I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7394 
To prohibit the use of trade secrets privileges to prevent defense access 
to evidence in criminal proceedings, provide for the establishment of 
Computational Forensic Algorithm Testing Standards and a Computa-
tional Forensic Algorithm Testing Program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 15, 2024 
Mr. TAKANO (for himself and Mr. EVANS) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To prohibit the use of trade secrets privileges to prevent 
defense access to evidence in criminal proceedings, pro-
vide for the establishment of Computational Forensic 
Algorithm Testing Standards and a Computational Fo-
rensic Algorithm Testing Program, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice in Forensic 
Algorithms Act of 2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. COMPUTATIONAL FORENSIC ALGORITHM TESTING 
STANDARDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology shall establish a 
program to provide for creation and maintenance of stand-
ards for testing computational forensic software, to be 
known as the Computational Forensic Algorithm Testing 
Standards, consistent with the following: 
(1) Testing standards shall include an assess-
ment for the potential for disparate impact, on the 
basis of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, 
and other demographic features. 
(2) Testing standards shall address— 
(A) the underlying scientific principles and 
methods implemented in computational forensic 
software; and 
(B) requirements for testing the software 
including the conditions under which it needs to 
be tested, types of testing data to be used, test-
ing environments, testing methodologies, and 
system performance statistics required to be re-
ported including— 
(i) accuracy, including false positive 
and false negative error rates; 
(ii) precision; 
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(iii) reproducibility; 
(iv) robustness; 
(v) sensitivity; and 
(vi) system failure rates; 
(C) requirements for publicly available doc-
umentation by developers of computational fo-
rensic software of the purpose and function of 
the software, the development process, including 
source and description of data used to develop 
the tool, and internal testing methodology and 
results, including source and description of test-
ing data; 
(D) requirements for laboratories and any 
other entities using computational forensic soft-
ware to validate it for use, including to specify 
the conditions under which the lab has vali-
dated it for their use, requirements for what in-
formation needs to be included in a public re-
port on the lab or other entity’s validation, and 
requirements for internal validation updates 
when there are material changes to the soft-
ware; and 
(E) requirements for reports provided to 
defendants by prosecution produced docu-
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menting the use and results of computational 
forensic software used in individual cases. 
(3) Testing standards shall be issued as a rule-
making under section 553 of title 5, United States 
Code. 
(4) The Director shall consult with outside ex-
perts in forensic science, bioethics, algorithmic dis-
crimination, data privacy, racial justice, criminal jus-
tice reform, exonerations, and other relevant areas 
of expertise identified through public input. 
(b) PROTECTION OF TRADE SECRETS.— 
(1) There shall be no trade secret evidentiary 
privilege to withhold relevant evidence in criminal 
proceedings in the United States courts. 
(2) Nothing in this section may be construed to 
alter the standard operation of the Federal Rules of 
Criminal Procedure, or the Federal Rules of Evi-
dence, as such rules would function in the absence 
of an evidentiary privilege. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL USE OF FOREN-
SIC ALGORITHMS.—Any Federal law enforcement agency 
or crime laboratory providing services to a Federal law 
enforcement agency using computational forensic software 
may use only software that has been tested under the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology’s Computa-
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tional Forensic Algorithm Testing Program and shall con-
duct an internal validation according to the requirements 
outlined in the Computational Forensic Algorithm Testing 
Standards and make the results publicly available. The in-
ternal validation shall be updated when there is a material 
change in the software that triggers a retesting by the 
Computational Forensic Algorithm Testing Program. 
(d) TESTING PROGRAM.—The Director of the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall estab-
lish a Computational Forensic Algorithm Testing Pro-
gram, whose activities include the following: 
(1) Testing individual software programs using 
the testing requirements established in the Computa-
tional Forensic Algorithm Testing Standards. 
(2) Using realistic sample testing data similar 
to what would be used by law enforcement in crimi-
nal investigations in performing such testing, includ-
ing incomplete and contaminated samples. 
(3) Using testing data that represents diversity 
of racial, ethnic, and gender identities and intersec-
tions of these identities in performing such testing. 
(4) Using testing data that tests the limits of 
the software and demonstrates the boundaries of re-
liability described in the performance measures de-
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