,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #giae ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ca1 #bjbj,mr4 ,mc,caul 7for himself and ,mr4 ,langevin7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security to design and establish a pilot program to facilitate voluntary information sharing between ,state1 local1 and regional fusion centers and certain technology companies related to threats of imminent violence1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this bill can be referred to as the ,protecting ,america through ,information ,sharing ,act4 #b4 ,establishment of pilot program to respond to threats of imminent violence 7a7 ,establishment of pilot program ,not later than one year after enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 in consultation with the program manager of the information sharing environment defined in section #ajaf7;a77#c7 of the ,intelligence ,reform and ,terrorism ,prevention ,act of #bjjd1 the ,attorney ,general1 the ,privacy ,officer of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 the ,officer for ,civil ,rights and ,civil ,liberties of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 the ,office of the ,general ,counsel of the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 and the ,privacy and ,civil ,liberties ,oversight ,board1 and other relevant agency heads1 shall establish a pilot program to facilitate the voluntary sharing of information by social networking website companies regarding threats of imminent violence 7hereinafter in this ,act referred to as threats7 posted on such websites4 7b7 ,principles ,prior to establishing the pilot program1 the ,secretary shall consult with the entities described in subsection 7a71 social networking website companies1 and civil liberty and privacy groups within #ij days of enactments to establish a policy framework to guide the activities of the pilot program4 ,the framework shall include the following3 7#a7 ,the sharing of information between social networking website companies and law enforcement shall be consistent with federally recognized information-sharing practices and utilize the ,nationwide ,suspicious ,activity ,reporting 7,,sar7 ,initiative 7,,nsi74 7#b7 ,nothing in this pilot program shall require social networking website companies to violate the website's internal terms and conditions or to disclose any information to a participant in the pilot program1 beyond any existing legal requirements as of the date of enactment of this ,act4 7#c7 ,the pilot program shall establish a basis for what is determined to be a threat1 and what the criteria are for determining its credibility4 7#d7 ,there is a policy framework established to protect the disclosure of threat information4 7#e7 ,any framework established for sharing threat information shall include the consultation of civil liberty and privacy groups on a biannual basis to discuss the development of a framework protecting civil liberties and privacy1 and the enforcement of policies guiding the pilot program in protecting civil liberties and privacy consistent with existing law4 7#f7 ,the pilot program is intended to focus on threats in the ,united ,states1 while permitting the data collection and dissemination of all data whether international or domestic in origin4 7#g7 ,the pilot program shall not infringe on civil liberties or privacy requirements consistent with existing law4 7c7 ,structure ,in establishing this pilot program1 the ,secretary shall designate a ,federal or ,,sltt law enforcement agency1 or regional fusion center under section #baj;,a of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb1 to serve as a centralized clearinghouse between social networking website companies and appropriate law enforcement4 7d7 ,responsibility of clearinghouse ,this clearinghouse shall be responsible for-- 7#a7 receiving threats from social networking website companies and law enforcement regarding threats of imminent violence found on social media whether international or domestic2 7#b7 analyzing such threats to turn such threats into actionable intelligence or distribute such threats to relevant ,federal or ,,sltt law enforcement agencies for further analysis whether international or domestic2 and 7#c7 disseminating such threats and actionable intelligence gathered from social networking website companies and law enforcement to appropriate ,federal and ,,sltt law enforcement agencies4 7e7 ,criteria for clearinghouse ,fusion centers shall apply for consideration as the centralized clearinghouse4 ,in choosing the centralized clearinghouse1 the ,secretary shall consider-- 7#a7 the entities' capacity to work in partnership with social networking website companies and ,federal1 ,state and local law enforcement entities2 7#b7 the entities' capacity to disseminate threat information in a timely manner to the appropriate ,federal or ,,sltt law enforcement agency2 7#c7 similar existing programs that successfully leverage relationships with social networking website companies and ,federal and ,,sltt law enforcement agencies to engage in information sharing related to threats of imminent violence2 7#d7 the capacity of the clearinghouse to utilize existing information sharing networks2 and 7#e7 usage of existing1 accredited information sharing networks such as the ,homeland ,security ,information ,network4 7f7 ,participation ,in establishing this pilot program1 the ,secretary shall conduct outreach to fusion centers1 other law enforcement agencies and social networking website companies to educate them on the pilot program1 and invite appropriate entities to participate in this voluntary program4 #c4 ,overtime pay ,each member of the pilot program 7other than those from participating social media networking website companies7 7and each individual from any ,,sltt law enforcement agency working on the pilot program7 shall remain as an employee of that member's or individual's respective agency for all purposes 7including the purpose of performance review71 and service with the pilot program shall be without interruption or loss of civil service privilege or status and on a nonreimbursable basis1 except if appropriate to