II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1199 

To combat the sexual exploitation of children by supporting victims and 

promoting accountability and transparency by the tech industry. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 19, 2023 

Mr. DURBIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To combat the sexual exploitation of children by supporting 

victims and promoting accountability and transparency 

by the tech industry. 

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 ‘‘Strengthening Trans5 parency and Obligations to Protect Children Suffering 

6 from Abuse and Mistreatment Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘STOP 

7 CSAM Act of 2023’’. 

8 SEC. 2. MANDATORY REPORTING OF CHILD ABUSE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 226 of the Victims of 

10 Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20341) is amended— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1199 IS

1 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘A covered individual’’ and 

3 inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A covered individual’’; 

5 and 

6 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHIC APPLICABILITY.—Sub8 paragraph (A) shall apply with respect to an in9 cident of child abuse that— 

10 ‘‘(i) occurred within the United 

11 States; or 

12 ‘‘(ii)(I) occurred outside the United 

13 States; and 

14 ‘‘(II) was committed by a United 

15 States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted 

16 for permanent residence.’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (b)(8), by inserting ‘‘and com18 puter repair technicians’’ after ‘‘photo processors’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘physical 

21 or mental injury’’ and inserting ‘‘physical in22 jury, psychological abuse’’; 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert24 ing the following: 

25 ‘‘(3) the term ‘psychological abuse’ includes— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(A) a pattern of acts, threats of acts, or 

2 coercive tactics intended to degrade, humiliate, 

3 intimidate, or terrorize, a child; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the infliction of trauma on a child 

5 through— 

6 ‘‘(i) isolation; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the withholding of food or other 

8 necessities in order to control behavior; 

9 ‘‘(iii) physical restraint; or 

10 ‘‘(iv) confinement of the child without 

11 the child’s consent and in degrading condi12 tions;’’; 

13 (C) in paragraph (5)(D)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘genitals’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘anus, genitals,’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘or animal’’; 

17 (D) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘child 

18 prostitution’’ and inserting ‘‘child sex traf19 ficking’’; 

20 (E) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘the 

21 term ‘child abuse’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘the terms 

22 ‘physical injury’ and ‘psychological abuse’ ’’; 

23 (F) in paragraph (9)— 

24 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1199 IS

1 (I) by striking ‘‘minor’’ and in2 serting ‘‘child’’; and 

3 (II) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding 

5 ‘‘or’’ at the end; and 

6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(C) is authorized to interact with a child 

9 by a covered program that is providing any 

10 care, treatment, education, training, instruc11 tion, religious guidance, supervision, or rec12 reational opportunities to that child;’’; 

13 (G) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

14 at the end; 

15 (H) in paragraph (12), by striking the pe16 riod and inserting a semicolon; and 

17 (I) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(13) the term ‘child’ means a person who is 

19 under the age of 18; 

20 ‘‘(14) the term ‘computer’ has the meaning 

21 given the term in section 1030 of title 18, United 

22 States Code; 

23 ‘‘(15) the term ‘covered program’ means any 

24 program that receives, in any 1-year period, benefits 

25 in excess of $10,000 under a Federal program inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1199 IS

1 volving a grant (not including a formula grant to a 

2 State, territory, or Tribe), contract, subsidy, loan, 

3 guarantee, insurance, or other form of Federal as4 sistance to provide any care, treatment, education, 

5 training, instruction, religious guidance, supervision, 

6 or recreational opportunities to a child; and 

7 ‘‘(16) the term ‘privileged communication’ 

8 means any communication between 2 parties that, 

9 under any applicable law where the communication 

10 takes place— 

11 ‘‘(A) is recognized as privileged; 

12 ‘‘(B) is not subject to any exception; and 

13 ‘‘(C) is not subject to a reporting require14 ment regardless of any applicable privilege.’’; 

15 (4) in subsection (d)— 

16 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘an 

17 agency’’ and inserting ‘‘one or more agencies’’; 

18 and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘and law enforcement per20 sonnel’’ and inserting ‘‘, law enforcement per21 sonnel, and children’s advocacy center personnel 

22 in a multidisciplinary team setting’’; 

23 (5) in subsection (i)— 

24 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘RULE’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘RULES’’; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1199 IS

1 (B) by striking ‘‘Nothing’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY TO VICTIMS.—Nothing’’; 

4 and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY TO ATTORNEYS.—Nothing 

7 in this section shall be construed to require a li8 censed attorney to take any action that would violate 

9 any applicable rule of professional conduct. 

10 ‘‘(3) PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATIONS.—Nothing 

11 in this section shall be construed to require a cov12 ered individual described in subsection (c)(9)(C) who 

13 engages in privileged communication through the 

14 covered individual’s work for the covered program, 

15 whether or not for compensation, to report any in16 formation exclusively received in the context of a 

17 privileged communication.’’; and 

18 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(j) OUTREACH TO COVERED PROGRAMS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each Federal agency that 

21 has provided Federal assistance to a program that 

22 may cause the program to qualify as a covered pro23 gram shall make reasonable efforts to promote 

24 awareness of the reporting requirements under sub25 section (a) among such programs. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Paragraph (1) 

2 shall not be construed to require individual notice to 

3 each program to which a Federal agency has pro4 vided Federal assistance as described in that para5 graph.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO TITLE 18, 

7 UNITED STATES CODE.—Section 2258 of title 18, United 

8 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 2258. Failure to report child abuse 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘child 

11 abuse’ and ‘covered individual’ have the meanings given 

12 those terms in section 226 of the Victims of Child Abuse 

13 Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20341). 

14 ‘‘(b) OFFENSES.— 

15 ‘‘(1) COVERED PROFESSIONALS.—It shall be 

16 unlawful for a person who, while engaged in a pro17 fessional capacity or activity described in subsection 

18 (b) of section 226 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act 

19 of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20341) on Federal land or in a 

20 federally operated (or contracted) facility, learns of 

21 facts that give reason to suspect that a child has 

22 suffered an incident of child abuse, to knowingly fail 

23 to make a timely report as required by subsection 

24 (a)(1) of that section. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(2) COVERED INDIVIDUALS.—It shall be un2 lawful for a covered individual who learns of facts 

3 that give reason to suspect that a child has suffered 

4 an incident of child abuse described in subsection (c) 

5 to knowingly fail to make a timely report as required 

6 by subsection (a)(2) of section 226 of the Victims of 

7 Child Abuse Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20341). 

8 ‘‘(c) INCIDENTS OF CHILD ABUSE THAT COVERED

9 INDIVIDUALS MUST REPORT.—An incident of child abuse 

10 referred to in subsection (b)(2) is an incident of child 

11 abuse that— 

12 ‘‘(1) occurred within the United States; or 

13 ‘‘(2)(A) occurred outside the United States; and 

14 ‘‘(B) was committed by a United States citizen 

15 or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi16 dence. 

17 ‘‘(d) PENALTY.—A person or individual who violates 

18 subsection (b) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned 

19 not more than 1 year or both.’’. 

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), the amendments made by subsections (a) 

23 and (b) shall take effect on the date that is 120 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1199 IS

1 (2) OUTREACH.—The amendment made by sub2 section (a)(5) shall take effect on the date of enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 (d) ICAC TASK FORCE SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT PRO5 GRAM.— 

6 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

7 (A) CHILD.—The term ‘‘child’’ means an 

8 individual who has not attained 18 years of age. 

9 (B) CHILD ABUSE.—The term ‘‘child 

10 abuse’’— 

11 (i) has the meaning given the term 

12 under any applicable State law requiring 

13 reporting of child abuse or neglect by indi14 viduals; or 

15 (ii) in the case of a State in which a 

16 law described in clause (i) that defines 

17 ‘‘child abuse’’ is not in effect, has the 

18 meaning given the term in section 226(c) 

19 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 

20 (34 U.S.C. 20341(c)). 

21 (C) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘cov22 ered entity’’ means any institution, program, or 

23 organization that provides any care, treatment, 

24 education, training, instruction, religious guidVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1199 IS

1 ance, supervision, or recreational opportunities 

2 to a child. 

3 (D) ICAC GRANT PROGRAM.—The term 

4 ‘‘ICAC Grant Program’’ means the grant pro5 gram under section 106 of the PROTECT Our 

6 Children Act of 2008 (34 U.S.C. 21116). 

7 (E) ICAC TASK FORCE.—The term ‘‘ICAC 

8 Task Force’’ means a task force that is part of 

9 the National Internet Crimes Against Children 

10 Task Force Program established under section 

11 102 of the PROTECT Our Children Act of 

12 2008 (34 U.S.C. 21112). 

13 (F) ELIGIBLE ICAC TASK FORCE.—The 

14 term ‘‘Eligible ICAC Task Force’’ means an 

15 ICAC Task Force that— 

16 (i) was established on or before the 

17 date of enactment of this Act; and 

18 (ii) is located in a State that, as of 

19 the last day of the preceding fiscal year, 

20 had in effect a law that, at a minimum— 

21 (I) with respect to a mandatory 

22 reporter who learns of facts that give 

23 reason to suspect that a child has suf24 fered an incident of child abuse, re25 quires the mandatory reporter to reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1199 IS

1 port the suspected child abuse to a 

2 law enforcement agency, a child pro3 tective services agency, or both; 

4 (II) requires the report described 

5 in subclause (I) to be made as soon as 

6 possible, and in any event not later 

7 than 48 hours after the mandatory re8 porter learns of the facts that give 

9 reason to suspect that a child has suf10 fered an incident of child abuse; 

11 (III) prohibits a covered entity 

12 from— 

13 (aa) taking any action to 

14 prevent or discourage reporting 

15 of child abuse; or 

16 (bb) retaliating against a 

17 mandatory reporter for making a 

18 report described in subclause (I); 

19 and 

20 (IV) provides a criminal, civil, or 

21 administrative penalty for the know22 ing failure by a mandatory reporter to 

23 submit a report in accordance with 

24 the requirement described in sub25 clause (I). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1199 IS

1 (G) MANDATORY REPORTER.—The term 

2 ‘‘mandatory reporter’’ means an individual 

3 who— 

4 (i) has attained the age of 18 years; 

5 and 

6 (ii) is authorized to interact with a 

7 child by a covered entity that is providing 

8 any care, treatment, education, training, 

9 instruction, religious guidance, supervision, 

10 or recreational opportunities to that child. 

11 (H) PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION.—The 

12 term ‘‘privileged communication’’ means any 

13 communication between 2 parties that, under 

14 any applicable law where the communication 

15 takes place— 

16 (i) is recognized as privileged; 

17 (ii) is not subject to any exception; 

18 and 

19 (iii) is not subject to a reporting re20 quirement regardless of any applicable 

21 privilege. 

22 (2) WAIVER OF MATCH FOR ELIGIBLE ICAC

23 TASK FORCES.—The Attorney General shall waive 

24 the matching requirement for an Eligible ICAC 

25 Task Force under section 106(a)(3)(B) of the PROVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1199 IS

1 TECT Our Children Act of 2008 (34 U.S.C. 

2 21116(a)(3)(B)) for not more than 4 fiscal years in 

3 accordance with this subsection. 

4 (3) ESTABLISHMENT OF ICAC TASK FORCE SUP5 PLEMENTAL GRANT PROGRAM.— 

6 (A) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT PROGRAM ES7 TABLISHED.—There is established an ICAC 

8 Task Force Supplemental Grant Program with9 in the Department of Justice, under which the 

10 Attorney General shall award grants (referred 

11 to in this subsection as ‘‘supplemental grants’’) 

12 to an Eligible ICAC Task Force in addition to 

13 any grants distributed to the Eligible ICAC 

14 Task Force under the ICAC Grant Program. 

15 (B) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount of a 

16 supplemental grant awarded to an Eligible 

17 ICAC Task Force shall be not less than 10 per18 cent of the average amount of the 3 most re19 cent awards to the Eligible ICAC Task Force 

20 under the ICAC Grant Program. 

21 (C) REMAINING FUNDS.—Any amounts ap22 propriated to carry out this subsection that are 

23 not used for supplemental grants shall be dis24 tributed to any Eligible ICAC Task Force in 

25 accordance with section 106(a)(3)(A) of the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1199 IS

1 PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008 (34 

2 U.S.C. 21116(a)(3)(A)). 

3 (D) NUMBER OF SUPPLEMENTAL

4 GRANTS.—The Attorney General may provide a 

5 supplemental grant to an Eligible ICAC Task 

6 Force for not more than 4 fiscal years. 

7 (4) APPLICATION.—An Eligible ICAC Task 

8 Force seeking the waiver described in paragraph (2) 

9 or a supplemental grant shall submit an application 

10 to the Attorney General at such time, in such man11 ner, and containing such information as the Attor12 ney General may reasonably require, including infor13 mation about the law described in paragraph 

14 (1)(F)(ii). 

15 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

16 paragraph (1)(F)(ii) shall be construed to require a 

17 State to have in effect a law that requires an indi18 vidual who engages in privileged communication 

19 through the individual’s work for a covered entity, 

20 whether or not for compensation, to report any in21 formation exclusively received in the context of a 

22 privileged communication. 

23 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1199 IS

1 this subsection $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2024 through 2029. 

3 SEC. 3. PROTECTING CHILD VICTIMS AND WITNESSES IN 

4 FEDERAL COURT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3509 of title 18, United 

6 States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘or 

9 exploitation’’ and inserting ‘‘exploitation, or 

10 kidnapping, including international parental 

11 kidnapping’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘physical 

13 or mental injury’’ and inserting ‘‘physical in14 jury, psychological abuse’’; 

15 (C) by striking paragraph (5) and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(5) the term ‘psychological abuse’ includes— 

18 ‘‘(A) a pattern of acts, threats of acts, or 

19 coercive tactics intended to degrade, humiliate, 

20 intimidate, or terrorize a child; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the infliction of trauma on a child 

22 through— 

23 ‘‘(i) isolation; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the withholding of food or other 

25 necessities in order to control behavior; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) physical restraint; or 

2 ‘‘(iv) the confinement of the child 

3 without the child’s consent and in degrad4 ing conditions;’’; 

5 (D) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘child 

6 prostitution’’ and inserting ‘‘child sex traf7 ficking’’; 

8 (E) by striking paragraph (7) and insert9 ing the following: 

10 ‘‘(7) the term ‘multidisciplinary child abuse 

11 team’ means a professional unit of individuals work12 ing together to investigate child abuse and provide 

13 assistance and support to a victim of child abuse, 

14 composed of representatives from— 

15 ‘‘(A) health, social service, and legal serv16 ice agencies that represent the child; 

17 ‘‘(B) law enforcement agencies and pros18 ecutorial offices; and 

19 ‘‘(C) children’s advocacy centers;’’; 

20 (F) in paragraph (9)(D)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘genitals’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘anus, genitals,’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘or animal’’; 

24 (G) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

25 at the end; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1199 IS

1 (H) in paragraph (12)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘the term ‘child abuse’ 

3 does not’’ and inserting ‘‘the terms ‘phys4 ical injury’ and ‘psychological abuse’ do 

5 not’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking the period and insert7 ing a semicolon; and 

8 (I) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(13) the term ‘covered person’ means a person 

10 of any age who— 

11 ‘‘(A) is or is alleged to be— 

12 ‘‘(i) a victim of a crime of physical 

13 abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, or kid14 napping, including international parental 

15 kidnapping; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) a witness to a crime committed 

17 against another person; and 

18 ‘‘(B) was under the age of 18 when the 

19 crime described in subparagraph (A) was com20 mitted; and 

21 ‘‘(14) the term ‘protected information’, with re22 spect to a covered person, includes— 

23 ‘‘(A) personally identifiable information of 

24 the covered person, including— 

25 ‘‘(i) the name of the covered person; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) an address; 

2 ‘‘(iii) a phone number; 

3 ‘‘(iv) a user name or identifying infor4 mation for an online, social media, or 

5 email account; and 

6 ‘‘(v) any information that can be used 

7 to distinguish or trace the identity of the 

8 covered person, either alone or when com9 bined with other information that is linked 

10 or linkable to the covered person; 

11 ‘‘(B) medical, dental, behavioral, psy12 chiatric, or psychological information of the cov13 ered person; 

