I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3716
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a defense against certain
criminal prosecutions for interactive computer service providers.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 12, 2002
Mr. GOODLATTE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a defense
against certain criminal prosecutions for interactive com-
puter service providers.
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 ‘‘Online Criminal Liabil-
ity Standardization Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. LIABILITY LIMITATION APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN
CRIMINAL 
PROSECUTIONS 
RELATING 
TO
INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘§ 25. Liability limitation applicable to certain pros-
ecutions relating to interactive computer
services
‘‘(a) Except as provided in this section, notwith-
standing any other provision of law, no interactive com-
puter service provider, or corporate officer of such pro-
vider, shall be liable for an offense against the United
States arising from such provider’s transmitting, storing,
distributing, or otherwise making available, in the ordi-
nary course of its business activities as an interactive com-
puter service provider, material provided by another per-
son.
‘‘(b)(1) The liability limitation created by this section
does not apply if the defendant intended that the service
be used in the commission of the offense.
‘‘(2) A corporation that is a provider of an interactive
computer service does not have the intent described in
paragraph (1) unless—
‘‘(A) an employee or agent of the corporation
has the intent described in paragraph (1); and
‘‘(B) the conduct of the employee or agent con-
stituting the offense was authorized, requested, com-
manded, performed, or tolerated with actual knowl-
edge of that conduct by one or more members of the
board of directors or by a high managerial agent
acting for the benefit of the corporation within the
scope of the director’s or high managerial agent’s of-
fice or employment.
‘‘(c) As used in this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘interactive computer service’ has
the meaning given that term in section 230(f) of the
Communications Act of 1934; and
‘‘(2) the term ‘high managerial agent’ means an
individual who has a substantial role in the making
of policy for a corporation, including an executive of-
ficer of the corporation, an individual with a sub-
stantial ownership interest in the corporation, and
an individual in charge of major business or func-
tional unit of the corporation, such as sales, admin-
istration, or finance.
‘‘(d) Nothing in this section may be construed to
apply to an offense under section 2319 or 2319A of this
title.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
item:
‘‘25. Liability limitation applicable to certain prosecutions relating to interactive
computer services.’’.
Æ