reimburse ,,sltt law enforcement agencies for overtime costs for an individual appointed to work with the resource team4 ,additionally1 reimbursement of travel and per diem expenses will occur for ,,sltt law enforcement officers for purposes of activities engaged in only by reason of participation in the pilot program4 #d4 ,limitation on liability 7a7 ,in general ,no cause of action shall lie in any court-- 7#a7 against a social media website company or other private entity for information provided in good faith regarding threats of imminent violence in the course of participation in the pilot program established in section #b7;a72 7#b7 against a social media website company or other private entity for information withheld in good faith regarding threats of imminent violence to the pilot program established in section #b7;a72 7#c7 against the clearinghouse established in section #b7;c7 or members of law enforcement for acting on a threat received via the pilot program established in section #b7;a72 and 7#d7 against the clearinghouse established in section #b7;c7 or members of law enforcement for not acting on a threat received via the pilot program established in section #b7;a74 7b7 ,intentional1 reckless1 or other misconduct ,subsection7a7 does not apply to a claim if the social networking website company1 or a director1 officer1 employee1 parent1 contractor1 or agent of that social networking website company-- 7#a7 engaged in intentional misconduct2 or 7#b7 acted1 or failed to act-- 7,a7 with actual malice2 7,b7 with reckless disregard to a substantial risk of causing injury without legal justification2 or 7,c7 for a purpose unrelated to the performance of any responsibility or function described in paragraph 7#c74 7c7 ,exception ,the limitation of liability as described in subsection 7a77#a7 and 7a77#b7 only applies should social networking website companies choose to participate in the pilot program as described in section #b7;a74 #e4 ,rule of construction 7a7 ,social networking website company participation ,nothing in this ,act may be construed to require any social networking website1 to participate in the pilot program or to disclose any information to a participant in the pilot program4 ,no ,federal or ,state liability1 or any other actionable adverse consequence1 may be imposed on such website company based on its decision not to do so4 7b7 ,acting on a reported threat ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to require any ,federal or ,,sltt law enforcement agency to open an investigation or act in accordance with a threat received from the clearinghouse established in section #b7;c74 ,any government action with respect to information received from the clearinghouse may only be taken consistent with existing authorities and obligations4 7c7 ,consistent with existing law ,information voluntarily shared by social networking website companies through the pilot program established in this ,act shall remain in accordance with section #bgjb7;c7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code4 7d7 ,protection of civil liberties ,the pilot program shall adhere to constitutional rights and existing laws on civil liberties and privacy4 7e7 ,subscriber data ,information shared through the pilot program shall not include subscriber data as described in the ,electronic ,communications ,privacy ,act of #aihf4 #f4 ,report ,no later than #b years after enactment1 the ,secretary1 in consultation with entities participating in the pilot program1 shall report to ,congress on the pilot program established in section #b that assesses-- 7#a7 the capability of social networking website companies to identify public posts indicating threats of imminent violence1 and their capacity to share such threats with the clearinghouse established as part of the pilot program2 7#b7 the total number of notifications shared between participating social networking website companies and the clearinghouse of the pilot program regarding threats of imminent violence2 7#c7 the time it took participating social networking website companies to flag threats of imminent violence posted on their platforms to the clearinghouse2 7#d7 the time it took the clearinghouse to convert threats received from social networking website companies into actionable intelligence2 7#e7 the time it took the clearinghouse to disseminate threats from social networking website companies to appropriate law enforcement entities2 and 7#f7 to the extent practicable1 the number of times a threat passing through the clearinghouse led to an active law enforcement response4 #g4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,social networking website company ,the term social networking website company means a company that maintains an internet website-- 7,a7 that allows users1 through the creation of web pages or profiles or by other means1 to provide information about themselves or others that is available to the public or to other users2 or 7,b7 that offers a mechanism for communication with other users1 including any contractors or agents used by the website company to act on behalf of the website company in carrying out the purposes of this ,act4 7#b7 ,threat of imminent violence ,the term threat of imminent violence means any incident in which there is a reasonable indication that an individual or group suggest an intent to imminently inflict injury or death to oneself or others1 or terrorism as defined by section #b7ah7 of the ,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #aja7ah77 or an attack that otherwise lacks a clearly discernible political or ideological motivation4 7#c7 ,,sltt law enforcement agency ,the term ,,sltt law enforcement agency means a ,state1 local1 ,tribal1 or territorial law enforcement agency4 #h4 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated #c1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbj through #bjba to the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security to carry out subsections 7a71 7e71 and 7f7 of section #b and to pay overtime2 any amounts remaining at the conclusion of fiscal year #bjba shall be transferred to the centralized clearinghouse to maintain the pilot program4