14 ‘‘(C) educational or juvenile justice records 

15 of the covered person; and 

16 ‘‘(D) any other information concerning the 

17 covered person that is deemed ‘protected infor18 mation’ by order of the court under subsection 

19 (d)(5).’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking 

22 ‘‘minor’’ and inserting ‘‘child’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1199 IS

1 (i) in the heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘VIDEOTAPED’’ and inserting ‘‘RE3 CORDED’’; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

5 ‘‘that the deposition be recorded and pre6 served on videotape’’ and inserting ‘‘that a 

7 video recording of the deposition be made 

8 and preserved’’; 

9 (iii) in subparagraph (B)— 

10 (I) in clause (ii), by striking 

11 ‘‘that the child’s deposition be taken 

12 and preserved by videotape’’ and in13 serting ‘‘that a video recording of the 

14 child’s deposition be made and pre15 served’’; 

16 (II) in clause (iii)— 

17 (aa) in the matter preceding 

18 subclause (I), by striking ‘‘video19 tape’’ and inserting ‘‘recorded’’; 

20 and 

21 (bb) in subclause (IV), by 

22 striking ‘‘videotape’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘recording’’; and 

24 (III) in clause (v)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 1199 IS

1 (aa) in the heading, by 

2 striking ‘‘VIDEOTAPE’’ and in3 serting ‘‘VIDEO RECORDING’’; 

4 (bb) in the first sentence, by 

5 striking ‘‘made and preserved on 

6 video tape’’ and inserting ‘‘re7 corded and preserved’’; and 

8 (cc) in the second sentence, 

9 by striking ‘‘videotape’’ and in10 serting ‘‘video recording’’; 

11 (iv) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

12 ‘‘child’s videotaped’’ and inserting ‘‘video 

13 recording of the child’s’’; 

14 (v) in subparagraph (D)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘videotaping’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘deposition’’; and 

17 (II) by striking ‘‘videotaped’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘recorded’’; 

19 (vi) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

20 ‘‘videotaped’’ and inserting ‘‘recorded’’; 

21 and 

22 (vii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

23 ‘‘videotape’’ each place the term appears 

24 and inserting ‘‘video recording’’; 

25 (3) in subsection (d)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 1199 IS

1 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

2 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘the name 

3 of or any other information concerning a 

4 child’’ and inserting ‘‘a covered person’s 

5 protected information’’; and 

6 (ii) in clause (ii)— 

7 (I) by striking ‘‘documents de8 scribed in clause (i) or the informa9 tion in them that concerns a child’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘a covered person’s pro11 tected information’’; and 

12 (II) by striking ‘‘, have reason to 

13 know such information’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘(including witnesses or potential wit15 nesses), have reason to know each 

16 item of protected information to be 

17 disclosed’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘the name of or any 

20 other information concerning a child’’ each 

21 place the term appears and inserting ‘‘a 

22 covered person’s protected information’’; 

23 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

24 (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respecVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 1199 IS

1 tively, and adjusting the margins accord2 ingly; 

3 (iii) by striking ‘‘All papers’’ and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All papers’’; and 

6 (iv) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(B) ENFORCEMENT OF VIOLATIONS.— 

9 The court may address a violation of subpara10 graph (A) in the same manner as disobedience 

11 or resistance to a lawful court order under sec12 tion 401(3).’’; 

13 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘a child from pub16 lic disclosure of the name of or any 

17 other information concerning the 

18 child’’ and inserting ‘‘a covered per19 son’s protected information from pub20 lic disclosure’’; and 

21 (II) by striking ‘‘, if the court de22 termines that there is a significant 

23 possibility that such disclosure would 

24 be detrimental to the child’’; 

25 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 1199 IS

1 (I) in clause (i)— 

2 (aa) by striking ‘‘a child wit3 ness, and the testimony of any 

4 other witness’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘any witness’’; and 

6 (bb) by striking ‘‘the name 

7 of or any other information con8 cerning a child’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘the covered person’s protected 

10 information’’; and 

11 (II) in clause (ii), by striking 

12 ‘‘child’’ and inserting ‘‘covered per13 son’’; and 

14 (iii) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(C)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, there 

17 shall be a presumption that public disclosure of a 

18 covered person’s protected information would be det19 rimental to the covered person. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The court shall deny a motion for a pro21 tective order under subparagraph (A) only if the 

22 court finds that the party opposing the motion has 

23 rebutted the presumption under clause (i) of this 

24 subparagraph.’’; 

25 (D) in paragraph (4)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 1199 IS

1 (i) by striking ‘‘This subsection’’ and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) DISCLOSURE TO CERTAIN PARTIES.— 

4 This subsection’’; 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (A), as so des6 ignated— 

7 (I) by striking ‘‘the name of or 

8 other information concerning a child’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘a covered person’s pro10 tected information’’; and 

11 (II) by striking ‘‘or an adult at12 tendant, or to’’ and inserting ‘‘an 

13 adult attendant, a law enforcement 

14 agency for any intelligence or inves15 tigative purpose, or’’; and 

16 (iii) by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(B) REQUEST FOR PUBLIC DISCLO19 SURE.—If any party requests public disclosure 

20 of a covered person’s protected information to 

21 further a public interest, the court shall deny 

22 the request unless the court finds that— 

23 ‘‘(i) the party seeking disclosure has 

24 established that there is a compelling pubVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 1199 IS

1 lic interest in publicly disclosing the cov2 ered person’s protected information; 

3 ‘‘(ii) there is a substantial probability 

4 that the public interest would be harmed if 

5 the covered person’s protected information 

6 is not disclosed; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the substantial probability of 

8 harm to the public interest outweighs the 

9 harm to the covered person from public 

10 disclosure of the covered person’s protected 

11 information; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) there is no alternative to public 

13 disclosure of the covered person’s protected 

14 information that would adequately protect 

15 the public interest.’’; and 

16 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(5) OTHER PROTECTED INFORMATION.—The 

18 court may order that information shall be considered 

19 to be ‘protected information’ for purposes of this 

20 subsection if the court finds that the information is 

21 sufficiently personal, sensitive, or identifying that it 

22 should be subject to the protections and presump23 tions under this subsection.’’; 

24 (4) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

25 following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(f) VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) PROBATION OFFICER.—In preparing the 

3 presentence report pursuant to rule 32(c) of the 

4 Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the probation 

5 officer shall request information from the multidisci6 plinary child abuse team, if applicable, or other ap7 propriate sources to determine the impact of the of8 fense on a child victim and any other children who 

9 may have been affected by the offense. 

10 ‘‘(2) GUARDIAN AD LITEM.—A guardian ad 

11 litem appointed under subsection (h) shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) make every effort to obtain and re13 port information that accurately expresses the 

14 views of a child victim, and the views of family 

15 members as appropriate, concerning the impact 

16 of the offense; and 

17 ‘‘(B) use forms that permit a child victim 

18 to express the child’s views concerning the per19 sonal consequences of the offense, at a level and 

20 in a form of communication commensurate with 

21 the child’s age and ability.’’; 

22 (5) in subsection (h), by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to 

2 be appropriated to the United States courts to 

3 carry out this subsection $25,000,000 for each 

4 fiscal year. 

5 ‘‘(B) SUPERVISION OF PAYMENTS.—Pay6 ments from appropriations authorized under 

7 subparagraph (A) shall be made under the su8 pervision of the Director of the Administrative 

9 Office of the United States Courts.’’; 

10 (6) in subsection (i)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘A child testifying at or at12 tending a judicial proceeding’’ and inserting the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A child testifying at a judi15 cial proceeding, including in a manner described in 

16 subsection (b),’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (1), as so designated— 

18 (i) in the third sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘proceeding’’ and inserting ‘‘testimony’’; 

20 and 

21 (ii) by striking the fifth sentence; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(2) RECORDING.—If the adult attendant is in 

24 close physical proximity to or in contact with the 

25 child while the child testifies— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(A) at a judicial proceeding, a video re2 cording of the adult attendant shall be made 

3 and shall become part of the court record; or 

4 ‘‘(B) in a manner described in subsection 

5 (b), the adult attendant shall be visible on the 

6 closed-circuit television or in the recorded depo7 sition. 

8 ‘‘(3) COVERED PERSONS ATTENDING PRO9 CEEDING.—A covered person shall have the right to 

10 be accompanied by an adult attendant when attend11 ing any judicial proceeding.’’; 

12 (7) in subsection (j)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘child’’ each place the term 

14 appears and inserting ‘‘covered person’’; and 

15 (B) in the fourth sentence— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘and the potential’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘the potential’’; 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘child’s’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘covered person’s’’; and 

20 (iii) by inserting before the period at 

21 the end the following: ‘‘, and the necessity 

22 of the continuance to protect the defend23 ant’s rights’’; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 1199 IS

1 (8) in subsection (k), by striking ‘‘child’’ each 

2 place the term appears and inserting ‘‘covered per3 son’’; and 

4 (9) in subsection (l), by striking ‘‘child’’ each 

5 place the term appears and inserting ‘‘covered per6 son’’. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply to conduct that occurred before, 

9 on, or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 4. FACILITATING PAYMENT OF RESTITUTION; TECH11 NICAL AMENDMENTS TO RESTITUTION STAT12 UTES. 

13 Title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

14 (1) in section 1593(c)— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(c)’’; 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘chapter, including, in’’ 

17 and inserting the following: ‘‘chapter. 

18 ‘‘(2) In’’; and 

19 (C) in paragraph (2), as so designated, by 

20 inserting ‘‘may assume the rights of the crime 

21 victim under this section’’ after ‘‘suitable by the 

22 court’’; 

23 (2) in section 2248(c)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘For purposes’’ and insert25 ing the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes’’; 

2 (B) by striking ‘‘chapter, including, in’’ 

3 and inserting the following: ‘‘chapter. 

4 ‘‘(2) ASSUMPTION OF CRIME VICTIM’S

5 RIGHTS.—In’’; and 

6 (C) in paragraph (2), as so designated, by 

7 inserting ‘‘may assume the rights of the crime 

8 victim under this section’’ after ‘‘suitable by the 

9 court’’; 

10 (3) in section 2259— 

11 (A) in subsection (b)— 

12 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘DI13 RECTIONS.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the’’ and inserting ‘‘RESTITU15 TION FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY PRODUC16 TION.—If the defendant was convicted of 

17 child pornography production, the’’; and 

18 (ii) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking 

19 ‘‘$3,000.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘— 

20 ‘‘(i) $3,000; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) 10 percent of the full amount of 

22 the victim’s losses, if the full amount of 

23 the victim’s losses is less than $3,000.’’; 

24 and 

25 (B) in subsection (c)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 1199 IS

1 (i) by striking paragraph (1) and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) CHILD PORNOGRAPHY PRODUCTION.—For 

4 purposes of this section and section 2259A, the term 

5 ‘child pornography production’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) a violation of subsection (a), (b), or 

7 (c) of section 2251, or an attempt or conspiracy 

8 to violate any of those subsections under sub9 section (e) of that section; 

10 ‘‘(B) a violation of section 2251A; 

11 ‘‘(C) a violation of section 2252(a)(4) or 

12 2252A(a)(5), or an attempt or conspiracy to 

13 violate either of those sections under section 

14 2252(b)(2) or 2252A(b)(2), to the extent such 

15 conduct involves child pornography— 

16 ‘‘(i) produced by the defendant; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) that the defendant attempted or 

18 conspired to produce; 

19 ‘‘(D) a violation of section 2252A(g) if the 

20 series of felony violations involves not fewer 

21 than 1 violation— 

22 ‘‘(i) described in subparagraph (A), 

23 (B), (E), or (F) of this paragraph; 

24 ‘‘(ii) of section 1591; or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) of section 1201, chapter 109A, 

2 or chapter 117, if the victim is a minor; 

3 ‘‘(E) a violation of subsection (a) of section 

4 2260, or an attempt or conspiracy to violate 

5 that subsection under subsection (c)(1) of that 

6 section; 

7 ‘‘(F)(i) a violation of section 2260B(a)(2) 

8 for promoting or facilitating an offense— 

9 ‘‘(I) described in subparagraph (A), 

10 (B), (D), or (E) of this paragraph; or 

11 ‘‘(II) under section 2422(b); or 

12 ‘‘(ii) attempting or conspiring to promote 

13 or facilitate an offense described in clause (i) of 

14 this subparagraph under section 2260B(b); and 

15 ‘‘(G) a violation of chapter 109A or chap16 ter 117, if the offense involves the production 

17 or attempted production of, or conspiracy to 

18 produce, child pornography.’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking paragraph (3) and in20 serting the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) TRAFFICKING IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY.— 

22 For purposes of this section and section 2259A, the 

23 term ‘trafficking in child pornography’ means— 

24 ‘‘(A) a violation of subsection (d) of section 

25 2251 or an attempt or conspiracy to violate 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
33 

•S 1199 IS

1 that subsection under subsection (e) of that sec2 tion; 

3 ‘‘(B) a violation of paragraph (1), (2), or 

4 (3) of subsection (a) of section 2252, or an at5 tempt or conspiracy to violate any of those 

6 paragraphs under subsection (b)(1) of that sec7 tion; 

8 ‘‘(C) a violation of section 2252(a)(4) or 

9 2252A(a)(5), or an attempt or conspiracy to 

10 violate either of those sections under section 

11 2252(b)(2) or 2252A(b)(2), to the extent such 

12 conduct involves child pornography— 

13 ‘‘(i) not produced by the defendant; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) that the defendant did not at15 tempt or conspire to produce; 

16 ‘‘(D) a violation of paragraph (1), (2), (3), 

17 (4), or (6) of subsection (a) of section 2252A, 

18 or an attempt or conspiracy to violate any of 

19 those paragraphs under subsection (b)(1) of 

20 that section; 

21 ‘‘(E) a violation of subsection (a)(7) of sec22 tion 2252A, or an attempt or conspiracy to vio23 late that subsection under subsection (b)(3) of 

24 that section; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
34 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(F) a violation of section 2252A(g) if the 

2 series of felony violations exclusively involves 

3 violations described in this paragraph; 

4 ‘‘(G) a violation of subsection (b) of sec5 tion 2260, or an attempt or conspiracy to vio6 late that subsection under subsection (c)(2) of 

7 that section; 

8 ‘‘(H)(i) a violation of subsection (a)(1) of 

9 section 2260B, or a violation of subsection 

10 (a)(2) of that section for promoting or facili11 tating an offense described in this paragraph; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(ii) an attempt or conspiracy to commit 

14 the conduct described in clause (i) of this sub15 paragraph under section 2260B(b).’’; 

16 (4) in section 2259A(a)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘under 

18 section 2252(a)(4) or 2252A(a)(5)’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘described in section 2259(c)(3)(C)’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘any 

21 other offense for trafficking in child pornog22 raphy’’ and inserting ‘‘any offense for traf23 ficking in child pornography other than an of24 fense described in section 2259(c)(3)(C)’’; 

25 (5) in section 2429— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
35 

•S 1199 IS

1 (A) in subsection (b)(3), by striking 

2 ‘‘2259(b)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘2259(c)(2)’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (d)— 

4 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(d)’’; 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘chapter, including, 

6 in’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘chapter. 

7 ‘‘(2) In’’; and 

8 (iii) in paragraph (2), as so des9 ignated, by inserting ‘‘may assume the 

10 rights of the crime victim under this sec11 tion’’ after ‘‘suitable by the court’’; and 

12 (6) in section 3664, by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(q) TRUSTEE OR OTHER FIDUCIARY.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

16 ‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEE OR

17 OTHER FIDUCIARY.—When the court issues an 

18 order of restitution under section 1593, 2248, 

19 2259, 2429, or 3663, or subparagraphs (A)(i) 

20 and (B) of section 3663A(c)(1), for a victim de21 scribed in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, 

22 the court, at its own discretion or upon motion 

23 by the Government, may appoint a trustee or 

24 other fiduciary to hold any amount paid for resVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
36 

•S 1199 IS

1 titution in a trust or other official account for 

2 the benefit of the victim. 

3 ‘‘(B) COVERED VICTIMS.—A victim re4 ferred to in subparagraph (A) is a victim who 

5 is— 

6 ‘‘(i) under the age of 18 at the time 

7 of the proceeding; 

8 ‘‘(ii) incompetent or incapacitated; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) subject to paragraph (3), a for10 eign citizen or stateless person residing 

11 outside the United States. 

