II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4963 

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement a strategy 

to combat the efforts of transnational criminal organizations to recruit 

individuals in the United States via social media platforms and other 

online services and assess their use of such platforms and services for 

illicit activities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 

Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. KELLY, and Mr. HAGERTY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement 

a strategy to combat the efforts of transnational criminal 

organizations to recruit individuals in the United States 

via social media platforms and other online services and 

assess their use of such platforms and services for illicit 

activities, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combating Cartels on 

5 Social Media Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

7 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

8 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

9 of the House of Representatives. 

10 (2) COVERED OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘covered 

11 operator’’ means the operator, developer, or pub12 lisher of a covered service. 

13 (3) COVERED SERVICE.—The term ‘‘covered 

14 service’’ means— 

15 (A) a social media platform; 

16 (B) a mobile or desktop service with direct 

17 or group messaging capabilities, but not includ18 ing text messaging services without other sub19 stantial social functionalities or electronic mail 

20 services, that the Secretary determines is, has 

21 been, or will be used by transnational criminal 

22 organizations in connection with matters de23 scribed in section 3; and 

24 (C) a digital platform, or an electronic ap25 plication utilizing the digital platform, involving 

26 real-time interactive communication between 


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1 multiple individuals, including multi-player 

2 gaming services and immersive technology plat3 forms or applications, that the Secretary deter4 mines is, has been, or will be used by 

5 transnational criminal organizations in connec6 tion with matters described in section 3. 

7 (4) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

8 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

9 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

10 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

11 SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF ILLICIT USAGE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

14 to the appropriate congressional committees an assess15 ment describing— 

16 (1) the use of covered services by transnational 

17 criminal organizations or criminal enterprises acting 

18 on their behalf to engage in recruitment efforts, in19 cluding— 

20 (A) the recruitment of individuals, includ21 ing individuals under the age of 18, located in 

22 the United States to engage in or provide sup23 port with respect to illicit activities occurring in 

24 the United States, Mexico, or otherwise in proxVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:27 Oct 06, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4963.IS S4963

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1 imity to an international boundary of the 

2 United States; 

3 (2) the use of covered services by transnational 

4 criminal organizations to engage in other illicit ac5 tivities or other conduct in support of illicit activi6 ties, including— 

7 (A) smuggling or trafficking involving nar8 cotics, other controlled substances, precursors 

9 thereof, or other items prohibited under the 

10 laws of the United States, Mexico, or another 

11 relevant jurisdiction, including firearms; and 

12 (B) human smuggling or trafficking; 

13 (3) the existing efforts of the Secretary and rel14 evant government and law enforcement entities to 

15 counter, monitor, or otherwise respond to the usage 

16 of covered services described in paragraphs (1) and 

17 (2); 

18 (4) the existing efforts of covered operators to 

19 counter, monitor, or otherwise respond to the usage 

20 of covered services described in paragraphs (1) and 

21 (2); and 

22 (5) the existing cooperative efforts between the 

23 Secretary, other relevant government entities, and 

24 covered operators with respect to the matters de25 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 


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1 SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO COMBAT CARTEL RECRUITMENT ON 

2 SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE PLATFORMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

5 to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy, to 

6 be known as the National Strategy to Combat Illicit Re7 cruitment Activity by Transnational Criminal Organiza8 tions on Social Media and Online Platforms, to combat 

9 the use of covered services by transnational criminal orga10 nizations or criminal enterprises acting on their behalf to 

11 recruit individuals located in the United States to engage 

12 in or provide support with respect to illicit activities occur13 ring in the United States, Mexico, or otherwise in prox14 imity to an international boundary of the United States. 

15 (b) ELEMENTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The strategy required under 

17 subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, include the fol18 lowing: 

19 (A) A proposal to improve cooperation and 

20 thereafter maintain cooperation between the 

21 Secretary, relevant law enforcement entities, 

22 and appropriate covered operators with respect 

23 to the matters described in subsection (a). 

24 (B) Recommendations to implement the re25 quirement under section 5(a)(2) to establish a 

26 centralized mechanism for reporting informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:27 Oct 06, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4963.IS S4963

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1 tion regarding the United States recruitment 

2 efforts of transnational criminal organizations 

3 involving covered services. 

4 (C) A proposal to improve 

5 intragovernmental coordination with respect to 

6 the matters described in subsection (a), includ7 ing between the Department and State, Tribal, 

8 and local governments. 

9 (D) A proposal to improve coordination 

10 within the Department and between the compo11 nents of the Department with respect to the 

12 matters described in subsection (a). 

13 (E) Activities to facilitate increased intel14 ligence analysis for law enforcement purposes of 

15 efforts of transnational criminal organizations 

16 to utilize covered services for recruitment pur17 poses. 

18 (F) Activities to foster international part19 nerships and enhance collaboration with foreign 

20 governments and, as applicable, multilateral in21 stitutions with respect to the matters described 

22 in subsection (a). 

23 (G) Activities to facilitate proactive law en24 forcement and other governmental efforts relat25 ing to the efforts of transnational criminal orVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:27 Oct 06, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4963.IS S4963

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1 ganizations to utilize covered services for re2 cruitment purposes, including activities in3 tended to preempt through outreach and en4 gagement the commission of criminal offenses 

5 by individuals located in the United States who 

6 are targeted for recruitment by those 

7 transnational criminal organizations. 

8 (H) Activities to specifically increase en9 gagement and outreach with youth in border 

10 communities, including regarding the recruit11 ment tactics of transnational criminal organiza12 tions and the consequences of participation in 

13 illicit activities. 

