[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 22, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 37431-37434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13496]



[[Page 37429]]

Vol. 87

Wednesday,

No. 119

June 22, 2022

Part III





The President





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Memorandum of June 16, 2022--Establishment of the White House Task 
Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 87 , No. 119 / Wednesday, June 22, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 37431]]

                Memorandum of June 16, 2022

                
Establishment of the White House Task Force to 
                Address Online Harassment and Abuse

                Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and 
                Agencies

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and in order to improve efforts to prevent and 
                address online harassment and abuse, it is hereby 
                ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. Technology platforms and social 
                media can be vital tools for expression, civic 
                participation, and building a sense of community. But 
                the scale, reach, and amplification effects of 
                technology platforms have also exacerbated gender-based 
                violence, particularly through online harassment and 
                abuse. Online harassment and abuse include a broad 
                array of harmful and sometimes illegal behaviors that 
                are perpetrated through the use of technology. Women, 
                adolescent girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals, who may be 
                additionally targeted because of their race, ethnicity, 
                religion, and other factors, can experience more severe 
                harms from online harassment and abuse. Online 
                harassment and abuse take many forms, including the 
                non-consensual distribution of intimate digital images; 
                cyberstalking; sextortion; doxing; malicious deep 
                fakes; gendered disinformation; rape and death threats; 
                the online recruitment and exploitation of victims of 
                sex trafficking; and various forms of technology-
                facilitated intimate partner abuse. In the United 
                States, 1 in 3 women under the age of 35 reports having 
                been sexually harassed online, and over half of LGBTQI+ 
                individuals report having been the target of severe 
                online abuse, including sustained harassment, physical 
                threats, and stalking in addition to sexual harassment. 
                Globally, half of girls report that they are more 
                likely to be harassed through social media than on the 
                street.

                In the United States and around the world, women and 
                LGBTQI+ political leaders, public figures, activists, 
                and journalists are especially targeted by sexualized 
                forms of online harassment and abuse, undermining their 
                ability to exercise their human rights and participate 
                in democracy, governance, and civic life. Online abuse 
                and harassment, which aim to preclude women from 
                political decision-making about their own lives and 
                communities, undermine the functioning of democracy. 
                Growing evidence also demonstrates that online 
                radicalization can be linked to gender-based violence, 
                which, along with other forms of abuse and harassment, 
                spans the digital and physical realms. Online 
                harassment and abuse can result in a range of dire 
                consequences for victims, from psychological distress 
                and self-censorship to economic losses, disruptions to 
                education, increased self-harm, suicide, homicide, and 
                other forms of physical and sexual violence. Further, 
                digital technologies are often used in concert with 
                other forms of abuse and harassment, underscoring the 
                urgency of addressing the interplay of in-person and 
                online harms. More research is needed to fully 
                understand the nature, magnitude, and costs of these 
                harms and ways to address them in the United States and 
                globally.

                Therefore, I am directing the Director of the White 
                House Gender Policy Council and the Assistant to the 
                President for National Security Affairs to lead an 
                interagency effort to address online harassment and 
                abuse, specifically focused on technology-facilitated 
                gender-based violence, and to develop

[[Page 37432]]

                concrete recommendations to improve prevention, 
                response, and protection efforts through programs and 
                policies in the United States and globally.

                Sec. 2. Establishment. There is established within the 
                Executive Office of the President the White House Task 
                Force to Address Online Harassment and Abuse (Task 
                Force).

                Sec. 3. Membership. (a) The Director of the White House 
                Gender Policy Council and the Assistant to the 
                President for National Security Affairs, or their 
                designees, shall serve as Co-Chairs of the Task Force.

                    (b) In addition to the Co-Chairs, the Task Force 
                shall consist of the following members:

(i) the Secretary of State;

(ii) the Secretary of Defense;

(iii) the Attorney General;

(iv) the Secretary of Commerce;

(v) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;

(vi) the Secretary of Education;

(vii) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs;

(viii) the Secretary of Homeland Security;

(ix) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy;

(x) the Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy 
Council;

(xi) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the 
National Economic Council;

(xii) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development;

(xiii) the Counsel to the President;

(xiv) the Counsel to the Vice President; and

(xv) the heads of such other executive departments, agencies, and offices 
as the Co-Chairs may, from time to time, designate.

                    (c) A member of the Task Force may designate, to 
                perform the Task Force functions of the member, senior 
                officials within the member's executive department, 
                agency, or office who are full-time officers or 
                employees of the Federal Government.