12 ‘‘(2) ORDER.—When the court appoints a trust13 ee or other fiduciary under paragraph (1), the court 

14 shall issue an order specifying— 

15 ‘‘(A) the duties of the trustee or other fi16 duciary, which shall require— 

17 ‘‘(i) the administration of the trust or 

18 maintaining an official account in the best 

19 interests of the victim; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) disbursing payments from the 

21 trust or account— 

22 ‘‘(I) to the victim; or 

23 ‘‘(II) to any individual or entity 

24 on behalf of the victim; 

25 ‘‘(B) that the trustee or other fiduciary— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
37 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(i) shall avoid any conflict of inter2 est; 

3 ‘‘(ii) may not profit from the adminis4 tration of the trust or maintaining an offi5 cial account for the benefit of the victim 

6 other than as specified in the order; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) may not delegate administration 

8 of the trust or maintaining the official ac9 count to any other person; 

10 ‘‘(C) if and when the trust or the duties of 

11 the other fiduciary will expire; and 

12 ‘‘(D) the fees payable to the trustee or 

13 other fiduciary to cover expenses of admin14 istering the trust or maintaining the official ac15 count for the benefit of the victim, and the 

16 schedule for payment of those fees. 

17 ‘‘(3) FACT-FINDING REGARDING FOREIGN CITI18 ZENS AND STATELESS PERSON.—In the case of a 

19 victim who is a foreign citizen or stateless person re20 siding outside the United States and is not under 

21 the age of 18 at the time of the proceeding or in22 competent or incapacitated, the court may appoint a 

23 trustee or other fiduciary under paragraph (1) only 

24 if the court finds it necessary to— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
38 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(A) protect the safety or security of the 

2 victim; or 

3 ‘‘(B) provide a reliable means for the vic4 tim to access or benefit from the restitution 

5 payments. 

6 ‘‘(4) PAYMENT OF FEES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The court may, with 

8 respect to the fees of the trustee or other fidu9 ciary— 

10 ‘‘(i) pay the fees in whole or in part; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(ii) order the defendant to pay the 

13 fees in whole or in part. 

14 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER PROVI15 SIONS.—With respect to a court order under 

16 subparagraph (A)(ii) requiring a defendant to 

17 pay fees— 

18 ‘‘(i) subsection (f)(3) shall apply to 

19 the court order in the same manner as 

20 that subsection applies to a restitution 

21 order; 

22 ‘‘(ii) subchapter C of chapter 227 

23 (other than section 3571) shall apply to 

24 the court order in the same manner as 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
39 

•S 1199 IS

1 that subchapter applies to a sentence of a 

2 fine; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) subchapter B of chapter 229 

4 shall apply to the court order in the same 

5 manner as that subchapter applies to the 

6 implementation of a sentence of a fine. 

7 ‘‘(C) EFFECT ON OTHER PENALTIES.—Im8 position of payment under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

9 shall not relieve a defendant of, or entitle a de10 fendant to a reduction in the amount of, any 

11 special assessment, restitution, other fines, pen12 alties, or costs, or other payments required 

13 under the defendant’s sentence. 

14 ‘‘(D) SCHEDULE.—Notwithstanding any 

15 other provision of law, if the court orders the 

16 defendant to make any payment under subpara17 graph (A)(ii), the court may provide a payment 

18 schedule that is concurrent with the payment of 

19 any other financial obligation described in sub20 paragraph (C). 

21 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to 

23 be appropriated to the United States courts to 

24 carry out this subsection $15,000,000 for each 

25 fiscal year. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
40 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(B) SUPERVISION OF PAYMENTS.—Pay2 ments from appropriations authorized under 

3 subparagraph (A) shall be made under the su4 pervision of the Director of the Administrative 

5 Office of the United States Courts.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. CYBERTIPLINE IMPROVEMENTS, AND ACCOUNT7 ABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BY THE TECH 

8 INDUSTRY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 110 of title 18, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in section 2258A— 

12 (A) by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) 

13 and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(a) DUTY TO REPORT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DUTY.—In order to reduce the prolifera16 tion of online child exploitation and to prevent the 

17 online sexual exploitation of children, as soon as rea18 sonably possible after obtaining actual knowledge of 

19 any facts or circumstances described in paragraph 

20 (2) or any apparent child pornography on the pro21 vider’s service, network, or platform, and in any 

22 event not later than 60 days after obtaining such 

23 knowledge, a provider shall— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
41 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(A) submit to the CyberTipline of 

2 NCMEC, or any successor to the CyberTipline 

3 operated by NCMEC, a report containing— 

4 ‘‘(i) the mailing address, telephone 

5 number, facsimile number, electronic mail6 ing address of, and individual point of con7 tact for, such provider; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) information described in sub9 section (b) concerning such facts or cir10 cumstances or apparent child pornography; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) if applicable, remove the apparent 

13 child pornography that is the subject of the re14 port described in subparagraph (A), if such 

15 child pornography is publicly available. 

16 ‘‘(2) FACTS OR CIRCUMSTANCES.—The facts or 

17 circumstances described in this paragraph are any 

18 facts or circumstances indicating an apparent, 

19 planned, or imminent violation of section 2251, 

20 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2252B, or 2260. 

21 ‘‘(3) PERMITTED ACTIONS BASED ON REASON22 ABLE BELIEF.—In order to reduce the proliferation 

23 of online child exploitation and to prevent the online 

24 sexual exploitation of children, if a provider has a 

25 reasonable belief that any facts or circumstances deVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
42 

•S 1199 IS

1 scribed in paragraph (2) exist, the provider may sub2 mit to the CyberTipline of NCMEC, or any suc3 cessor to the CyberTipline operated by NCMEC, a 

4 report described in paragraph (1)(A). 

5 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In an effort to prevent the 

7 future sexual victimization of children, and to the 

8 extent the information is within the custody or con9 trol of a provider, each report provided under sub10 section (a)(1)(A)— 

11 ‘‘(A) shall include, to the extent that it is 

12 applicable and reasonably available— 

13 ‘‘(i) identifying information regarding 

14 any individual who is the subject of the re15 port, including name, address, electronic 

16 mail address, user or account identifica17 tion, Internet Protocol address, and uni18 form resource locator; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the terms of service in effect at 

20 the time of— 

21 ‘‘(I) the apparent violation; or 

22 ‘‘(II) the detection of apparent 

23 child pornography or a planned or im24 minent violation; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
43 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) a copy of any apparent child 

2 pornography that is the subject of the re3 port that was identified in a publicly avail4 able location; 

5 ‘‘(iv) for each item of apparent child 

6 pornography included in the report under 

7 clause (iii) or paragraph (2)(C), informa8 tion indicating whether— 

9 ‘‘(I) the reported child pornog10 raphy was publicly available; or 

11 ‘‘(II) the provider, in its sole dis12 cretion, viewed the reported child por13 nography, or any copy thereof, at any 

14 point concurrent with or prior to the 

15 submission of the report; and 

16 ‘‘(v) for each item of apparent child 

17 pornography that is the subject of the re18 port, an indication as to whether the child 

19 pornography— 

20 ‘‘(I) has previously been the sub21 ject of a report under paragraph 

22 (1)(A) or (3) of subsection (a); or 

23 ‘‘(II) is the subject of multiple 

24 contemporaneous reports due to rapid 

25 and widespread distribution; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
44 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(B) may, at the sole discretion of the pro2 vider, include the information described in para3 graph (2) of this subsection. 

4 ‘‘(2) OTHER INFORMATION.—The information 

5 referred to in paragraph (1)(B) is the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) HISTORICAL REFERENCE.—Informa7 tion relating to when and how a customer or 

8 subscriber of a provider uploaded, transmitted, 

9 or received content relating to the report or 

10 when and how content relating to the report 

11 was reported to, or discovered by the provider, 

12 including a date and time stamp and time zone. 

13 ‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION INFORMA14 TION.—Information relating to the geographic 

15 location of the involved individual or website, 

16 which may include the Internet Protocol ad17 dress or verified address, or, if not reasonably 

18 available, at least one form of geographic iden19 tifying information, including area code or zip 

20 code, provided by the customer or subscriber, or 

21 stored or obtained by the provider. 

22 ‘‘(C) APPARENT CHILD PORNOGRAPHY.— 

23 Any apparent child pornography not described 

24 in paragraph (1)(A)(iii), or other content re25 lated to the subject of the report. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
45 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(D) COMPLETE COMMUNICATION.—The 

2 complete communication containing any appar3 ent child pornography or other content, includ4 ing— 

5 ‘‘(i) any data or information regard6 ing the transmission of the communication; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) any visual depictions, data, or 

9 other digital files contained in, or attached 

10 to, the communication. 

11 ‘‘(E) TECHNICAL IDENTIFIER.—An indus12 try-standard hash value or other similar indus13 try-standard technical identifier for any re14 ported visual depiction as it existed on the pro15 vider’s service, network, or platform. 

16 ‘‘(F) DESCRIPTION.—For any item of ap17 parent child pornography that is the subject of 

18 the report, an indication of whether— 

19 ‘‘(i) the depicted sexually explicit con20 duct involves— 

21 ‘‘(I) genital, oral, or anal sexual 

22 intercourse; 

23 ‘‘(II) bestiality; 

24 ‘‘(III) masturbation; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
46 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(IV) sadistic or masochistic 

2 abuse; or 

3 ‘‘(V) lascivious exhibition of the 

4 anus, genitals, or pubic area of any 

5 person; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the depicted minor is— 

7 ‘‘(I) an infant or toddler; 

8 ‘‘(II) prepubescent; 

9 ‘‘(III) pubescent; 

10 ‘‘(IV) post-pubescent; or 

11 ‘‘(V) of an indeterminate age or 

12 developmental stage.’’; 

13 ‘‘(c) FORWARDING OF REPORT AND OTHER INFOR14 MATION TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to its clearing16 house role as a private, nonprofit organization, and 

17 at the conclusion of its review in furtherance of its 

18 nonprofit mission, NCMEC shall make available 

19 each report submitted under paragraph (1)(A) or 

20 (3) of subsection (a) to one or more of the following 

21 law enforcement agencies: 

22 ‘‘(A) Any Federal law enforcement agency 

23 that is involved in the investigation of child sex24 ual exploitation, kidnapping, or enticement 

25 crimes. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
47 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(B) Any State or local law enforcement 

2 agency that is involved in the investigation of 

3 child sexual exploitation. 

4 ‘‘(C) A foreign law enforcement agency 

5 designated by the Attorney General under sub6 section (d)(3) or a foreign law enforcement 

7 agency that has an established relationship with 

8 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigra9 tion and Customs Enforcement, or 

10 INTERPOL, and is involved in the investiga11 tion of child sexual exploitation, kidnapping, or 

12 enticement crimes. 

13 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL IDENTIFIERS.—If a report 

14 submitted under paragraph (1)(A) or (3) of sub15 section (a) contains an industry-standard hash value 

16 or other similar industry-standard technical identi17 fier— 

18 ‘‘(A) NCMEC may compare that hash 

19 value or identifier with any database or reposi20 tory of visual depictions owned or operated by 

21 NCMEC; and 

22 ‘‘(B) if the comparison under subpara23 graph (A) results in a match, NCMEC may in24 clude the matching visual depiction from its 

25 database or repository when forwarding the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
48 

•S 1199 IS

1 port to an agency described in subparagraph 

2 (A) or (B) of paragraph (1).’’; 

3 (B) in subsection (d)— 

4 (i) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sub5 section (c)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

6 (c)(1)(A)’’; and 

7 (ii) in paragraph (3)— 

8 (I) in subparagraph (A), by strik9 ing ‘‘subsection (c)(3)’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘subsection (c)(1)(C)’’; and 

11 (II) in subparagraph (C), by 

12 striking ‘‘subsection (c)(3)’’ and in13 serting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)(C)’’; 

14 (C) by striking subsection (e) and inserting 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(e) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) CRIMINAL PENALTY.— 

18 ‘‘(A) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for a 

19 provider to knowingly— 

20 ‘‘(i) fail to submit a report under sub21 section (a)(1)(A) within the time period re22 quired by that subsection; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) fail to preserve material as re24 quired under subsection (h). 

25 ‘‘(B) PENALTY.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
49 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A provider that 

2 violates subparagraph (A) shall be fined— 

3 ‘‘(I) in the case of an initial vio4 lation, not more than $150,000; and 

5 ‘‘(II) in the case of any second or 

6 subsequent violation, not more than 

7 $300,000. 

8 ‘‘(ii) HARM TO INDIVIDUALS.—The 

9 maximum fine under clause (i) shall be tri10 pled if an individual is harmed as a direct 

11 and proximate result of the applicable vio12 lation. 

13 ‘‘(2) CIVIL PENALTY.— 

14 ‘‘(A) VIOLATIONS RELATING TO

15 CYBERTIPLINE REPORTS, CONTENT REMOVAL, 

16 AND MATERIAL PRESERVATION.—A provider 

17 shall be liable to the United States Government 

18 for a civil penalty in an amount of not less than 

19 $50,000 and not more than $100,000 if the 

20 provider knowingly— 

21 ‘‘(i) fails to submit a report under 

22 subsection (a)(1)(A) within the time period 

23 required by that subsection; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
50 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) fails to remove apparent child 

2 pornography as required under subsection 

3 (a)(1)(B); 

4 ‘‘(iii) fails to preserve material as re5 quired under subsection (h); or 

6 ‘‘(iv) submits a report under sub7 section (a)(1)(A) that— 

8 ‘‘(I) contains materially false or 

9 fraudulent information; or 

10 ‘‘(II) omits information described 

11 in subsection (b)(1)(A) that is reason12 ably available. 

13 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORT VIOLATIONS.—A 

14 provider shall be liable to the United States 

15 Government for a civil penalty in an amount of 

16 not less than $100,000 and not more than 

17 $1,000,000 if the provider knowingly— 

18 ‘‘(i) fails to submit an annual report 

19 as required under subsection (i); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) submits an annual report under 

21 subsection (i) that— 

22 ‘‘(I) contains a materially false, 

23 fraudulent, or misleading statement; 

24 or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
51 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(II) omits information described 

2 in subsection (i)(1) that is reasonably 

3 available. 

4 ‘‘(C) HARM TO INDIVIDUALS.—The 

5 amount of a civil penalty under subparagraph 

6 (A) or (B) shall be tripled if an individual is 

7 harmed as a direct and proximate result of the 

8 applicable violation. 

9 ‘‘(D) COSTS OF CIVIL ACTIONS.—A pro10 vider that commits a violation described in sub11 paragraph (A) or (B) shall be liable to the 

12 United States Government for the costs of a 

13 civil action brought to recover a civil penalty 

14 under that subparagraph. 

15 ‘‘(E) ENFORCEMENT.—This paragraph 

16 shall be enforced in accordance with sections 

17 3731, 3732, and 3733 of title 31, except that 

18 a civil action to recover a civil penalty under 

19 subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph may 

20 only be brought by the United States Govern21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(3) DEPOSIT OF FINES AND PENALTIES.— 

23 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 

24 criminal fine or civil penalty collected under this 

25 subsection shall be deposited into the Child PornogVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
52 

•S 1199 IS

1 raphy Victims Reserve as provided in section 

2 2259B.’’; 

3 (D) in subsection (f), by striking para4 graph (3) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(3) affirmatively search, screen, or scan for— 

6 ‘‘(A) facts or circumstances described in 

7 subsection (a)(2); 

8 ‘‘(B) information described in subsection 

9 (b)(2); or 

10 ‘‘(C) any apparent child pornography, in11 cluding any copy of apparent child pornography 

12 removed pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(B).’’; 

13 (E) in subsection (g)— 

14 (i) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

15 (I) in clause (iii), by inserting 

16 ‘‘or personnel at a children’s advocacy 

17 center’’ after ‘‘State)’’; and 

18 (II) in clause (iv), by striking 

19 ‘‘State or subdivision of a State’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘State, subdivision of a 

21 State, or children’s advocacy center’’; 

22 (ii) in paragraph (3), in the matter 

23 preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting 

24 ‘‘paragraph (1)(A) or (3) of’’ before ‘‘sub25 section (a)’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
53 

•S 1199 IS

1 (iii) in paragraph (4), by striking 

2 ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘para3 graph (1)(A) or (3) of subsection (a)’’; 

4 (F) in subsection (h)— 

5 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub6 section (a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

7 (1)(A) or (3) of subsection (a)’’; and 

8 (ii) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(5) RELATION TO REPORTING REQUIRE11 MENT.—Submission of a report as required under 

12 paragraph (1)(A) or (3) of subsection (a) does not 

13 satisfy the obligations under this subsection.’’; and 

14 (G) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 31 of 

17 the second year beginning after the date of enact18 ment of the STOP CSAM Act of 2023, and of each 

19 year thereafter, a provider that had more than 

20 1,000,000 unique monthly visitors or users during 

21 each month of the preceding year and accrued rev22 enue of more than $50,000,000 during the preceding 

23 year shall submit to the Attorney General and the 

24 Chair of the Federal Trade Commission a report, 

25 disaggregated by subsidiary, that provides the folVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
54 

•S 1199 IS

1 lowing information for the preceding year to the ex2 tent such information is applicable and reasonably 

3 available: 

4 ‘‘(A) CYBERTIPLINE DATA.— 

5 ‘‘(i) The total number of reports that 

6 the provider submitted under paragraph 

7 (1)(A) or (3) of subsection (a). 

