#a7 enter into an agreement with the lead institution designated under subsection 7b71 under which the lead institution shall carry out not fewer than three four-week voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercises during each calendar year2 and 7#b7 establish objective criteria for how the lead institution should use information submitted by trusted flaggers and participating technology companies during an exercise conducted under the program to rate each participating technology company on-- 7,a7 the adherence of the participating technology company to the written online terrorist content moderation policies and procedures of that company2 7,b7 the compliance of the participating technology company with the requirement to conduct assessments and provide notice of such assessments under subsection 7d77#b72 and 7,c7 such other factors relating to a participating technology company's performance in the exercise as the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology determines appropriate4 7b7 ,lead institution 7#a7 ,in general ,for purposes of the program established under subsection 7a71 the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology1 in consultation with the ,under ,secretary for ,strategy1 ,policy1 and ,plans1 shall seek to enter into an agreement with a qualified institution that agrees to be designated as the lead institution for purposes of the program4 7#b7 ,qualified institution ,for purposes of this section1 an institution is qualified for designation as the lead institution pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 if such institution is an institution of higher education or nonprofit institution that possesses demonstrated expertise in at least two of the following areas3 7,a7 ,domestic terrorism4 7,b7 ,international terrorism4 7,c7 ,cybersecurity4 7,d7 ,computer or information technology4 7,e7 ,privacy1 civil rights1 civil liberties1 or human rights4 7#c7 ,responsibilities ,pursuant to an agreement under this subsection1 the lead institution shall agree to carry out the following responsibilities3 7,a7 ,to identify and conduct outreach to technology companies and potential trusted flaggers to encourage the participation of such companies and potential trusted flaggers in the exercise program under this section4 7,b7 ,to establish criteria1 in consultation with participating technology companies1 for qualified trusted flaggers4 7,c7 ,to schedule and carry out three four-week exercises during each calendar year to evaluate the adherence of each participating technology company to the written online terrorist content moderation policies and procedures of the company during the period for which the exercise is conducted1 which shall include notifying participating technology companies and trusted flaggers of the commencement of the exercise #bd hours before the commencement of the exercise and may include providing nominal payments to trusted flaggers for participating in such exercise4 7,d7 ,to develop a letter rating system based on the objective criteria established pursuant to subsection 7a77#b71 in collaboration with participating technology companies1 to be used to assign a letter rating to each participating technology company upon the conclusion of an exercise4 7,e7 ,to establish a process under which a trusted flagger can anonymously notify a participating technology company of content that the trusted flagger identifies during an exercise because the trusted flagger believes such content is online terrorist content that violates a written online terrorist content moderation policy or procedure of the company4 7,f7 ,to design a template for trusted flaggers to use to submit to the lead institution each notification communicated pursuant to the process under subparagraph 7,e7 together with the following information3 7i7 ,the name of the trusted flagger communicating the notification and the name of the participating technology company receiving such notification4 7ii7 ,the grounds for the notification1 including a specific identification of the written online terrorist content moderation policy or procedure of the participating technology company that was violated by the identified content and the terrorist ideology or ideologies associated with such content4 7iii7 ,the location1 including the uniform resource locator1 where the identified content was found1 including a screen shot of the content that does not include any personally identifiable information4 7iv7 ,the date and time when the participating technology company was notified of such content pursuant to the process under subparagraph 7,e74 7v7 ,any other information the lead institution determines is appropriate4 7,g7 ,to establish requirements for an assessment as required pursuant to subsection 7d77#b74 7,h7 ,to issue a report pursuant to subsection 7f7 on each exercise after sharing a draft of the report and providing participating technology companies and trusted flaggers who participated in the exercise with the opportunity to comment on the report4 7,i7 ,not later than #fj days after issuing a report pursuant to subsection 7f7 on an exercise1 to convene a virtual or in-person meeting with participating technology companies and trusted flaggers who participated in the exercise to discuss the exercise and other related matters1 as identified by the lead institution1 in consultation with the participating technology companies and trusted flaggers4 7#d7 ,consortium ,an agreement entered into under subsection 7a77#a7 may provide that the lead institution may execute agreements with other institutions of higher education or nonprofit institutions to establish a consortium of such institutions to assist in carrying out the responsibilities of the lead institution under the agreement4 ,to the extent that the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology identifies institutions of higher education or nonprofit institutions for participation in such a consortium1 the ,under ,secretary shall seek to ensure the participation of historically ,black colleges and universities1 ,hispanic-serving institutions1 and ,tribally controlled colleges and universities4 7c7 ,trusted flaggers 7#a7 ,in general ,for purposes of the program under this section1 a trusted flagger is an individual or entity that-- 7,a7 is selected by the lead institution1 in coordination with participating technology companies1 on the basis of criteria established by the institution for such purpose2 and 7,b7 enters into an agreement with the lead institution and the participating technology companies that participate in an exercise carried out under the program to perform the responsibilities specified in paragraph 7#b7 for the duration of the exercise4 7#b7 ,responsibilities ,the responsibilities specified in this paragraph are the following3 7,a7 ,to monitor public-facing areas of the participating technology companies for online terrorist content that may violate a written online terrorist content moderation policy or procedure of the participating technology company4 7,b7 ,to provide timely notification of any online terrorist content identified on the online platform of a participating technology company to such company pursuant to the process under subsection 7b77#c77;,e74 7,c7 ,to carry out other activities requested by the lead institution1 in consultation with participating technology companies4 7d7 ,responsibilities of participating technology companies 7#a7 ,agreements ,to participate in the voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercise program under this section1 a technology company shall enter into an agreement with the lead institution to carry out the responsibilities under this subsection4 7#b7 ,assessments ,each participating technology company shall agree-- 7,a7 to conduct an assessment of each notification communicated by a trusted flagger pursuant to the process established under subsection 7b77#c77;,e7 within #bd hours of receipt2 and 7,b7 to provide notice to the lead institution of the completion of each assessment conducted under this paragraph1 including-- 7i7 whether such assessment was completed within #bd hours of receipt of the notification2 and 7ii7 whether such assessment caused the participating technology company to decide to take or not take a certain action and the grounds for such action or in action4 7#c7 ,provision of information to lead institution ,each participating technology company shall agree to provide to the lead institution-- 7,a7 the written online terrorist content moderation policies and procedures of the company with respect to responding to identified online terrorist content1 including any rule or community standard of the company that prohibits terrorist content and information regarding any system that the company uses to review online terrorist content that is reported that violates any such rule or standard1 including-- 7i7 guidance about what online terrorist content is prohibited1 including examples of permissible and impermissible content and the guidelines used internally to enforce rules or community standards that prohibit online terrorist content2 and 7ii7 information on the use of automated detection on the platform of the company2 and 7,b7 a point of contact for use by trusted flaggers to report online terrorist content pursuant to the process under subsection 7b77#c77;,e74 7#d7 ,disclosure and notice requirements 7,a7 ,disclosure of participation ,each such participating technology company shall agree to disclose the participation of the company in the voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercise program on the online platform of the company4 7,b7 ,notice to users ,each such participating technology company shall agree to provide notice to each user whose content is removed or account is suspended or terminated as a result of an exercise conducted under this section4 ,such notice shall include-- 7i7 the specific provision in the written online terrorist content moderation policies or procedures of the participating technology company that such online terrorist content was found to violate2 and 7ii7 an explanation of the process through which the user can appeal1 pursuant to paragraph 7#e71 the decision to remove the content or suspend or terminate the account4 7,c7 ,form of notice ,each such participating technology company shall agree to provide the notice required under subparagraph 7,b7 in both human- and machine-readable formats that are accessible even if a user's account is suspended or terminated4 7#e7 ,appeals process ,each participating technology company shall agree to provide for a timely appeal process under which a user may challenge a content removal or account suspension or termination4 ,such process shall include-- 7,a7 the review of the decision to remove content or suspend an account by a person or panel of persons who was not involved in the initial