,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gbhb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #ah1 #bjbj,ms4 ,underwood 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,payne1 ,mrs4 ,demings1 and ,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,under ,secretary for ,intelligence and ,analysis of the ,department of ,homeland ,security to assess1 on an ongoing basis1 the potential terrorism implications of malign disinformation operations on domestic preparedness for and collective response to terrorism or other homeland security threats1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protecting ,against ,public ,safety ,disinformation ,act4 #b4 ,terrorism threat assessment and research regarding malign disinformation operations 7a7 ,threat assessment 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,under ,secretary for ,intelligence and ,analysis of the ,department of ,homeland ,security shall1 on an ongoing basis and in consultation with appropriate ,federal partners1 develop and disseminate to ,state1 local1 ,tribal1 and territorial officials1 including officials from law enforcement1 public health1 fire and emergency medical services1 and emergency management agencies1 assessments of the potential terrorism implications of malign disinformation operations carried out by terrorist or foreign malicious actors on domestic preparedness for and collective response to terrorism or other homeland security threats4 7#b7 ,contents ,the terrorism assessments of malign disinformation operations required under paragraph 7#a7 shall consider the following3 7,a7 ,empirical data on malign disinformation operations1 including the following3 7i7 ,topics subject to such operations4 7ii7 ,tactics used in such operations4 7iii7 ,characteristics and duration of such operations4 7iv7 ,information on such terrorist or foreign malicious actors carrying out such operations4 7,b7 ,details regarding the potential terrorism implications of such operations on domestic preparedness for and collective response to terrorism or other homeland security threats4 7#c7 ,documentation ,the ,under ,secretary for ,intelligence and ,analysis of the ,department of ,homeland ,security shall maintain documentation reflecting the basis for a determination that certain information that was used in a certain manner for a certain purpose that resulted in certain risks or threats satisfies the definition of a malign disinformation operation4 7#d7 ,form ,the ,under ,secretary for ,intelligence and ,analysis of the ,department of ,homeland ,security shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees the terrorism assessments of malign disinformation operations required under paragraph 7#a74 ,such assessments may be submitted in classified form1 but-- 7,a7 shall include unclassified summaries2 and 7,b7 may include unclassified annexes1 if appropriate4 7b7 ,research 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 in consultation with the ,under ,secretary for ,intelligence and ,analysis1 the ,privacy ,officer1 and the ,officer for ,civil ,rights and ,civil ,liberties of the ,department1 shall conduct research to aid in the identification of malign disinformation operations carried out by terrorist or foreign malicious actors by studying documented malign disinformation operations that widely reached ,americans that had implications for the preparedness for and response to terrorism or other homeland security threats4 ,such research shall-- 7,a7 examine different patterns and tactics of malign disinformation operations to identify unique signatures2 and 7,b7 identify the factors that contribute to effective malign disinformation operations4 7#b7 ,counter-approaches ,together with the research required under paragraph 7#a71 the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology of the ,department of ,homeland ,security shall develop recommendations for approaches to counter malign disinformation operations described in such paragraph4 7#c7 ,availability ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security is authorized to share the research and recommendations for counter approaches conducted and developed pursuant to paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b71 respectively1 with ,state1 local1 ,tribal1 and territorial officials1 including officials from law enforcement1 public health1 fire and emergency medical services1 and emergency management agencies1 as well as with appropriate ,federal partners4 7#d7 ,submission 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,under ,secretary for ,science and ,technology of the ,department of ,homeland ,security shall submit to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate the results of the research and recommendations for counter approaches conducted and developed pursuant to paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b71 respectively4 7,b7 ,form ,results of the research conducted pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 shall be submitted in unclassified form1 but may include classified annexes1 as appropriate4 ,recommendations developed pursuant to paragraph 7#b7 shall be submitted in unclassified form4 7c7 ,malign disinformation operation defined ,in this section1 the term malign disinformation operation means false information deliberately disseminated by terrorists or foreign malicious actors to misinform the ,american public in a way that risks undermining domestic preparedness for and collective response to terrorism or other homeland security threats4