8 ‘‘(ii) The total number of publicly 

9 available items of apparent child pornog10 raphy that the provider removed under 

11 subsection (a)(1)(B). 

12 ‘‘(iii) Which items of information de13 scribed in subsection (b)(2) are routinely 

14 included in the reports submitted by the 

15 provider under paragraph (1)(A) or (3) of 

16 subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(B) REPORT AND REMOVE DATA.—With 

18 respect to section 7 of the STOP CSAM Act of 

19 2023— 

20 ‘‘(i) a description of the provider’s 

21 designated reporting system; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the number of notifications re23 ceived; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
55 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) the number of proscribed visual 

2 depictions involving a minor that were re3 moved; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) the total amount of any fine or5 dered and paid. 

6 ‘‘(C) OTHER REPORTING TO THE PRO7 VIDER.— 

8 ‘‘(i) The measures the provider has in 

9 place to receive other reports concerning 

10 child sexual exploitation and abuse using 

11 the provider’s product or on the provider’s 

12 service, platform, or network. 

13 ‘‘(ii) The average time for responding 

14 to reports described in clause (i). 

15 ‘‘(iii) The number of reports described 

16 in clause (i) that the provider received. 

17 ‘‘(iv) A summary description of the 

18 actions taken upon receipt of the reports 

19 described in clause (i). 

20 ‘‘(D) POLICIES.— 

21 ‘‘(i) A description of the policies of 

22 the provider with respect to the commis23 sion of child sexual exploitation and abuse 

24 using the provider’s product or on the pro25 vider’s service, platform, or network, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
56 

•S 1199 IS

1 cluding how child sexual exploitation and 

2 abuse is defined. 

3 ‘‘(ii) A description of possible con4 sequences for violations of the policies de5 scribed in clause (i). 

6 ‘‘(iii) The methods of informing users 

7 of the policies described in clause (i). 

8 ‘‘(iv) The process for adjudicating po9 tential violations of the policies described 

10 in clause (i). 

11 ‘‘(E) CULTURE OF SAFETY.— 

12 ‘‘(i) The measures and technologies 

13 that the provider deploys to protect the 

14 safety of children using the provider’s 

15 product, service, platform, or network. 

16 ‘‘(ii) The measures and technologies 

17 that the provider deploys to prevent the 

18 use of the provider’s product, service, plat19 form, or network by individuals seeking to 

20 commit child sexual exploitation and abuse. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Factors that interfere with the 

22 provider’s ability to detect or evaluate in23 stances of child sexual exploitation and 

24 abuse. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
57 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(iv) An assessment of the efficacy of 

2 the measures and technologies described in 

3 clauses (i) and (ii) and the impact of the 

4 factors described in clause (iii). 

5 ‘‘(F) SAFETY BY DESIGN.—The measures 

6 that the provider takes before launching a new 

7 product, service, platform, or network to as8 sess— 

9 ‘‘(i) the safety risks for children; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) whether and how individuals 

11 could use the new product, service, plat12 form, or network to commit child sexual 

13 exploitation and abuse. 

14 ‘‘(G) TRENDS AND PATTERNS.—Any infor15 mation concerning emerging trends and chang16 ing patterns with respect to online child safety 

17 and the commission of child sexual exploitation 

18 and abuse. 

19 ‘‘(2) AVOIDING DUPLICATION.—For purposes of 

20 subparagraphs (D) through (G) of paragraph (1), in 

21 the case of any report submitted under that para22 graph after the initial report, a provider shall only 

23 be required to submit new or updated information 

24 described in those subparagraphs. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
58 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Nothing in paragraph (1) 

2 shall require the disclosure of trade secrets or other 

3 proprietary information. 

4 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

6 and the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission 

7 shall publish the reports received under this 

8 subsection. 

9 ‘‘(B) REDACTION.—A provider may re10 quest the redaction of any information that is 

11 law enforcement sensitive or otherwise not suit12 able for public distribution, and the Attorney 

13 General and Chair of the Federal Trade Com14 mission may, in their discretion, redact any 

15 such information, whether or not requested.’’; 

16 (2) in section 2258B— 

17 (A) in subsection (a)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘may not be brought in 

19 any Federal or State court’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘Except as provided in 

21 subsection (b), a civil claim or criminal 

22 charge’’ and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) LIMITED LIABILITY.—Except as provided 

24 in subsection (b), a civil claim or criminal charge deVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
59 

•S 1199 IS

1 scribed in paragraph (2) may not be brought in any 

2 Federal or State court. 

3 ‘‘(2) COVERED CLAIMS AND CHARGES.—A civil 

4 claim or criminal charge referred to in paragraph 

5 (1) is a civil claim or criminal charge’’; and 

6 (B) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘or 

7 knowingly failed to comply with a requirement 

8 under section 2258A’’ after ‘‘misconduct’’; 

9 (3) in section 2258C— 

10 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘use 

11 of the provider’s products, services, platforms, 

12 or networks to commit’’ after ‘‘stop the’’; 

13 (B) in subsection (b)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘Any provider’’ and in15 serting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any provider’’; 

17 (ii) in paragraph (1), as so des18 ignated, by striking ‘‘receives’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘, in its sole discretion, obtains’’; and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON SHARING WITH OTHER EN23 TITIES.—A provider that obtains elements under 

24 subsection (a)(1) may not distribute those elements, 

25 or make those elements available, to any other entiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
60 

•S 1199 IS

1 ty, except for the sole and exclusive purpose of stop2 ping the online sexual exploitation of children.’’; and 

3 (C) in subsection (c)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘subsections’’ and in5 serting ‘‘subsection’’; 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘providers receiving’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘a provider to obtain’’; 

8 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, or’’ after 

9 ‘‘NCMEC’’; and 

10 (iv) by inserting ‘‘use of the provider’s 

11 products, services, platforms, or networks 

12 to commit’’ after ‘‘stop the’’; 

13 (4) in section 2258E(6), by striking ‘‘electronic 

14 communication service provider’’ and inserting ‘‘elec15 tronic communication service’’; 

16 (5) in section 2259B(a), by inserting ‘‘, any 

17 fine or penalty collected under section 2258A(e) or 

18 subparagraph (A) of section 7(g)(24) of the STOP 

19 CSAM Act of 2023 (except as provided in clauses (i) 

20 and (ii)(I) of subparagraph (B) of such section 

21 7(g)(24)),’’ after ‘‘2259A’’; and 

22 (6) by adding at the end the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
61 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘§ 2260B. Liability for certain child exploitation of2 fenses 

3 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for a provider 

4 of an interactive computer service, as that term is defined 

5 in section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

6 U.S.C. 230), that operates through the use of any facility 

7 or means of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affect8 ing interstate or foreign commerce, through such service 

9 to knowingly— 

10 ‘‘(1) host or store child pornography or make 

11 child pornography available to any person; or 

12 ‘‘(2) otherwise knowingly promote or facilitate a 

13 violation of section 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, or 

14 2422(b). 

15 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—A provider of an interactive com16 puter service that violates subsection (a)— 

17 ‘‘(1) subject to paragraph (2), shall be fined not 

18 more than $1,000,000; and 

19 ‘‘(2) if the offense involves a conscious or reck20 less risk of serious personal injury or an individual 

21 is harmed as a direct and proximate result of the 

22 violation, shall be fined not more than $5,000,000. 

23 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec24 tion shall be construed to apply to any action by a provider 

25 of an interactive computer service that is necessary to 

26 comply with a valid court order, subpoena, search warrant, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
62 

•S 1199 IS

1 statutory obligation, or preservation request from law en2 forcement.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 for chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code, is amend5 ed by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘2260B. Liability for certain child exploitation offenses.’’. 

6 SEC. 6. EXPANDING CIVIL REMEDIES FOR VICTIMS OF ON7 LINE CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION. 

8 Section 2255 of title 18, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘a violation of section 

12 1589, 1590, 1591, 2241(c), 2242, 2243, 2251, 

13 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 2421, 2422, or 

14 2423 of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘a child exploi15 tation violation or conduct relating to child ex16 ploitation’’; 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘or conduct’’ after ‘‘as a 

18 result of such violation’’; and 

19 (C) by striking ‘‘sue in any’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘bring a civil action in the’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

23 ‘‘(1) the term ‘child exploitation violation’ 

24 means a violation of section 1589, 1590, 1591, 

25 1594(a) (involving a violation of section 1589, 1590, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
63 

•S 1199 IS

1 or 1591), 1594(b) (involving a violation of section 

2 1589 or 1590), 1594(c), 2241, 2242, 2243, 2251, 

3 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2260, 2421, 2422, or 2423 of 

4 this title; 

5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘conduct relating to child exploi6 tation’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) with respect to a provider of an inter8 active computer service or a software distribu9 tion service operating through the use of any 

10 means or facility of interstate or foreign com11 merce, or in or affecting interstate or foreign 

12 commerce, the intentional, knowing, reckless, or 

13 negligent promotion or facilitation of conduct 

14 that violates section 1591, 1594(c), 2251, 

15 2251A, 2252, 2252A, or 2422(b) of this title; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(B) with respect to a provider of an inter18 active computer service operating through the 

19 use of any means or facility of interstate or for20 eign commerce, or in or affecting interstate or 

21 foreign commerce, the intentional, knowing, 

22 reckless, or negligent hosting or storing of child 

23 pornography or making child pornography 

24 available to any person; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
64 

•S 1199 IS

1 ‘‘(3) the term ‘interactive computer service’ has 

2 the meaning given that term in section 230(f) of the 

3 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(4) the term ‘software distribution service’ 

6 means an online service, whether or not operated for 

7 pecuniary gain, from which individuals can purchase, 

8 obtain, or download software that— 

9 ‘‘(A) can be used by an individual to com10 municate with another individual, by any 

11 means, to store, access, distribute, or receive 

12 any visual depiction, or to transmit any live vis13 ual depiction; and 

14 ‘‘(B) was not developed by the software 

15 distribution service. 

16 ‘‘(e) RELATION TO SECTION 230 OF THE COMMU17 NICATIONS ACT OF 1934.—Nothing in section 230 of the 

18 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230) shall be 

19 construed to impair or limit any claim brought under this 

20 section for conduct relating to child exploitation. 

21 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec22 tion shall be construed to apply to any action by a provider 

23 of an interactive computer service that is necessary to 

24 comply with a valid court order, subpoena, search warrant, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
65 

•S 1199 IS

1 statutory obligation, or preservation request from law en2 forcement.’’. 

3 SEC. 7. REPORTING AND REMOVAL OF PROSCRIBED VIS4 UAL DEPICTIONS RELATING TO CHILDREN; 

5 ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILD ONLINE PROTEC6 TION BOARD. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Over 40 years ago, the Supreme Court of 

9 the United States ruled in New York v. Ferber, 458 

10 U.S. 747 (1982), that child sexual abuse material 

11 (referred to in this subsection as ‘‘CSAM’’) is a 

12 ‘‘category of material outside the protections of the 

13 First Amendment.’’ The Court emphasized that chil14 dren depicted in CSAM are harmed twice: first 

15 through the abuse and exploitation inherent in the 

16 creation of the materials, and then through the con17 tinued circulation of the imagery, which inflicts its 

18 own emotional and psychological injury. 

19 (2) The Supreme Court reiterated this point 9 

20 years ago in Paroline v. United States, 572 U.S. 

21 434 (2014), when it explained that CSAM victims 

22 suffer ‘‘continuing and grievous harm as a result of 

23 [their] knowledge that a large, indeterminate num24 ber of individuals have viewed and will in the future 

25 view images of the sexual abuse [they] endured.’’ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
66 

•S 1199 IS

1 (3) In these decisions, the Supreme Court noted 

2 that the distribution of child sexual abuse material 

3 invades the privacy interests of the victims. 

4 (4) The co-mingling online of CSAM with other, 

5 non-explicit depictions of the victims links the vic6 tim’s identity with the images of their abuse. This 

7 further invades a victim’s privacy and disrupts their 

8 sense of security, thwarting what the Supreme Court 

9 has described as ‘‘the individual interest in avoiding 

10 disclosure of personal matters.’’ 

11 (5) The internet is awash with child sexual 

12 abuse material. In 2021, the CyberTipline, operated 

13 by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Chil14 dren to combat online child sexual exploitation, re15 ceived reports about 39,900,000 images and 

16 44,800,000 videos depicting child sexual abuse. 

17 (6) Since 2017, Project Arachnid, operated by 

18 the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, has sent 

19 over 26,000,000 notices to online providers about 

20 CSAM and other exploitive material found on their 

21 platforms. According to the Canadian Centre, some 

22 providers are slow to remove the material, or take it 

23 down only for it to be reposted again a short time 

24 later. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
67 

•S 1199 IS

1 (7) This legislation is needed to create an easy2 to-use and effective procedure to get CSAM and 

3 harmful related imagery quickly taken offline and 

4 kept offline to protect children, stop the spread of il5 legal and harmful content, and thwart the continued 

6 invasion of the victims’ privacy. 

7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

8 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—Except as provided in 

9 paragraph (2), not later than 1 year after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, the Child Online Protec11 tion Board established under subsection (d), shall 

12 begin operations, at which point providers shall 

13 begin receiving notifications as set forth in sub14 section (c)(2). 

15 (2) EXTENSION.—The Commission may extend 

16 the deadline under paragraph (1) by not more than 

17 180 days if the Commission provides notice of the 

18 extension to the public and to Congress. 

19 (c) REPORTING AND REMOVAL OF PROSCRIBED VIS20 UAL DEPICTIONS RELATING TO CHILDREN.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a provider receives a com22 plete notification as set forth in paragraph (2)(A) 

23 that the provider is hosting a proscribed visual de24 piction relating to a child, not later than 48 hours 

25 after such notification is received by the provider 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
68 

•S 1199 IS

1 (or, in the case of a small provider, not later than 

2 2 business days after such notification is received by 

3 the small provider) the provider shall— 

4 (A)(i) remove the proscribed visual depic5 tion relating to a child; and 

6 (ii) notify the complainant that it has done 

7 so; or 

8 (B) notify the complainant that the pro9 vider— 

10 (i) is unable to remove the proscribed 

11 visual depiction relating to a child using 

12 reasonable means; or 

13 (ii) has determined that the notifica14 tion is duplicative under paragraph 

15 (2)(C)(i). 

16 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—To be complete under 

18 this subsection, a notification must be a written 

19 communication to the designated reporting sys20 tem of the provider (or, if the provider does not 

21 have a designated reporting system, a written 

22 communication that is served on the provider in 

23 accordance with subparagraph (F)) that in24 cludes the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
69 

•S 1199 IS

1 (i) An identification of, and informa2 tion reasonably sufficient to permit the 

3 provider to locate, the alleged proscribed 

4 visual depiction relating to a child. Such 

5 information may include, at the option of 

6 the complainant, a copy of the alleged pro7 scribed visual depiction relating to a child 

8 or the uniform resource locator where such 

9 proscribed visual depiction is located. 