decision2 7,b7 the provision to the user of an opportunity to present additional information that will be considered in the review2 and 7,c7 the provision to the user of notice of the decision made in the appeals process1 including a statement of the reasoning sufficient to allow the user to understand the decision4 7e7 ,transparency ,the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology shall ensure that agreements under this section shall require that before engaging in an exercise under this section1 the lead institution1 an institution participating in a consortium under subsection 7b77#d71 and each trusted flagger agree to disclose to the ,under ,secretary any fiduciary or business relationship between such institution or trusted flagger and any participating technology company during the two-year period preceding the date of the exercise4 7f7 ,reports 7#a7 ,report required ,not later than #fj days after the last day of any voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercise conducted under this section1 the lead institution1 in consultation with the participating technology companies and trusted flaggers1 shall-- 7,a7 produce a report on the voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercise2 7,b7 publish such report on the public website of the lead institution2 and 7,c7 transmit a copy of such report to-- 7i7 the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology for publication on the public website of the ,department of ,homeland ,security2 and 7ii7 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,contents of report ,each report under paragraph 7#a7 shall include each of the following with respect to the exercise covered by the report3 7,a7 ,a rating based on the letter rating system developed pursuant to subsection 7b77#c77;,d71 for each participating technology company that participated in the exercise4 7,b7 ,information about-- 7i7 the total number of notifications communicated to each participating technology company during the exercise2 7ii7 the number of notifications that were assessed by each participating technology company within #bd hours of receipt as violating or not violating an online terrorist content moderation policy or procedure of the company and the basis for each notification1 including the violation of the written online terrorist content moderation policies or procedures and ideology or ideologies associated with the content1 for such assessment2 and 7iii7 the number of notifications that were assessed after #bd hours of receipt as violating or not violating an online terrorist content moderation policy or procedure of the company and the basis for each notification1 including the violation of the written online terrorist content moderation policies or procedures and ideology or ideologies associated with the content1 for such assessment4 7,c7 ,information about any online terrorist content that a participating technology company removes from a platform of the company for violating an online terrorist content moderation policy or procedure of the company during the exercise1 including-- 7i7 the number of posts deleted and accounts suspended or terminated by a participating technology company for violating a written online terrorist content moderation policy or procedure of the company1 disaggregated by whether flagged by a trusted flagger1 internally within the technology company by an employee1 by a contractor1 by a law enforcement official1 by a user1 or through automated detection2 7ii7 the number of discrete posts and accounts flagged1 and the number of discrete posts removed and accounts suspended or terminated1 by a participating technology company for violating the written online terrorist content moderation policies or procedures of the company1 disaggregated by information on the specific violation identified in the written online terrorist content moderation policies or procedures and the terrorist ideology or ideologies associated with the post or account1 disaggregated by whether flagged by a trusted flagger1 internally within the participating technology company by an employee or contractor1 by a law enforcement official1 by a user1 or through automated detection2 7iii7 the number of discrete posts and accounts flagged1 and number of discrete posts removed and accounts suspended or terminated by a participating technology company for violating the written online terrorist content moderation policies or procedures of the company1 disaggregated by the format of the content1 such as text1 audio1 image1 video1 or live stream2 and 7iv7 in the case of each exercise after the initial exercise1 an evaluation of changes over time with respect to each category of information referred to in clauses 7i7 through 7iii74 7,d7 ,information on the exercise1 including the dates of the exercise and names of the trusted flaggers that participated1 together with information on how many notifications each such trusted flagger submitted during the exercise4 7,e7 ,the written online terrorist content moderation policies and procedures of each of the participating technology companies1 together with the corresponding definition for online terrorist content adopted by each of the participating technology companies1 and a description of the appeals process of each such company as required pursuant to subsection 7d77#e74 7,f7 ,any identifiable trends and analysis developed from conducting the exercise1 as determined appropriate