S. 474 — Introduced in Senate

II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 474 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 16, 2023 Mrs. Blackburn (for herself and Mr. Ossoff) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to strengthen reporting to the CyberTipline related to online sexual exploitation of children, to modernize liabilities for such reports, to preserve the contents of such reports for 1 year, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Revising Existing Procedures On Reporting via Technology Act or the REPORT Act. 2. Limited liability modernization (a) Amendments Section 2258B of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) in the section heading, by striking providers or domain name registrars and inserting the reporting, storage, and handling of certain visual depictions of apparent child pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; (2) in subsection (b)— (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting or charge after a claim; and (B) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking this section,; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (d) Limited liability for NCMEC-Contracted vendors (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), a civil claim or criminal charge may not be brought in any Federal or State court against a vendor contractually retained and designated by NCMEC to support the clearinghouse role of NCMEC, as set forth in section 404(b) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11293(b)). (2) Intentional, reckless, or other misconduct Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a claim or charge if the vendor— (A) engaged in— (i) intentional misconduct; (ii) negligent conduct; or (iii) conduct not authorized under the contract of the vendor with NCMEC to support the clearinghouse role of NCMEC, as set forth in section 404(b) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11293(b)); or (B) acted, or failed to act— (i) with actual malice; (ii) with reckless disregard to a substantial risk of causing physical injury without legal justification; or (iii) for a purpose unrelated to the performance of any responsibility or function— (I) set forth in paragraph (1); or (II) under sections 2258A, 2258C, 2702, or 2703. (3) Minimizing access by vendor With respect to any visual depiction of child pornography stored or transferred by a vendor contractually retained and designated by NCMEC to support the clearing house role of NCMEC, as set forth in section 404(b) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11293(b)), a vendor shall minimize the number of employees that may be able to obtain access to such visual depiction. (e) Limited liability for minors, and persons acting on behalf of a minor, reporting visual depictions of apparent child pornography in which the minor is depicted (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), a civil claim or criminal charge may not be brought in any Federal or State court against a minor, or a person acting on behalf of a minor, arising from a report to the CyberTipline of NCMEC by the minor or the person acting on behalf of a minor of information that relates to a visual depiction of apparent child pornography in which the minor is depicted, including a copy of the visual depiction of the minor. (2) Intentional, reckless, or other misconduct Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a claim or charge if the minor, or person acting on behalf of the minor— (A) engaged in— (i) intentional misconduct in submitting the report to the CyberTipline of NCMEC of information that relates to a visual depiction of apparent child pornography in which the minor is depicted, including a copy of the visual depiction of the minor; or (ii) negligent conduct; or (B) acted, or failed to act— (i) with actual malice; or (ii) with reckless disregard to a substantial risk of causing physical injury without legal justification. (3) Minimizing access With respect to any visual depiction of child pornography reported to the CyberTipline of NCMEC by a minor, or a person acting on behalf of a minor, in which the minor is depicted, NCMEC shall minimize access to the visual depiction and ensure the appropriate deletion of the visual depiction, as set forth in section 2258D. . (b) Applicability The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to a civil claim or criminal charge that is filed on or after the date of enactment of this Act. (c) Table of sections amendment The table of sections for chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 2258B and inserting the following: 2258B. Limited liability for the reporting, storage, and handling of certain visual depictions of apparent child pornography to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. . 3. Preservation of reports to CyberTipline related to online sexual exploitation of children Section 2258A(h) of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking 90 days and inserting 1 year; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (5) Extension of preservation A provider of a report to the CyberTipline under subsection (a)(1) may voluntarily preserve the contents provided in the report (including any comingled content described in paragraph (2)) for longer than 1 year after the submission to the CyberTipline for the purpose of reducing the proliferation of online child sexual exploitation or preventing the online sexual exploitation of children. (6) Method of preservation Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this paragraph, a provider of a report to the CyberTipline under subsection (a)(1) shall preserve materials under this subsection in a manner that is consistent with the most recent version of the Cybersecurity Framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or any successor thereto. . 4. Strengthening of duty to report apparent violations to CyberTipline related to online exploitation of children (a) Amendments Section 2258A of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting shall after provider; (ii) in clause (i), by striking shall,; and (iii) in clause (ii), by striking may,; and (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting , of section 1591 (if the violation involves a minor), or of 2422(b) after child pornography; and (2) in subsection (e)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking $150,000 and inserting $850,000 in the case of a provider with not less than 100,000,000 monthly active users or $600,000 in the case of a provider with less than 100,000,000 monthly active users; and (B) in paragraph (2), by striking $300,000 and inserting $1,000,000 in the case of a provider with not less than 100,000,000 monthly active users or $850,000 in the case of a provider with less than 100,000,000 monthly active users. (b) Guidance Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children shall issue guidance to providers required to take actions described in section 2258A(a)(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code, on the facts or circumstances that constitute an apparent violation of section 1591 of that title and of section 2422(b) of that title.