10 (ii) The complainant’s name and con11 tact information, to include a mailing ad12 dress, telephone number, and an electronic 

13 mail address, except that, if the complain14 ant is the victim depicted in the alleged 

15 proscribed visual depiction relating to a 

16 child, the complainant may elect to use an 

17 alias, including for purposes of the signed 

18 statement described in clause (v), and omit 

19 a mailing address. 

20 (iii) If applicable, a statement indi21 cating that the complainant has previously 

22 notified the provider about the alleged pro23 scribed visual depiction relating to a child 

24 which may, at the option of the complainVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
70 

•S 1199 IS

1 ant, include a copy of the previous notifica2 tion. 

3 (iv) A statement indicating that the 

4 complainant has a good faith belief that 

5 the information in the notification is accu6 rate. 

7 (v) A signed statement under penalty 

8 of perjury indicating that the notification 

9 is submitted by— 

10 (I) the victim depicted in the al11 leged proscribed visual depiction relat12 ing to a child; 

13 (II) an authorized representative 

14 of the victim depicted in the alleged 

15 proscribed visual depiction relating to 

16 a child; or 

17 (III) a qualified organization. 

18 (B) INCLUSION OF MULTIPLE VISUAL DE19 PICTIONS IN SAME NOTIFICATION.—A notifica20 tion may contain information about more than 

21 one proscribed visual depiction relating to a 

22 child, but shall only be effective with respect to 

23 each proscribed visual depiction relating to a 

24 child included in the notification to the extent 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
71 

•S 1199 IS

1 that the notification includes sufficient informa2 tion to identify and locate such visual depiction. 

3 (C) LIMITATION ON DUPLICATIVE NOTIFI4 CATIONS.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—After a complain6 ant has submitted a notification to a pro7 vider, the complainant may submit addi8 tional notifications at any time only if the 

9 subsequent notifications involve— 

10 (I) a different proscribed visual 

11 depiction relating to a minor; 

12 (II) the same proscribed visual 

13 depiction relating to a minor that is in 

14 a different location; or 

15 (III) recidivist hosting. 

16 (ii) NO OBLIGATION.—A provider who 

17 receives any additional notifications that 

18 do not comply with clause (i) shall not be 

19 required to take any additional action ex20 cept— 

21 (I) as may be required with re22 spect to the original notification; and 

23 (II) to notify the complainant as 

24 provided in paragraph (1)(B)(ii). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
72 

•S 1199 IS

1 (D) INCOMPLETE OR MISDIRECTED NOTI2 FICATION.— 

3 (i) REQUIREMENT TO CONTACT COM4 PLAINANT REGARDING INSUFFICIENT IN5 FORMATION.— 

6 (I) REQUIREMENT TO CONTACT

7 COMPLAINANT.—If a notification that 

8 is submitted to a provider under this 

9 subsection does not contain sufficient 

10 information under subparagraph 

11 (A)(i) to identify or locate the visual 

12 depiction that is the subject of the no13 tification but does contain the com14 plainant contact information described 

15 in subparagraph (A)(ii), the provider 

16 shall, not later than 48 hours after re17 ceiving the notification (or, in the case 

18 of a small provider, not later than 2 

19 business days after such notification 

20 is received by the small provider), con21 tact the complainant via electronic 

22 email address to obtain such informa23 tion. 

24 (II) EFFECT OF COMPLAINANT

25 PROVIDING SUFFICIENT INFORMAVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
73 

•S 1199 IS

1 TION.—If the provider is able to con2 tact the complainant and obtain suffi3 cient information to identify or locate 

4 the visual depiction that is the subject 

5 of the notification, the provider shall 

6 then proceed as set forth in paragraph 

7 (1), except that the applicable time8 frames described in such paragraph 

9 shall commence on the day the pro10 vider receives the information needed 

11 to identify or locate the visual depic12 tion. 

13 (III) EFFECT OF COMPLAINANT

14 INABILITY TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT

15 INFORMATION.—If the provider is able 

16 to contact the complainant but does 

17 not obtain sufficient information to 

18 identify or locate the visual depiction 

19 that is the subject of the notification, 

20 the provider shall so notify the com21 plainant not later than 48 hours after 

22 the provider determines that it is un23 able to identify or locate the visual de24 piction (or, in the case of a small pro25 vider, not later than 2 business days 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
74 

•S 1199 IS

1 after the small provider makes such 

2 determination), after which no further 

3 action by the provider is required and 

4 receipt of the notification shall not be 

5 considered in determining whether the 

6 provider has actual knowledge of any 

7 information described in the notifica8 tion. 

9 (IV) EFFECT OF COMPLAINANT

10 FAILURE TO RESPOND.—If the com11 plainant does not respond to the pro12 vider’s attempt to contact the com13 plainant under this clause within 14 

14 days of such attempt, no further ac15 tion by the provider is required and 

16 receipt of the notification shall not be 

17 considered in determining whether the 

18 provider has actual knowledge of any 

19 information described in the notifica20 tion. 

21 (ii) TREATMENT OF INCOMPLETE NO22 TIFICATION WHERE COMPLAINANT CANNOT

23 BE CONTACTED.—If a notification that is 

24 submitted to a provider under this sub25 section does not contain sufficient informaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
75 

•S 1199 IS

1 tion under subparagraph (A)(i) to identify 

2 or locate the visual depiction that is the 

3 subject of the notification and does not 

4 contain the complainant contact informa5 tion described in subparagraph (A)(ii) (or 

6 if the provider is unable to contact the 

7 complainant using such information), no 

8 further action by the provider is required 

9 and receipt of the notification shall not be 

10 considered in determining whether the pro11 vider has actual knowledge of any informa12 tion described in the notification. 

13 (iii) TREATMENT OF NOTIFICATION

14 NOT SUBMITTED TO DESIGNATED REPORT15 ING SYSTEM.—If a provider has a des16 ignated reporting system, and a complain17 ant submits a notification under this sub18 section to the provider without using such 

19 system, the provider shall not be consid20 ered to have received the notification. 

21 (E) OPTION TO CONTACT COMPLAINANT

22 REGARDING THE PROSCRIBED VISUAL DEPIC23 TION INVOLVING A MINOR.— 

24 (i) CONTACT WITH COMPLAINANT.—If 

25 the provider believes that the proscribed 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
76 

•S 1199 IS

1 visual depiction involving a minor ref2 erenced in the notification does not meet 

3 the definition of such term as provided in 

4 subsection (r)(10), the provider may, not 

5 later than 48 hours after receiving the no6 tification (or, in the case of a small pro7 vider, not later than 2 business days after 

8 such notification is received by the small 

9 provider), contact the complainant via elec10 tronic mail address to so indicate. 

11 (ii) FAILURE TO RESPOND.—If the 

12 complainant does not respond to the pro13 vider within 14 days after receiving the no14 tification, no further action by the provider 

15 is required and receipt of the notification 

16 shall not be considered in determining 

17 whether the provider has actual knowledge 

18 of any information described in the notifi19 cation. 

20 (iii) COMPLAINANT RESPONSE.—If the 

21 complainant responds to the provider with22 in 14 days after receiving the notification, 

23 the provider shall then proceed as set forth 

24 in paragraph (1), except that the applica25 ble timeframes described in such paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
77 

•S 1199 IS

1 graph shall commence on the day the pro2 vider receives the complainant’s response. 

3 (F) SERVICE OF NOTIFICATION WHERE

4 PROVIDER HAS NO DESIGNATED REPORTING

5 SYSTEM; PROCESS WHERE COMPLAINANT CAN6 NOT SERVE PROVIDER.— 

7 (i) NO DESIGNATED REPORTING SYS8 TEM.—If a provider does not have a des9 ignated reporting system, a complainant 

10 may serve the provider with a notification 

11 under this subsection to the provider in the 

12 same manner that petitions are required to 

13 be served under subsection (g)(4). 

14 (ii) COMPLAINANT CANNOT SERVE

15 PROVIDER.—If a provider does not have a 

16 designated reporting system and a com17 plainant cannot reasonably serve the pro18 vider with a notification as described in 

19 clause (i), the complainant may bring a pe20 tition under subsection (g)(1) without serv21 ing the provider with the notification. 

22 (G) RECIDIVIST HOSTING.—If a provider 

23 engages in recidivist hosting of a proscribed vis24 ual depiction relating to a child, in addition to 

25 any action taken under this section, a complainVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
78 

•S 1199 IS

1 ant may submit a report concerning such recidi2 vist hosting to the CyberTipline operated by the 

3 National Center for Missing and Exploited Chil4 dren, or any successor to the CyberTipline oper5 ated by the National Center for Missing and 

6 Exploited Children. 

7 (H) PRESERVATION.—A provider that re8 ceives a complete notification under this sub9 section shall preserve the information in such 

10 notification in accordance with the requirements 

11 of sections 2713 and 2258A(h) of title 18, 

12 United States Code. For purposes of this sub13 paragraph, the period for which providers shall 

14 be required to preserve information in accord15 ance with such section 2258A(h) may be ex16 tended in 90-day increments on written request 

17 by the complainant or order of the Board. 

18 (I) NON-DISCLOSURE.—Except as other19 wise provided in subsection (g)(19)(C), for 180 

20 days following receipt of a notification under 

21 this subsection, a provider may not disclose the 

22 existence of the notification to any person or 

23 entity except to an attorney for purposes of ob24 taining legal advice, the Board, the Commis25 sion, a law enforcement agency described in 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
79 

•S 1199 IS

1 subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 

2 2258A(g)(3) of title 18, United States Code, 

3 the National Center for Missing and Exploited 

4 Children, or as necessary to respond to legal 

5 process. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall 

6 be construed to infringe on the provider’s abil7 ity to communicate general information about 

8 terms of service violations. 

9 (d) ESTABLISHMENT OF CHILD ONLINE PROTEC10 TION BOARD.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

12 Federal Trade Commission a Child Online Protec13 tion Board, which shall administer and enforce the 

14 requirements of subsection (e) in accordance with 

15 this section. 

16 (2) OFFICERS AND STAFF.—The Board shall be 

17 composed of 3 full-time Child Online Protection Of18 ficers who shall be appointed by the Commission in 

19 accordance with paragraph (5)(A). A vacancy on the 

20 Board shall not impair the right of the remaining 

21 Child Online Protection Officers to exercise the 

22 functions and duties of the Board. 

23 (3) CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION ATTORNEYS.— 

24 Not fewer than 2 full-time Child Online Protection 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
80 

•S 1199 IS

1 Attorneys shall be hired to assist in the administra2 tion of the Board. 

3 (4) TECHNOLOGICAL ADVISER.—One or more 

4 technological advisers may be hired to assist with 

5 the handling of digital evidence and consult with the 

6 Child Online Protection Officers on matters con7 cerning digital evidence and technological issues. 

8 (5) QUALIFICATIONS.— 

9 (A) OFFICERS.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each Child Online 

11 Protection Officer shall be an attorney 

12 duly licensed in at least 1 United States 

13 jurisdiction who has not fewer than 7 years 

14 of legal experience concerning child sexual 

15 abuse material and technology-facilitated 

16 crimes against children. 

17 (ii) EXPERIENCE.—Two of the Child 

18 Online Protection Officers shall have sub19 stantial experience in the evaluation, litiga20 tion, or adjudication of matters relating to 

21 child sexual abuse material or technology22 facilitated crimes against children. 

23 (B) ATTORNEYS.—Each Child Online Pro24 tection Attorney shall be an attorney duly li25 censed in at least 1 United States jurisdiction 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
81 

•S 1199 IS

1 who has not fewer than 3 years of substantial 

2 legal experience concerning child sexual abuse 

3 material and technology-facilitated crimes 

4 against children. 

5 (C) TECHNOLOGICAL ADVISER.—A techno6 logical adviser shall have at least one year of 

7 specialized experience with digital forensic anal8 ysis. 

9 (6) COMPENSATION.— 

10 (A) CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION OFFI11 CERS.— 

12 (i) DEFINITION.—In this subpara13 graph, the term ‘‘senior level employee of 

14 the Federal Government’’ means an em15 ployee, other than employee in the Senior 

16 Executive Service, the position of whom is 

17 classified above GS–15 of the General 

18 Schedule. 

19 (ii) PAY RANGE.—Each Child Online 

20 Protection Officer shall be compensated at 

21 a rate of pay that is not less than the min22 imum, and not more than the maximum, 

23 rate of pay payable for senior level employ24 ees of the Federal Government, including 

25 locality pay, as applicable. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
82 

•S 1199 IS

1 (B) CHILD ONLINE PROTECTION ATTOR2 NEYS.—Each Child Online Protection Attorney 

3 shall be compensated at a rate of pay that is 

4 not more than the maximum rate of pay pay5 able for level 10 of GS–15 of the General 

6 Schedule, including locality pay, as applicable. 

7 (C) TECHNOLOGICAL ADVISER.—A techno8 logical adviser of the Board shall be com9 pensated at a rate of pay that is not more than 

10 the maximum rate of pay payable for level 10 

11 of GS–14 of the General Schedule, including lo12 cality pay, as applicable. 

13 (7) VACANCY.—If a vacancy occurs in the posi14 tion of Child Online Protection Officer, the Commis15 sion shall act expeditiously to appoint an Officer for 

16 that position. 

17 (8) SANCTION OR REMOVAL.—Subject to sub18 section (e)(2), the Chair of the Commission or the 

19 Commission may sanction or remove a Child Online 

20 Protection Officer. 

21 (9) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Commis22 sion shall provide the Child Online Protection Offi23 cers and Child Online Protection Attorneys with nec24 essary administrative support, including techno25 logical facilities, to carry out the duties of the OffiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
83 

•S 1199 IS

1 cers and Attorneys under this section. The Depart2 ment of Justice may provide equipment and guid3 ance on the storage and handling of proscribed vis4 ual depictions relating to children. 

5 (10) LOCATION OF BOARD.—The offices and fa6 cilities of the Child Online Protection Officers and 

7 Child Online Protection Attorneys shall be located at 

8 the headquarters or other office of the Commission. 

9 (e) AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD.— 

10 (1) FUNCTIONS.— 

11 (A) OFFICERS.—Subject to the provisions 

12 of this section and applicable regulations, the 

13 functions of the Officers of the Board shall be 

14 as follows: 

15 (i) To render determinations on peti16 tions that may be brought before the Offi17 cers under this section. 

18 (ii) To ensure that petitions and re19 sponses are properly asserted and other20 wise appropriate for resolution by the 

21 Board. 

22 (iii) To manage the proceedings before 

23 the Officers and render determinations 

24 pertaining to the consideration of petitions 

25 and responses, including with respect to 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
84 

•S 1199 IS

1 scheduling, discovery, evidentiary, and 

2 other matters. 

3 (iv) To request, from participants and 

4 nonparticipants in a proceeding, the pro5 duction of information and documents rel6 evant to the resolution of a petition or re7 sponse. 

8 (v) To conduct hearings and con9 ferences. 

10 (vi) To facilitate the settlement by the 

11 parties of petitions and responses. 

12 (vii) To impose fines as set forth in 

13 subsection (g)(24). 

14 (viii) To provide information to the 

15 public concerning the procedures and re16 quirements of the Board. 

17 (ix) To maintain records of the pro18 ceedings before the Officers, certify official 

19 records of such proceedings as needed, 

20 and, as provided in subsection (g)(19)(A), 

21 make the records in such proceedings 

22 available to the public. 

23 (x) To carry out such other duties as 

24 are set forth in this section. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
85 

•S 1199 IS

1 (xi) When not engaged in performing 

2 the duties of the Officers set forth in this 

3 section, to perform such other duties as 

4 may be assigned by the Chair of the Com5 mission or the Commission. 

6 (B) ATTORNEYS.—Subject to the provi7 sions of this section and applicable regulations, 

8 the functions of the Attorneys of the Board 

9 shall be as follows: 

10 (i) To provide assistance to the Offi11 cers of the Board in the administration of 

12 the duties of those Officers under this sec13 tion. 

14 (ii) To provide assistance to complain15 ants, providers, and members of the public 

16 with respect to the procedures and require17 ments of the Board. 

18 (iii) When not engaged in performing 

19 the duties of the Attorneys set forth in this 

20 section, to perform such other duties as 

21 may be assigned by the Commission. 