14 (2) LIMITATION.—The strategy required under 

15 subsection (a) shall not include legislative rec16 ommendations or elements predicated on the passage 

17 of legislation that is not enacted as of the date on 

18 which the strategy is submitted under subsection 

19 (a), including with respect to encryption policies or 

20 reforms to section 230 of the Communications Act 

21 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230). 

22 (c) CONSULTATION.—In drafting and implementing 

23 the strategy required under subsection (a), the Secretary 

24 shall, at a minimum, consult and engage with— 


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1 (1) the heads of relevant components of the De2 partment, including— 

3 (A) the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 

4 and Border Protection; 

5 (B) the Under Secretary for Intelligence 

6 and Analysis; 

7 (C) the Under Secretary for Science and 

8 Technology; 

9 (D) the Director of U.S. Immigration and 

10 Customs Enforcement; 

11 (E) the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil 

12 Liberties; and 

13 (F) the Privacy Officer; 

14 (2) the Secretary of State; 

15 (3) the Director of the Federal Bureau of In16 vestigation; 

17 (4) the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement 

18 Agency; 

19 (5) representatives of border communities, in20 cluding representatives of— 

21 (A) State, Tribal, and local governments, 

22 including school districts and local law enforce23 ment; and 

24 (B) nongovernmental organizations; 


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1 (6) covered operators, including representatives 

2 of— 

3 (A) social media platforms, including oper4 ators of platforms or applications— 

5 (i) displaying short-form videos cre6 ated by users or third parties; 

7 (ii) providing ephemeral content 

8 transmission services; or 

9 (iii) using algorithms or other means 

10 of content prioritization to display a feed 

11 of content or advertisements created by 

12 users or third parties to other users; 

13 (B) interactive entertainment platforms 

14 and publishers; and 

15 (C) companies developing immersive tech16 nology platforms and applications on those plat17 forms; and 

18 (7) nongovernmental experts in the fields of— 

19 (A) civil rights and civil liberties; 

20 (B) online privacy; 

21 (C) humanitarian assistance for migrants; 

22 and 

23 (D) youth outreach and rehabilitation. 

24 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date on which the strategy required under sub3 section (a) is submitted to the appropriate congres4 sional committees, the Secretary shall commence im5 plementation of the strategy. 

6 (2) REPORT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

8 days after the date on which the strategy re9 quired under subsection (a) is implemented 

10 under paragraph (1), and semiannually there11 after for 5 years, the Secretary shall submit to 

12 the appropriate congressional committees a re13 port describing the efforts of the Secretary to 

14 implement the strategy required under sub15 section (a) and the progress of those efforts, 

16 which shall include a description of— 

17 (i) the recommendations, and cor18 responding implementation of those rec19 ommendations, with respect to the matters 

20 described in subsection (b)(1)(B) relating 

21 to the mechanism required under section 

22 5(a)(2); 

23 (ii) the interagency posture with re24 spect to the matters covered by the strat25 egy required under subsection (a), which 


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1 shall include a description of collaboration 

2 between the Secretary, other Federal enti3 ties, State, local, and Tribal entities, and 

4 foreign governments; 

5 (iii) actions taken pursuant to sub6 section (c) that occurred between the Sec7 retary and the entities described in para8 graphs (5) through (7) of that subsection, 

9 provided that such summaries are provided 

10 only in a classified or other non-public 

11 manner; and 

12 (iv) the threat landscape, including 

13 new developments related to the United 

14 States recruitment efforts of transnational 

15 criminal organizations and the use by 

16 those organizations of new or emergent 

17 covered services and recruitment methods. 

18 (B) FORM.—Each report required under 

19 subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclas20 sified form, but may contain a classified annex. 

21 SEC. 5. INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

23 date on which the strategy required under section 4(a) is 

24 required to be submitted to the appropriate congressional 

25 committees, the Secretary shall identify a designee— 


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1 (1) to receive, process, and disseminate infor2 mation and communications involving the use of cov3 ered services by transnational criminal organizations 

4 or criminal enterprises acting on their behalf to re5 cruit individuals located in the United States to en6 gage in or provide support with respect to illicit ac7 tivities occurring in the United States, Mexico, or 

8 otherwise in proximity to an international boundary 

9 of the United States; and 

10 (2) to establish a mechanism, or if the designee 

11 determines appropriate, multiple mechanisms, for 

12 covered operators to voluntarily report relevant in13 formation or communications described in paragraph 

14 (1). 

15 (b) PROCEDURE.—Upon the identification of the des16 ignee and the establishment of the voluntary reporting 

17 mechanism required under subsection (a)(2), the Sec18 retary shall notify appropriate covered operators in writing 

19 regarding the voluntary reporting mechanism, including 

20 information regarding how to contact the designee and uti21 lize the voluntary reporting mechanism. 

22 (c) PLACEMENT.—The designee identified under sub23 section (a) shall be located in U.S. Customs and Border 

24 Protection. 


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1 (d) DISSEMINATION.—The designee identified under 

2 subsection (a) shall utilize the information and commu3 nications received pursuant to this section to— 

4 (1) provide Federal, Tribal, State, and local en5 tities with intelligence to assist with outreach and 

6 engagement efforts intended to preempt the commis7 sion of criminal offenses by individuals located in the 

8 United States who are targeted by transnational 

9 criminal organizations for recruitment; 

10 (2) provide Federal, Tribal, State, and local law 

11 enforcement with actionable intelligence for law en12 forcement relating to the United States recruitment 

13 efforts of transnational criminal organizations; and 

14 (3) further other appropriate government func15 tions involving efforts to prevent the recruitment of 

16 individuals located in the United States by 

17 transnational criminal organizations. 

Æ 


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