by the lead institution1 in consultation with participating technology companies and trusted flaggers4 7,g7 ,any information provided by a participating technology company regarding efforts of the company to-- 7i7 counter terrorist narratives and enhance technological capabilities to identify and counter online terrorism content2 7ii7 maintain policies or procedures within the company that-- 7,i7 prioritize the mental health of individuals working within the company who participate in the efforts to implement the written online terrorist content moderation policies or procedures of the company2 and 7,,ii7 make available voluntary mental health support1 as needed1 to such employees and to contractors and trusted flaggers2 and 7iii7 any other information determined appropriate by the lead institution4 7#c7 ,format ,each report under this subsection shall be made available in both a human- and a machine-readable format4 7#d7 ,briefings ,not later than #cj days after receiving a report under paragraph 7#a77;,c77i71 the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology1 in consultation with the ,under ,secretary for ,strategy1 ,policy1 and ,plans1 shall provide to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate a briefing on the voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercise program under this section4 7g7 ,public-,private partnership 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology is authorized to enter into-- 7,a7 an agreement using other transactional authority with the lead institution for purposes of carrying out this section2 and 7,b7 public-private partnerships with participating technology companies in which participating technology companies agree provide at least #hj percent of the funding to carry out this section4 7#b7 ,other transactional authority ,in this subsection1 the term other transactional authority means the authority under section #hca of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #cia74 7h7 ,authorization of ,appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this ,act-- 7#a7 #cjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbj2 and 7#b7 #aej1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjba through #bjbf4 7i7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in the ,act shall be construed as-- 7#a7 requiring participating technology companies to adopt standards for the moderation of online terrorist content2 7#b7 authorizing the ,department of ,homeland ,security to participate in decision making regarding the removal of content by participating technology companies2 7#c7 requiring participating technology companies to provide user content to the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 any institution participating in the exercise program1 or any other ,federal1 ,state1 local1 tribal1 or territorial government or international body2 or 7#d7 authorizing the ,department of ,homeland ,security to allow subjective judgments regarding the treatment of online content by a participating technology company in the objective criteria established pursuant to subsection 7a77#b74 7j7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term ,hispanic-serving institution has the meaning given such term in section #ejb7;a7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #aaja;a7a774 7#b7 ,the term historically ,black colleges and universities means a part ,b institution described in section #cbb7b7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajfa7b774 7#c7 ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja74 7#d7 ,the term online terrorist content shall be defined by each technology company participating in an exercise under this section with respect to a platform of the company in the community guidelines1 terms of service1 or relevant policy applicable to such platform4 7#e7 ,the term personally identifiable information means any information about an individual elicited1 collected1 stored1 or maintained by an agency or owner or operator of a participating technology company1 including the following3 7,a7 ,any information that can be used to distinguish or trace the identity of an individual1 such as a name1 social security number1 date or place of birth1 mother's maiden name1 telephone number1 or biometric records4 7,b7 ,any other information that is linked or linkable to an individual1 such as medical1 educational1 financial1 or employment information4 7#f7 ,the term participating technology company means a business entity that owns or operates any public-facing website1 web application1 or digital application1 including a mobile application1 social network1 advertising network1 search engine1 or email service that participates in the voluntary online terrorist content moderation exercise program under this ,act4 7#g7 ,the term ,tribally controlled college or university has the meaning given such term in section #b of the ,tribally ,controlled ,colleges and ,universities ,assistance ,act of #aigh 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ahja74 7k7 ,sunset ,the authority to carry out this section shall terminate on the date that is seven years after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #c4 ,comptroller ,general report ,not later than #ahj days after the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states receives the sixth report under section #b7;f71 the ,comptroller ,general shall submit to ,congress a report on the implementation of section #b4