22 (C) DESIGNATED SERVICE AGENTS.—The 

23 Board may maintain a publicly available direc24 tory of service agents designated to receive serv25 ice of petitions filed with the Board. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
86 

•S 1199 IS

1 (2) INDEPENDENCE IN DETERMINATIONS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall render 

3 the determinations of the Board in individual 

4 proceedings independently on the basis of the 

5 records in the proceedings before it and in ac6 cordance with the provisions of this section, ju7 dicial precedent, and applicable regulations of 

8 the Commission. 

9 (B) PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS.—Not10 withstanding any other provision of law or any 

11 regulation or policy of the Commission, any per12 formance appraisal of an Officer or Attorney of 

13 the Board may not consider the substantive re14 sult of any individual determination reached by 

15 the Board as a basis for appraisal except to the 

16 extent that result may relate to any actual or 

17 alleged violation of an ethical standard of con18 duct. 

19 (3) DIRECTION BY COMMISSION.—Subject to 

20 paragraph (2), the Officers and Attorneys shall, in 

21 the administration of their duties, be under the su22 pervision of the Chair of the Commission. 

23 (4) INCONSISTENT DUTIES BARRED.—An Offi24 cer or Attorney of the Board may not undertake any 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
87 

•S 1199 IS

1 duty that conflicts with the duties of the Officer or 

2 Attorney in connection with the Board. 

3 (5) RECUSAL.—An Officer or Attorney of the 

4 Board shall recuse himself or herself from participa5 tion in any proceeding with respect to which the Of6 ficer or Attorney, as the case may be, has reason to 

7 believe that he or she has a conflict of interest. 

8 (6) EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS.—Except as 

9 may otherwise be permitted by applicable law, any 

10 party or interested owner involved in a proceeding 

11 before the Board shall refrain from ex parte commu12 nications with the Officers of the Board and the 

13 Commission relevant to the merits of such pro14 ceeding before the Board. 

15 (7) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Actions of the Officers 

16 and the Commission under this section in connection 

17 with the rendering of any determination are subject 

18 to judicial review as provided under subsection 

19 (g)(28). 

20 (f) CONDUCT OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Proceedings of the Board 

22 shall be conducted in accordance with this section 

23 and regulations established by the Commission 

24 under this section, in addition to relevant principles 

25 of law. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
88 

•S 1199 IS

1 (2) RECORD.—The Board shall maintain 

2 records documenting the proceedings before the 

3 Board. 

4 (3) CENTRALIZED PROCESS.—Proceedings be5 fore the Board shall— 

6 (A) be conducted at the offices of the 

7 Board without the requirement of in-person ap8 pearances by parties or others; 

9 (B) take place by means of written submis10 sions, hearings, and conferences carried out 

11 through internet-based applications and other 

12 telecommunications facilities, except that, in 

13 cases in which physical or other nontestimonial 

14 evidence material to a proceeding cannot be fur15 nished to the Board through available tele16 communications facilities, the Board may make 

17 alternative arrangements for the submission of 

18 such evidence that do not prejudice any party 

19 or interested owner; and 

20 (C) be conducted and concluded in an ex21 peditious manner without causing undue preju22 dice to any party or interested owner. 

23 (4) REPRESENTATION.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—A party or interested 

25 owner involved in a proceeding before the Board 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
89 

•S 1199 IS

1 may be, but is not required to be, represented 

2 by— 

3 (i) an attorney; or 

4 (ii) a law student who is qualified 

5 under applicable law governing representa6 tion by law students of parties in legal pro7 ceedings and who provides such represen8 tation on a pro bono basis. 

9 (B) REPRESENTATION OF VICTIMS.— 

10 (i) IN GENERAL.—A petition involving 

11 a victim under the age of 16 at the time 

12 the petition is filed shall be filed by an au13 thorized representative, qualified organiza14 tion, or a person described in subpara15 graph (A). 

16 (ii) NO REQUIREMENT FOR QUALI17 FIED ORGANIZATIONS TO HAVE CONTACT

18 WITH, OR KNOWLEDGE OF, VICTIM.—A 

19 qualified organization may submit a notifi20 cation to a provider or file a petition on be21 half of a victim without regard to whether 

22 the qualified organization has contact with 

23 the victim or knows the identity, location, 

24 or contact information of the victim. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
90 

•S 1199 IS

1 (g) PROCEDURES TO CONTEST A FAILURE TO RE2 MOVE A PROSCRIBED VISUAL DEPICTION RELATING TO

3 A CHILD OR A NOTIFICATION REPORTING A PROSCRIBED

4 VISUAL DEPICTION RELATING TO A CHILD.— 

5 (1) PROCEDURE TO CONTEST A FAILURE TO

6 REMOVE.— 

7 (A) COMPLAINANT PETITION.—A com8 plainant may file a petition to the Board claim9 ing that, as applicable— 

10 (i) the complainant submitted a com11 plete notification to a provider concerning 

12 a proscribed visual depiction relating to a 

13 child, and that— 

14 (I) the provider— 

15 (aa) did not remove the pro16 scribed visual depiction relating 

17 to a child within the timeframe 

18 required under subsection 

19 (c)(1)(A)(i); or 

20 (bb) incorrectly claimed 

21 that— 

22 (AA) the visual depic23 tion at issue could not be lo24 cated or removed through 

25 reasonable means; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
91 

•S 1199 IS

1 (BB) the notification 

2 was incomplete; or 

3 (CC) the notification 

4 was duplicative under sub5 section (c)(2)(C)(i); and 

6 (II) did not file a timely petition 

7 to contest the notification with the 

8 Board under paragraph (2); or 

9 (ii) a provider is hosting a proscribed 

10 visual depiction relating to a child, does 

11 not have a designated reporting system, 

12 and the complainant was unable to serve a 

13 notification on the provider under this sub14 section despite reasonable efforts. 

15 (B) ADDITIONAL CLAIM.—As applicable, a 

16 petition filed under subparagraph (A) may also 

17 claim that the proscribed visual depiction relat18 ing to a child at issue in the petition involves 

19 recidivist hosting. 

20 (C) TIMEFRAME.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—A petition under 

22 this paragraph shall be considered timely if 

23 it is filed within 30 days of the applicable 

24 start date, as defined under clause (ii). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
92 

•S 1199 IS

1 (ii) APPLICABLE START DATE.—For 

2 purposes of clause (i), the term ‘‘applicable 

3 start date’’ means— 

4 (I) in the case of a petition under 

5 subparagraph (A)(i) claiming that the 

6 visual depiction was not removed or 

7 that the provider made an incorrect 

8 claim relating to the visual depiction 

9 or notification, the day that the pro10 vider’s option to file a petition has ex11 pired under paragraph (2)(B); and 

12 (II) in the case of a petition 

13 under subparagraph (A)(ii) related to 

14 a notification that could not be 

15 served, the last day of the 2-week pe16 riod that begins on the day on which 

17 the complainant first attempted to 

18 serve a notification on the provider in19 volved. 

20 (D) IDENTIFICATION OF VICTIM.—Any pe21 tition filed to the Board by the victim or an au22 thorized representative of the victim shall in23 clude the victim’s legal name. A petition filed to 

24 the Board by a qualified organization may, but 

25 is not required to, include the victim’s legal 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
93 

•S 1199 IS

1 name. Any petition containing the victim’s legal 

2 name shall be filed under seal. The victim’s 

3 legal name shall be redacted from any docu4 ments served on the provider and interested 

5 owner or made publicly available. 

6 (E) FAILURE TO REMOVE VISUAL DEPIC7 TIONS IN TIMELY MANNER.—A complainant 

8 may file a petition under subparagraph (A)(i) 

9 claiming that a visual depiction was not re10 moved even if the visual depiction was removed 

11 prior to the petition being filed, so long as the 

12 petition claims that the visual depiction was not 

13 removed within the timeframe specified in sub14 section (c)(1). 

15 (2) PROCEDURE TO CONTEST A NOTIFICA16 TION.— 

17 (A) PROVIDER PETITION.—If a provider 

18 receives a complete notification as described in 

19 subsection (c)(2) through its designated report20 ing system or in accordance with subsection 

21 (c)(2)(F)(i), the provider may file a petition to 

22 the Board claiming that the provider has a 

23 good faith belief that, as applicable— 

24 (i) the visual depiction that is the sub25 ject of the notification does not constitute 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
94 

•S 1199 IS

1 a proscribed visual depiction relating to a 

2 child; 

3 (ii) the notification is frivolous or was 

4 submitted with an intent to harass the pro5 vider or any person; 

6 (iii) the alleged proscribed visual de7 piction relating to a child cannot reason8 ably be located by the provider; 

9 (iv) for reasons beyond the control of 

10 the provider, the provider cannot remove 

11 the proscribed visual depiction relating to a 

12 child using reasonable means; or 

13 (v) the notification was duplicative 

14 under subsection (c)(2)(C)(i). 

15 (B) TIMEFRAME.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 

17 (ii) and (iii), a petition contesting a notifi18 cation under this paragraph shall be con19 sidered timely if it is filed by a provider 

20 not later than 14 days after the day on 

21 which the provider receives the notification 

22 or the notification is made complete under 

23 subsection (c)(2)(D)(i). 

24 (ii) NO DESIGNATED REPORTING SYS25 TEM.—Subject to clause (iii), if a provider 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
95 

•S 1199 IS

1 does not have a designated reporting sys2 tem, a petition contesting a notification 

3 under this paragraph shall be considered 

4 timely if it is filed by a provider not later 

5 than 7 days after the day on which the 

6 provider receives the notification or the no7 tification is made complete under sub8 section (c)(2)(D)(i). 

9 (iii) SMALL PROVIDERS.—In the case 

10 of a small provider, each of the timeframes 

11 applicable under clauses (i) and (ii) shall 

12 be increased by 48 hours. 

13 (C) TEMPORARY REMOVAL OF ALLEGED

14 PROSCRIBED VISUAL DEPICTION RELATING TO A

15 CHILD.— 

16 (i) IN GENERAL.—If a provider files a 

17 petition to the Board contesting a notifica18 tion solely on the basis of the reason de19 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i), the pro20 vider shall disable public and user access 

21 to the alleged proscribed visual depiction 

22 relating to a child that is the subject of the 

23 notification prior to the submission of the 

24 petition and during the pendency of the 

25 adjudication, including judicial review as 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
96 

•S 1199 IS

1 provided in subsection (g)(28). Such peti2 tion shall include a statement, under the 

3 penalty of perjury, that public and user ac4 cess to the alleged proscribed visual depic5 tion relating to a child has been disabled. 

6 (ii) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO RE7 MOVE.— 

8 (I) IN GENERAL.—If a provider 

9 fails to comply with clause (i), the 

10 Board may— 

11 (aa) dismiss the petition 

12 with prejudice; and 

13 (bb) refer the matter to the 

14 Attorney General. 

15 (II) EFFECT OF DISMISSAL.—If 

16 a provider’s petition is dismissed 

17 under clause (I)(aa), the complainant 

18 may bring a petition under paragraph 

19 (1) as if the provider did not file a pe20 tition within the timeframe specified 

21 in subparagraph (B). 

22 (iii) EFFECT ON TIMING.—The Board 

23 shall prioritize the issuance of a determina24 tion concerning any petition subject to this 

25 subparagraph to the extent possible withVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
97 

•S 1199 IS

1 out causing undue prejudice to any party 

2 or interested owner. 

3 (3) COMMENCEMENT OF PROCEEDING.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—In order to commence 

5 a proceeding under this section, a petitioning 

6 party shall, subject to such additional require7 ments as may be prescribed in regulations es8 tablished by the Commission, file a petition 

9 with the Board, that includes a statement of 

10 claims and material facts in support of each 

11 claim in the petition. A petition may set forth 

12 more than one claim. A petition shall also in13 clude information establishing that it has been 

14 filed within the applicable timeframe. 

15 (B) REVIEW OF PETITIONS BY CHILD ON16 LINE PROTECTION ATTORNEYS.—Child Online 

17 Protection Attorneys may review petitions to 

18 assess whether they are complete. The Board 

19 may permit a petitioning party to refile a defec20 tive petition. The Attorney may assist the peti21 tioning party in making any corrections. 

22 (C) DISMISSAL.—The Board may dismiss, 

23 with or without prejudice, any petition that fails 

24 to comply with subparagraph (A). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
98 

•S 1199 IS

1 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR

2 PETITIONS.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of peti4 tions under paragraphs (1) and (2), the peti5 tioning party shall, at or before the time of fil6 ing a petition, serve a copy on the other party. 

7 A corporation, partnership, or unincorporated 

8 association that is subject to suit in courts of 

9 general jurisdiction under a common name shall 

10 be served by delivering a copy of the petition to 

11 its service agent, if one has been so designated. 

12 (B) MANNER OF SERVICE.— 

13 (i) SERVICE BY NONDIGITAL

14 MEANS.—Service by nondigital means may 

15 be any of the following: 

16 (I) Personal, including delivery to 

17 a responsible person at the office of 

18 counsel. 

19 (II) By priority mail. 

20 (III) By third-party commercial 

21 carrier for delivery within 3 days. 

22 (ii) SERVICE BY DIGITAL MEANS.— 

23 Service of a paper may be made by sending 

24 it by any digital means, including through 

25 a provider’s designated reporting system. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
99 

•S 1199 IS

1 (iii) WHEN SERVICE IS COM2 PLETED.—Service by mail or by commer3 cial carrier is complete 3 days after the 

4 mailing or delivery to the carrier. Service 

5 by digital means is complete on filing or 

6 sending, unless the party making service is 

7 notified that the paper was not received by 

8 the party served. 

9 (C) PROOF OF SERVICE.—A petition filed 

10 under paragraph (1) or (2) shall contain— 

11 (i) an acknowledgment of service by 

12 the person served; 

13 (ii) proof of service consisting of a 

14 statement by the person who made service 

15 certifying— 

16 (I) the date and manner of serv17 ice; 

18 (II) the names of the persons 

19 served; and 

20 (III) their mail or electronic ad21 dresses, facsimile numbers, or the ad22 dresses of the places of delivery, as 

23 appropriate for the manner of service; 

24 or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
100 

•S 1199 IS

1 (iii) a statement indicating that serv2 ice could not reasonably be completed. 

3 (D) ATTORNEYS FEES AND COSTS.—Ex4 cept as otherwise provided in this subsection, all 

5 parties to a petition shall bear their own attor6 ney fees and costs. 

7 (5) SERVICE OF OTHER DOCUMENTS.—Docu8 ments submitted or relied upon in a proceeding, 

9 other than the petition, shall be served in accordance 

10 with regulations established by the Commission. 

11 (6) NOTIFICATION OF RIGHT TO OPT OUT.—In 

12 order to effectuate service on a responding party, 

13 the petition shall notify the responding party of their 

14 right to opt out of the proceeding before the Board, 

15 and the consequences of opting out and not opting 

16 out, including a prominent statement that by not 

17 opting out the respondent— 

18 (A) loses the opportunity to have the dis19 pute decided by a court created under article 

20 III of the Constitution of the United States; 

21 and 

22 (B) waives the right to a jury trial regard23 ing the dispute. 

24 (7) OPT-OUT PROCEDURE.—Within 1 week of 

25 completion of service of the petition under paraVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
101 

•S 1199 IS

1 graph (4), 1 or more Officers of the Board shall 

2 hold a conference to explain that the responding 

3 party has a right to opt out of the proceeding before 

4 the Board, and describe the consequences of opting 

5 out and not opting out as described in paragraph 

6 (6). A responding party shall have a period of 30 

7 days, beginning on the date of conference, in which 

8 to provide written notice of such choice to the peti9 tioning party and the Child Online Protection 

10 Board. If the responding party does not submit an 

11 opt-out notice to the Child Online Protection Board 

12 within that 30-day period, the proceeding shall be 

13 deemed an active proceeding and the responding 

14 party shall be bound by the determination in the 

15 proceeding. If the responding party opts out of the 

16 proceeding during that 30-day period, the pro17 ceeding shall be dismissed without prejudice. 

18 (8) SCHEDULING.—Upon receipt of a complete 

19 petition and at the conclusion of the opt out proce20 dure described in paragraph (7), the Board shall 

21 issue a schedule for the future conduct of the pro22 ceeding. A schedule issued by the Board may be 

23 amended by the Board in the interests of justice. 