                Sec. 4. Mission and Function. (a) The Task Force shall 
                work across executive departments, agencies, and 
                offices to assess and address online harassment and 
                abuse that constitute technology-facilitated gender-
                based violence, including by:

(i) improving coordination among executive departments, agencies, and 
offices to maximize the Federal Government's effectiveness in preventing 
and addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence in the United 
States and globally, including by developing policy solutions to enhance 
accountability for those who perpetrate online harms;

(ii) enhancing and expanding data collection and research across the 
Federal Government to measure the costs, prevalence, exposure to, and 
impact of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including by 
studying the mental health effects of abuse on social media, particularly 
affecting adolescents;

(iii) increasing access to survivor-centered services, information, and 
support for victims, and increasing training and technical assistance for 
Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments as well as for 
global organizations and entities in the fields of criminal justice, health 
and mental health services, education, and victim services;

(iv) developing programs and policies to address online harassment, abuse, 
and disinformation campaigns targeting women and LGBTQI+ individuals

[[Page 37433]]

who are public and political figures, government and civic leaders, 
activists, and journalists in the United States and globally;

(v) examining existing Federal laws, regulations, and policies to evaluate 
the adequacy of the current legal framework to address technology-
facilitated gender-based violence; and

(vi) identifying additional opportunities to improve efforts to prevent and 
address technology-facilitated gender-based violence in United States 
foreign policy and foreign assistance, including through the Global 
Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse.

                    (b) Consistent with the objectives of this 
                memorandum and applicable law, the Task Force may 
                consult with and gather relevant information from 
                external stakeholders, including Federal, State, local, 
                Tribal, and territorial government officials, as well 
                as victim advocates, survivors, law enforcement 
                personnel, researchers and academics, civil and human 
                rights groups, philanthropic leaders, technology 
                experts, legal and international policy experts, 
                industry stakeholders, and other entities and persons 
                the Task Force identifies that will assist the Task 
                Force in accomplishing the objectives of this 
                memorandum.

                Sec. 5. Reporting on the Work and Recommendations of 
                the Task Force. (a) Within 180 days of the date of this 
                memorandum, the Co-Chairs of the Task Force shall 
                submit to the President a blueprint (Initial Blueprint) 
                outlining a whole-of-government approach to preventing 
                and addressing technology-facilitated gender-based 
                violence, including concrete actions that executive 
                departments, agencies, and offices have committed to 
                take to implement the Task Force's recommendations. The 
                Initial Blueprint shall include a synopsis of key 
                lessons from stakeholder consultations and preliminary 
                recommendations for advancing strategies to improve 
                efforts to prevent and address technology-facilitated 
                gender-based violence. Following submission of the 
                Initial Blueprint to the President, the Co-Chairs of 
                the Task Force shall make an executive summary of the 
                Initial Blueprint publicly available.

                    (b) Within 1 year of the date that the Initial 
                Blueprint is submitted to the President, the Co-Chairs 
                of the Task Force shall submit to the President and 
                make publicly available an update and report (1-Year 
                Report) with additional recommendations and actions 
                that executive departments, agencies, and offices can 
                take to advance how Federal, State, local, Tribal, and 
                territorial governments; service providers; 
                international organizations; technology platforms; 
                schools; and other public and private entities can 
                improve efforts to prevent and address technology-
                facilitated gender-based violence.
                    (c) Prior to issuing its Initial Blueprint and 1-
                Year Report, the Co-Chairs of the Task Force shall 
                consolidate any input received and submit periodic 
                recommendations to the President on policies, 
                regulatory actions, and legislation on technology 
                sector accountability to address systemic harms to 
                people affected by online harassment and abuse.
                    (d) Following the submission of the 1-Year Report 
                to the President, the Co-Chairs of the Task Force 
                shall, on an annual basis, submit a follow-up report to 
                the President on implementation of this memorandum.

                Sec. 6. Definition. For the purposes of this 
                memorandum, the term ``technology-facilitated gender-
                based violence'' shall refer to any form of gender-
                based violence, including harassment and abuse, which 
                takes place through, or is aided by, the use of digital 
                technologies and devices.

                Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
                affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This memorandum shall not apply to independent 
                regulatory agencies as described in section 3502(5) of 
                title 44, United States Code. Independent

[[Page 37434]]

                regulatory agencies are nevertheless strongly 
                encouraged to participate in the work of the Task 
                Force.
                    (c) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any 
                party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.
                    (e) The Attorney General is authorized and directed 
                to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
                <GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, June 16, 2022

[FR Doc. 2022-13496
Filed 6-21-22; 11:15 am]
Billing code 4410-19-P