24 (9) CONFERENCES.—One or more Officers of 

25 the Board may hold a conference to address case 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
102 

•S 1199 IS

1 management or discovery issues in a proceeding, 

2 which shall be noted upon the record of the pro3 ceeding and may be recorded or transcribed. 

4 (10) PARTY SUBMISSIONS.—A proceeding of the 

5 Board may not include any formal motion practice, 

6 except that, subject to applicable regulations and 

7 procedures of the Board— 

8 (A) the parties to the proceeding and an 

9 interested owner may make requests to the 

10 Board to address case management and dis11 covery matters, and submit responses thereto; 

12 and 

13 (B) the Board may request or permit par14 ties and interested owners to make submissions 

15 addressing relevant questions of fact or law, or 

16 other matters, including matters raised sua 

17 sponte by the Officers of the Board, and offer 

18 responses thereto. 

19 (11) DISCOVERY.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Discovery in a pro21 ceeding shall be limited to the production of rel22 evant information and documents, written inter23 rogatories, and written requests for admission, 

24 as provided in regulations established by the 

25 Commission, except that— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
103 

•S 1199 IS

1 (i) upon the request of a party, and 

2 for good cause shown, the Board may ap3 prove additional relevant discovery, on a 

4 limited basis, in particular matters, and 

5 may request specific information and docu6 ments from parties in the proceeding, con7 sistent with the interests of justice; 

8 (ii) upon the request of a party or in9 terested owner, and for good cause shown, 

10 the Board may issue a protective order to 

11 limit the disclosure of documents or testi12 mony that contain confidential informa13 tion; 

14 (iii) after providing notice and an op15 portunity to respond, and upon good cause 

16 shown, the Board may apply an adverse in17 ference with respect to disputed facts 

18 against a party or interested owner who 

19 has failed to timely provide discovery mate20 rials in response to a proper request for 

21 materials that could be relevant to such 

22 facts; and 

23 (iv) an interested owner shall only 

24 produce or receive discovery to the extent 

25 it relates to whether the visual depiction at 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
104 

•S 1199 IS

1 issue constitutes a proscribed visual depic2 tion relating to a child. 

3 (B) PRIVACY.—Any alleged proscribed vis4 ual depiction relating to a child received by the 

5 Board or the Commission as part of a pro6 ceeding shall be filed under seal and shall re7 main in the care, custody, and control of the 

8 Board or the Commission. For purposes of dis9 covery, the Board or Commission shall make 

10 the proscribed visual depiction relating to a 

11 child reasonably available to the parties and in12 terested owner but shall not provide copies. The 

13 privacy protections described in section 3509(d) 

14 of title 18, United States Code, shall apply to 

15 the Board, Commission, provider, complainant, 

16 and interested owner. 

17 (12) RESPONSES.—The responding party may 

18 refute any of the claims or factual assertions made 

19 by the petitioning party, and may also claim that the 

20 petition was not filed in the applicable timeframe or 

21 is barred under subsection (h). If a complainant is 

22 the petitioning party, a provider may claim in re23 sponse that the notification was incomplete and 

24 could not be made complete under subsection 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
105 

•S 1199 IS

1 (c)(2)(D)(i). The petitioning party may refute any 

2 responses submitted by the responding party. 

3 (13) INTERESTED OWNER.—An individual noti4 fied under paragraph (19)(C)(ii) may, within 14 

5 days of being so notified, file a motion to join the 

6 proceeding for the limited purpose of claiming that 

7 the visual depiction at issue does not constitute a 

8 proscribed visual depiction relating to a child. The 

9 Board shall serve the motion on both parties. Such 

10 motion shall include a factual basis and a signed 

11 statement, submitted under penalty of perjury, indi12 cating that the individual produced or created the 

13 visual depiction at issue. The Board shall dismiss 

14 any motion that does not include the signed state15 ment or that was submitted by an individual who did 

16 not produce or create the visual depiction at issue. 

17 If the motion is granted, the interested owner may 

18 also claim that the notification and petition were 

19 filed with an intent to harass the interested owner. 

20 Any party may refute the claims and factual asser21 tions made by the interested owner. 

22 (14) EVIDENCE.—The Board may consider the 

23 following types of evidence in a proceeding, and such 

24 evidence may be admitted without application of for25 mal rules of evidence: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
106 

•S 1199 IS

1 (A) Documentary and other nontestimonial 

2 evidence that is relevant to the petitions or re3 sponses in the proceeding. 

4 (B) Testimonial evidence, submitted under 

5 penalty of perjury in written form or in accord6 ance with paragraph (15), limited to statements 

7 of the parties and nonexpert witnesses, that is 

8 relevant to the petitions or responses in a pro9 ceeding, except that, in exceptional cases, expert 

10 witness testimony or other types of testimony 

11 may be permitted by the Board for good cause 

12 shown. 

13 (15) HEARINGS.—Unless waived by all parties, 

14 the Board shall conduct a hearing to receive oral 

15 presentations on issues of fact or law from parties 

16 and witnesses to a proceeding, including oral testi17 mony, subject to the following: 

18 (A) Any such hearing shall be attended by 

19 not fewer than two of the Officers of the Board. 

20 (B) The hearing shall be noted upon the 

21 record of the proceeding and, subject to sub22 paragraph (C), may be recorded or transcribed 

23 as deemed necessary by the Board. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
107 

•S 1199 IS

1 (C) A recording or transcript of the hear2 ing shall be made available to any Officer of the 

3 Board who is not in attendance. 

4 (16) VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL.— 

5 (A) BY PETITIONING PARTY.—Upon the 

6 written request of a petitioning party, the 

7 Board shall dismiss the petition, with or with8 out prejudice. 

9 (B) BY RESPONDING PARTY OR INTER10 ESTED OWNER.—Upon written request of a re11 sponding party or interested owner, the Board 

12 shall dismiss any responses to the petition, and 

13 shall consider all claims and factual assertions 

14 in the petition to be true. 

15 (17) FACTUAL FINDINGS.—Subject to para16 graph (11)(A)(iii), the Board shall make factual 

17 findings based upon a preponderance of the evi18 dence. 

19 (18) DETERMINATIONS.— 

20 (A) NATURE AND CONTENTS.—A deter21 mination rendered by the Board in a proceeding 

22 shall— 

23 (i) be reached by a majority of the 

24 Board; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
108 

•S 1199 IS

1 (ii) be in writing, and include an ex2 planation of the factual and legal basis of 

3 the determination; and 

4 (iii) include a clear statement of all 

5 fines, costs, and other relief awarded. 

6 (B) DISSENT.—An Officer of the Board 

7 who dissents from a decision contained in a de8 termination under subparagraph (A) may ap9 pend a statement setting forth the grounds for 

10 that dissent. 

11 (19) PUBLICATION AND DISCLOSURE.— 

12 (A) PUBLICATION.—Each final determina13 tion of the Board shall be made available on a 

14 publicly accessible website, except that the final 

15 determination shall be redacted to protect con16 fidential information that is the subject of a 

17 protective order under paragraph (11)(A)(ii) or 

18 information protected pursuant to paragraph 

19 (11)(B) and any other information protected 

20 from public disclosure under the Federal Trade 

21 Commission Act or any other applicable provi22 sion of law. 

23 (B) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.—All 

24 information relating to proceedings of the 

25 Board under this section is exempt from discloVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
109 

•S 1199 IS

1 sure to the public under section 552(b)(3) of 

2 title 5, except for determinations, records, and 

3 information published under subparagraph (A). 

4 Any information that is disclosed under this 

5 subparagraph shall have redacted any informa6 tion that is the subject of a protective order 

7 under paragraph (11)(A)(ii) or protected pursu8 ant to paragraph (11)(B). 

9 (C) EFFECT OF PETITION ON NON-DISCLO10 SURE PERIOD.— 

11 (i) Submission of a petition extends 

12 the non-disclosure period under subsection 

13 (c)(2)(I) for the pendency of the pro14 ceeding. The provider may submit an ob15 jection to the Board that nondisclosure is 

16 contrary to the interests of justice. The 

17 complainant may, but is not required to, 

18 respond to the objection. The Board should 

19 sustain the objection unless there is reason 

20 to believe that the circumstances in section 

21 3486(a)(6)(B) of title 18, United States 

22 Code, exist and outweigh the interests of 

23 justice. 

24 (ii) If the Board sustains an objection 

25 to the nondisclosure period, the provider or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
110 

•S 1199 IS

1 the Board may notify the apparent owner 

2 of the visual depiction in question about 

3 the proceeding, and include instructions on 

4 how the owner may move to join the pro5 ceeding under paragraph (13). 

6 (iii) If applicable, the nondisclosure 

7 period expires 120 after the Board’s deter8 mination becomes final, except it shall ex9 pire immediately upon the Board’s deter10 mination becoming final if the Board finds 

11 that the visual depiction is not a pro12 scribed visual depiction relating to a 

13 minor. 

14 (iv) The interested owner of a visual 

15 depiction may not bring any legal action 

16 against any party related to the proscribed 

17 visual depiction relating to a child until the 

18 Board’s determination is final. Once the 

19 determination is final, the owner of the vis20 ual depiction may pursue any legal relief 

21 available under the law, subject to sub22 sections (h), (k), and (l). 

23 (20) RESPONDING PARTY’S DEFAULT.—If the 

24 Board finds that service of the petition on the re25 sponding party could not reasonably be completed, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
111 

•S 1199 IS

1 or the responding party has failed to appear or has 

2 ceased participating in a proceeding, as dem3 onstrated by the responding party’s failure, without 

4 justifiable cause, to meet one or more deadlines or 

5 requirements set forth in the schedule adopted by 

6 the Board, the Board may enter a default deter7 mination, including the dismissal of any responses 

8 asserted by the responding party, as follows and in 

9 accordance with such other requirements as the 

10 Commission may establish by regulation: 

11 (A) The Board shall require the petitioning 

12 party to submit relevant evidence and other in13 formation in support of the petitioning party’s 

14 claims and, upon review of such evidence and 

15 any other requested submissions from the peti16 tioning party, shall determine whether the ma17 terials so submitted are sufficient to support a 

18 finding in favor of the petitioning party under 

19 applicable law and, if so, the appropriate relief 

20 and damages, if any, to be awarded. 

21 (B) If the Board makes an affirmative de22 termination under subparagraph (A), the Board 

23 shall prepare a proposed default determination, 

24 and shall provide written notice to the respond25 ing party at all addresses, including email adVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00111 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
112 

•S 1199 IS

1 dresses, reflected in the records of the pro2 ceeding before the Board, of the pendency of a 

3 default determination by the Board and of the 

4 legal significance of such determination. Such 

5 notice shall be accompanied by the proposed de6 fault determination and shall provide that the 

7 responding party has a period of 30 days, be8 ginning on the date of the notice, to submit any 

9 evidence or other information in opposition to 

10 the proposed default determination. 

11 (C) If the responding party responds to the 

12 notice provided under subparagraph (B) within 

13 the 30-day period provided in such subpara14 graph, the Board shall consider responding par15 ty’s submissions and, after allowing the peti16 tioning party to address such submissions, 

17 maintain, or amend its proposed determination 

18 as appropriate, and the resulting determination 

19 shall not be a default determination. 

20 (D) If the respondent fails to respond to 

21 the notice provided under subparagraph (B), 

22 the Board shall proceed to issue the default de23 termination. Thereafter, the respondent may 

24 only challenge such determination to the extent 

25 permitted under paragraph (28). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
113 

•S 1199 IS

1 (21) PETITIONING PARTY OR INTERESTED

2 OWNER’S FAILURE TO PROCEED.—If a petitioning 

3 party or interested owner who has joined the pro4 ceeding fails to proceed, as demonstrated by the fail5 ure, without justifiable cause, to meet one or more 

6 deadlines or requirements set forth in the schedule 

7 adopted by the Board, the Board may, upon pro8 viding written notice to the petitioning party or in9 terested owner and a period of 30 days, beginning 

10 on the date of the notice, to respond to the notice, 

11 and after considering any such response, issue a de12 termination dismissing the claims made by the peti13 tioning party or interested owner. The Board may 

14 order the petitioning party to pay attorneys’ fees 

15 and costs under paragraph (26)(B), if appropriate. 

16 Thereafter, the petitioning party may only challenge 

17 such determination to the extent permitted under 

18 paragraph (28). 

19 (22) REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION.—A 

20 party or interested owner may, within 30 days after 

21 the date on which the Board issues a determination 

22 under paragraph (18), submit to the Board a writ23 ten request for reconsideration of, or an amendment 

24 to, such determination if the party or interested 

25 owner identifies a clear error of law or fact material 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
114 

•S 1199 IS

1 to the outcome, or a technical mistake. After pro2 viding the other parties an opportunity to address 

3 such request, the Board shall either deny the request 

4 or issue an amended determination. 

5 (23) REVIEW BY COMMISSION.—If the Board 

6 denies a party or interested owner a request for re7 consideration of a determination under paragraph 

8 (22), the party or interested owner may, within 30 

9 days after the date of such denial, request review of 

10 the determination by the Commission in accordance 

11 with regulations established by the Commission. 

12 After providing the other party or interested owner 

13 an opportunity to address the request, the Commis14 sion shall either deny the request for review, or re15 mand the proceeding to the Board for reconsider16 ation of issues specified in the remand and for 

17 issuance of an amended determination. Such amend18 ed determination shall not be subject to further con19 sideration or review, other than under paragraph 

20 (28). 

21 (24) FAVORABLE RULING ON COMPLAINANT PE22 TITION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Board grants a 

24 complainant’s petition filed under this section, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
115 

•S 1199 IS

1 notwithstanding any other law, the Board 

2 shall— 

3 (i) order the provider to immediately 

4 remove the proscribed visual depiction re5 lating to a child, and to permanently delete 

6 all copies of the visual depiction known to 

7 and under the control of the provider un8 less the Board orders the provider to pre9 serve the visual depiction; 

10 (ii) impose a fine of $50,000 per pro11 scribed visual depiction relating to a child 

12 covered by the determination, but if the 

13 Board finds that— 

14 (I) the provider removed the pro15 scribed visual depiction relating to a 

16 child after the period set forth in sub17 section (c)(1)(A)(i), but before the 

18 complainant filed a petition, such fine 

19 shall be $25,000; 

20 (II) the provider has engaged in 

21 recidivist hosting for the first time 

22 with respect to the proscribed visual 

23 depiction relating to a child in ques24 tion, such fine shall be $100,000 per 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
116 

•S 1199 IS

1 proscribed visual depiction relating to 

2 a child; or 

3 (III) the provider has engaged in 

4 recidivist hosting of the proscribed 

5 visual depiction relating to a child in 

6 question 2 or more times, such fine 

7 shall be $200,000 per proscribed vis8 ual depiction relating to a child; 

9 (iii) order the provider to pay reason10 able costs to the complainant; and 

11 (iv) refer any matters involving inten12 tional or willful conduct by a provider with 

13 respect to a proscribed visual depiction re14 lating to a child, or recidivist hosting, to 

15 the Attorney General for prosecution under 

16 any applicable laws. 

17 (B) PROVIDER PAYMENT OF FINE AND

18 COSTS.—Notwithstanding any other law, the 

19 Board shall direct a provider to promptly pay 

20 fines and costs imposed under subparagraph 

21 (A) as follows: 

22 (i) If the petition was filed by a vic23 tim, such fine and costs shall be paid to 

24 the victim. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
117 

•S 1199 IS

1 (ii) If the petition was filed by an au2 thorized representative of a victim— 

3 (I) 30 percent of such fine shall 

4 be paid to the authorized representa5 tive and 70 percent of such fine paid 

6 to the victim; and 

7 (II) costs shall be paid to the au8 thorized representative. 

9 (iii) If the petition was filed by a 

10 qualified organization— 

11 (I) the fine shall be paid to the 

12 Child Pornography Victims Reserve as 

13 provided in section 2259B of title 18, 

14 United States Code; and 

15 (II) costs shall be paid to the 

16 qualified organization. 

17 (25) EFFECT OF DENIAL OF PROVIDER PETI18 TION.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Board denies a 

20 provider’s petition to contest a notification filed 

21 under paragraph (2), it shall order the provider 

22 to immediately remove the proscribed visual de23 piction relating to a child, and to permanently 

24 delete all copies of the visual depiction known 

25 to and under the control of the provider unless 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
118 

•S 1199 IS

1 the Board orders the provider to preserve the 

2 visual depiction. 

3 (B) REFERRAL FOR FAILURE TO REMOVE

4 MATERIAL.—If a provider does not remove and, 

5 if applicable, permanently delete a proscribed 

6 visual depiction relating to a child within 48 

7 hours of the Board issuing a determination 

8 under subparagraph (A), or not later than 2 

9 business days of the Board issuing a determina10 tion under subparagraph (A) concerning a small 

11 provider, the Board shall refer the matter to 

12 the Attorney General for prosecution under any 

13 applicable laws. 

14 (C) COSTS FOR FRIVOLOUS PETITION.—If 

15 the Board finds that a provider filed a petition 

16 under paragraph (2) for a harassing or im17 proper purpose or without reasonable basis in 

18 law or fact, the Board shall order the provider 

19 to pay the reasonable costs of the complainant. 

20 (26) EFFECT OF DENIAL OF COMPLAINANT’S

21 PETITION OR FAVORABLE RULING ON PROVIDER’S

22 PETITION.— 

23 (A) RESTORATION.—If the Board grants a 

24 provider’s petition filed under paragraph (2) or 

25 if the Board denies a petition filed by the comVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
119 

•S 1199 IS

1 plainant under paragraph (1), the provider may 

2 restore access to any visual depiction that was 

3 at issue in the proceeding. 

4 (B) COSTS FOR INCOMPLETE OR FRIVO5 LOUS NOTIFICATION AND HARASSMENT.—If, in 

6 granting or denying a petition as described in 

7 subparagraph (A), the Board finds that the no8 tification contested in the petition could not be 

9 made complete under subsection (c)(2)(D), is 

10 frivolous, or is duplicative under subsection 

11 (c)(2)(C)(i), the Board may order the complain12 ant to pay costs to the provider and any inter13 ested owner, which shall not exceed a total of 

14 $10,000, or, if the Board finds that the com15 plainant filed the notification with an intent to 

16 harass the provider or any person, a total of 

17 $15,000. 

18 (27) CIVIL ACTION; OTHER RELIEF.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any provider 

20 or complainant fails to comply with a final de21 termination of the Board issued under para22 graph (18), the Department of Justice may 

23 commence a civil action in a district court of 

24 the United States to enforce compliance with 

25 such determination. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
120 

•S 1199 IS

1 (B) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this 

2 section shall be construed to limit the authority 

3 of the Commission or Department of Justice 

4 under any other provision of law. 

5 (28) CHALLENGES TO THE DETERMINATION.— 

6 (A) BASES FOR CHALLENGE.—Not later 

7 than 45 days after the date on which the Board 

8 issues a determination or amended determina9 tion in a proceeding, or not later than 45 days 

10 after the date on which the Board completes 

11 any process of reconsideration or the Commis12 sion completes a review of the determination, 

13 whichever occurs later, a party may seek an 

14 order from a district court, located where the 

15 provider or complainant conducts business or 

16 resides, vacating, modifying, or correcting the 

17 determination of the Board in the following 

18 cases: 

19 (i) If the determination was issued as 

20 a result of fraud, corruption, misrepresen21 tation, or other misconduct. 

22 (ii) If the Board exceeded its author23 ity or failed to render a determination con24 cerning the subject matter at issue. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
121 

•S 1199 IS

1 (iii) In the case of a default deter2 mination or determination based on a fail3 ure to prosecute, if it is established that 

4 the default or failure was due to excusable 

5 neglect. 

6 (B) PROCEDURE TO CHALLENGE.— 

7 (i) NOTICE OF APPLICATION.—Notice 

8 of the application to challenge a determina9 tion of the Board shall be provided to all 

10 parties to the proceeding before the Board, 

11 in accordance with the procedures applica12 ble to service of a motion in the court 

13 where the application is made. 

14 (ii) STAYING OF PROCEEDINGS.—For 

15 purposes of an application under this para16 graph, any judge who is authorized to 

17 issue an order to stay the proceedings in 

18 an any other action brought in the same 

19 court may issue an order, to be served with 

20 the notice of application, staying pro21 ceedings to enforce the award while the 

22 challenge is pending. 

23 (29) FINAL DETERMINATION.—A determination 

24 of the Board shall be final on the date that all op25 portunities for a party or interested owner to seek 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
122 

•S 1199 IS

1 reconsideration or review of a determination under 

2 paragraph (22) or (23), or for a party to challenge 

3 the determination under paragraph (28), have ex4 pired or are exhausted. 

5 (h) EFFECT OF PROCEEDING.— 

6 (1) SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS.—The issuance 

7 of a final determination by the Board shall preclude 

8 the filing by any party of any subsequent petition 

9 that is based on the notification at issue in the final 

10 determination. This paragraph shall not limit the 

11 ability of any party to file a subsequent petition 

12 based on any other notification. 

13 (2) DETERMINATION.—Except as provided in 

14 paragraph (1), the issuance of a final determination 

15 by the Board, including a default determination or 

16 determination based on a failure to prosecute, shall 

17 not preclude relitigation of any factual matter in any 

18 subsequent legal action or proceeding before any 

19 court, tribunal, or the Board, and any determination 

20 of the Board may not be cited or relied upon as legal 

21 precedent in any such legal action or proceeding ex22 cept that— 

23 (A) no party or interested owner may re24 litigate any allegation, factual claim, or re25 sponse that was properly asserted and considVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00122 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
123 

•S 1199 IS

1 ered by the Board in any subsequent proceeding 

2 before the Board involving the same parties or 

3 interested owner and the same proscribed visual 

4 depiction relating to a minor; and 

5 (B) a finding by the Board that a visual 

6 depiction constitutes a proscribed visual depic7 tion relating to a child may not be relitigated 

8 in any civil proceeding brought by an interested 

9 owner. 

10 (3) OTHER MATERIALS IN PROCEEDING.—A 

11 submission or statement of a party, interested 

12 owner, or witness made in connection with a pro13 ceeding before the Board, including a proceeding 

14 that is dismissed, may not serve as the basis of any 

15 action or proceeding before any court or tribunal ex16 cept for any legal action related to perjury or for 

17 conduct described in subsection (k)(2). A statement 

18 of a party, interested owner, or witness may be re19 ceived as evidence, in accordance with applicable 

20 rules, in any subsequent legal action or proceeding 

21 before any court, tribunal, or the Board. 

22 (4) FAILURE TO ASSERT RESPONSE.—Except 

23 as provided in paragraph (1), the failure or inability 

24 to assert any allegation, factual claim, or response in 

25 a proceeding before the Board shall not preclude the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
124 

•S 1199 IS

1 assertion of that response in any subsequent legal 

2 action or proceeding before any court, tribunal, or 

3 the Board. 

4 (i) ADMINISTRATION.—The Commission may issue 

5 regulations in accordance with section 553 of title 5, 

6 United States Code, to implement this section. 

7 (j) STUDY.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

9 the date on which Child Online Protection Board 

10 issues the first determination under this section, the 

11 Commission shall conduct, and report to Congress 

12 on, a study that addresses the following: 

13 (A) The use and efficacy of the Child On14 line Protection Board in expediting the removal 

15 of proscribed visual depictions relating to chil16 dren and resolving disputes concerning said vis17 ual depictions, including the number of pro18 ceedings the Child Online Protection Board 

19 could reasonably administer with current allo20 cated resources. 

21 (B) Whether adjustments to the authority 

22 of the Child Online Protection Board are nec23 essary or advisable, including with respect to 

24 permissible claims, responses, fines, costs, and 

25 joinder by interested parties; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
125 

•S 1199 IS

1 (C) Whether the Child Online Protection 

2 Board should be permitted to expire, be ex3 tended, or be expanded. 

4 (D) Such other matters as the Commission 

5 believes may be pertinent concerning the Child 

6 Online Protection Board. 

7 (2) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study 

8 and completing the report required under paragraph 

9 (1), the Commission shall, to the extent feasible, 

10 consult with complainants, victims, and providers to 

11 include their views on the matters addressed in the 

12 study and report. 

13 (k) LIMITED LIABILITY.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), a civil claim or criminal charge against 

16 the Board, a provider, a complainant, interested 

17 owner, or representative under subsection (f)(4), for 

18 distributing, receiving, accessing, or possessing a 

19 proscribed visual depiction relating to a child for the 

20 sole and exclusive purpose of complying with the re21 quirements of this section, or for the sole and exclu22 sive purpose of seeking or providing legal advice in 

23 order to comply with this section, may not be 

24 brought in any Federal or State court. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
126 

•S 1199 IS

1 (2) INTENTIONAL, RECKLESS, OR OTHER MIS2 CONDUCT.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a claim 

3 against the Board, a provider, a complainant, inter4 ested owner, or representative under subsection 

5 (f)(4)— 

6 (A) for any conduct unrelated to compli7 ance with the requirements of this section; 

8 (B) if the Board, provider, complainant, 

9 interested owner, or representative under sub10 section (f)(4) (as applicable)— 

11 (i) engaged in intentional misconduct; 

12 or 

13 (ii) acted, or failed to act— 

14 (I) with actual malice; or 

15 (II) with reckless disregard to a 

16 substantial risk of causing physical in17 jury without legal justification; or 

18 (C) in the case of a claim against a com19 plainant, if the complainant falsely claims to be 

20 a victim, an authorized representative of a vic21 tim, or a qualified organization. 

22 (3) MINIMIZING ACCESS.—The Board, a pro23 vider, a complainant, an interested owner, or a rep24 resentative under subsection (f)(4) shall— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
127 

•S 1199 IS

1 (A) minimize the number of individuals 

2 that are provided access to any alleged, con3 tested, or actual proscribed visual depictions re4 lating to a child under this section; 

5 (B) ensure that any alleged, contested, or 

6 actual proscribed visual depictions relating to a 

7 child are transmitted and stored in a secure 

8 manner and are not distributed to or accessed 

9 by any individual other than as needed to im10 plement this section; and 

11 (C) ensure that all copies of any proscribed 

12 visual depictions relating to a child are perma13 nently deleted upon a request from the Board, 

14 Commission, or the Federal Bureau of Inves15 tigation. 

16 (l) PROVIDER IMMUNITY FROM CLAIMS BASED ON

17 REMOVAL OF VISUAL DEPICTION.—A provider shall not 

18 be liable to any person for any claim based on the pro19 vider’s good faith removal of any alleged proscribed visual 

20 depiction relating to a child pursuant to a notification 

21 under this section, regardless of whether the visual depic22 tion is found to be a proscribed visual depiction relating 

23 to a child by the Board. 

24 (m) CONTINUED APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL, 

25 STATE, AND TRIBAL LAW.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
128 

•S 1199 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall not be con2 strued to impair, supersede, or limit a provision of 

3 Federal, State, or Tribal law. 

4 (2) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this Act 

5 shall prohibit a State or Tribal government from 

6 adopting and enforcing a provision of law governing 

7 child sex abuse material that is at least as protective 

8 of the rights of a victim as this section. 

9 (n) DISCOVERY.—Nothing in this Act affects dis10 covery, a subpoena or any other court order, or any other 

11 judicial process otherwise in accordance with Federal or 

12 State law. 

13 (o) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec14 tion shall be construed to relieve a provider from any obli15 gation imposed on the provider under section 2258A of 

16 title 18, United States Code. 

17 (p) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro18 priated such sums as may be necessary to pay the costs 

19 incurred by the Commission under this section, including 

20 the costs of establishing and maintaining the Board and 

21 its facilities. 

22 (q) SUNSET.—Except for subsections (a), (h), (k), 

23 (l), (m), (n), (o), and (r), this section shall expire 5 years 

24 after the date on which the Child Online Protection Board 

25 issues its first determination under this section. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
129 

•S 1199 IS

1 (r) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

3 Child Online Protection Board established under 

4 subsection (e). 

5 (2) CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL.—The 

6 term ‘‘child sexual abuse material’’ has the meaning 

7 provided in section 2256(8) of title 18, United 

8 States Code. 

9 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

10 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

11 (4) COMPLAINANT.—The term ‘‘complainant’’ 

12 means— 

13 (A) the victim appearing in the proscribed 

14 visual depiction relating to a child; 

15 (B) an authorized representative of the vic16 tim appearing in the proscribed visual depiction 

17 relating to a child; or 

18 (C) a qualified organization. 

19 (5) DESIGNATED REPORTING SYSTEM.—The 

20 term ‘‘designated reporting system’’ means a digital 

21 means of submitting a notification to a provider 

22 under this subsection that is publicly and promi23 nently available, easily accessible, and easy to use. 

24 (6) HOST.—The term ‘‘host’’ means to store or 

25 make a visual depiction available or accessible to the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
130 

•S 1199 IS

1 public or any users through digital means or on a 

2 system or network controlled or operated by or for 

3 a provider. 

4 (7) IDENTIFIABLE PERSON.—The term ‘‘identi5 fiable person’’ means a person who is recognizable 

6 as an actual person by the person’s face, likeness, or 

7 other distinguishing characteristic, such as a unique 

8 birthmark or other recognizable feature. 

9 (8) INTERESTED OWNER.—The term ‘‘inter10 ested owner’’ means an individual who has joined a 

11 proceeding before the Board under subsection 

12 (g)(13). 

13 (9) PARTY.—The term ‘‘party’’ means the com14 plainant or provider. 

15 (10) PROSCRIBED VISUAL DEPICTION RELATING

16 TO A CHILD.—The term ‘‘proscribed visual depiction 

17 relating to a child’’ means child sexual abuse mate18 rial or a related exploitative visual depiction. 

19 (11) PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘provider’’ means a 

20 provider of an interactive computer service, as that 

21 term is defined in section 230 of the Communica22 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230), and for purposes 

23 of subsections (k) and (l), includes any director, offi24 cer, employee, or agent of such provider. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
131 

•S 1199 IS

1 (12) QUALIFIED ORGANIZATION.—The term 

2 ‘‘qualified organization’’ means an organization de3 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

4 Code of 1986 that is exempt from tax under section 

5 501(a) of that Code that works to address child sex6 ual abuse material and to support victims of child 

7 sexual abuse material. 

8 (13) RECIDIVIST HOSTING.—The term ‘‘recidi9 vist hosting’’ means, with respect to a provider, that 

10 the provider removes a proscribed visual depiction 

11 relating to a child pursuant to a notification or de12 termination under this subsection, and then subse13 quently hosts a visual depiction that has the same 

14 hash value or other technical identifier as the visual 

15 depiction that had been so removed. 

16 (14) RELATED EXPLOITIVE VISUAL DEPIC17 TION.—The term ‘‘related exploitive visual depic18 tion’’ means a visual depiction of an identifiable per19 son of any age where the visual depiction does not 

20 constitute child sexual abuse material but is pub21 lished and associated with child sexual abuse mate22 rial depicting that person. 

23 (15) SMALL PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘small pro24 vider’’ means a provider that, for the most recent 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
132 

•S 1199 IS

1 calendar year, averaged less than 10,000,000 active 

2 users on a monthly basis in the United States. 

3 (16) VICTIM.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘victim’’ 

5 means an individual of any age who is depicted 

6 in child sexual abuse material while under 18 

7 years of age. 

8 (B) ASSUMPTION OF RIGHTS.—In the case 

9 of a victim who is under 18 years of age, in10 competent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal 

11 guardian of the victim or representative of the 

12 victim’s estate, another family member, or any 

13 other person appointed as suitable by a court, 

14 may assume the victim’s rights to submit a no15 tification or file a petition under this section, 

16 but in no event shall an individual who pro17 duced or conspired to produce the child sexual 

18 abuse material depicting the victim be named as 

19 such representative or guardian. 

20 (17) VISUAL DEPICTION.—The term ‘‘visual de21 piction’’ has the meaning provided in section 

22 2256(5) of title 18, United States Code. 

23 SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY. 

24 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 

25 this Act, or the application of such provision or amendVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00132 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1199.IS S1199

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
133 

•S 1199 IS

1 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti2 tutional, the remainder of this Act and the amendments 

3 made by this Act, and the application of the provision or 

4 amendment to any other person or circumstance, shall not 

5 be affected. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS