IIB 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4098 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MARCH 25, 2010 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs 
AN ACT 
To require the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget to issue guidance on the use of peer-to-peer 
file sharing software to prohibit the personal use of such 
software by Government employees, 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, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Secure Federal File 
Sharing Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) UPDATED GUIDANCE ON USE OF CERTAIN SOFT-
WARE PROGRAMS.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office 
of Management and Budget, after consultation with the 
Federal Chief Information Officers Council, shall issue 
guidance on the use of peer-to-peer file sharing software— 
(1) to prohibit the download, installation, or use 
by Government employees and contractors of open- 
network peer-to-peer file sharing software on all 
Federal computers, computer systems, and networks, 
including those operated by contractors on the Gov-
ernment’s behalf, unless such software is approved 
in accordance with procedures under subsection (b); 
and 
(2) to address the download, installation, or use 
by Government employees and contractors of such 
software on home or personal computers as it relates 
to telework and remotely accessing Federal com-
puters, computer systems, and networks, including 
those operated by contractors on the Government’s 
behalf. 
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(b) APPROVAL PROCESS FOR CERTAIN SOFTWARE 
PROGRAMS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Man-
agement and Budget shall develop a procedure by which 
the Director, in consultation with the Chief Information 
Officer, may receive requests from heads of agencies or 
chief information officers of agencies for approval for use 
by Government employees and contractors of specific 
open-network peer-to-peer file sharing software programs 
that are— 
(1) necessary for the day-to-day business oper-
ations of the agency; 
(2) instrumental in completing a particular task 
or project that directly supports the agency’s overall 
mission; 
(3) necessary for use between, among, or within 
Federal, State, or local government agencies in order 
to perform official agency business; or 
(4) necessary for use during the course of a law 
enforcement investigation. 
(c) AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 
of the Office of Management and Budget shall— 
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Office of Management and Budget shall submit to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a 
report on the implementation of this Act, including— 
(1) a justification for each open-network peer- 
to-peer file sharing software program that is ap-
proved pursuant to subsection (b); and 
(2) an inventory of the agencies where such 
programs are being used. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ has the 
meaning provided the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ by 
section 105 of title 5, United States Code. 
(2) OPEN-NETWORK.—The term ‘‘open-net-
work’’, with respect to software, means a network in 
which— 
(A) access is granted freely, without limita-
tion or restriction; or 
(B) there are little or no security measures 
in place. 
(3) 
PEER-TO-PEER
FILE
SHARING
SOFT-
WARE.—The term ‘‘peer-to-peer file sharing soft-
ware’’— 
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(A) means a program, application, or soft-
ware that is commercially marketed or distrib-
uted to the public and that enables— 
(i) a file or files on the computer on 
which such program is installed to be des-
ignated as available for searching and 
copying to one or more other computers; 
(ii) the searching of files on the com-
puter on which such program is installed 
and the copying of any such file to another 
computer— 
(I) at the initiative of such other 
computer and without requiring any 
action by an owner or authorized user 
of the computer on which such pro-
gram is installed; and 
(II) without requiring an owner 
or authorized user of the computer on 
which such program is installed to 
have selected or designated another 
computer as the recipient of any such 
file; and 
(iii) an owner or authorized user of 
the computer on which such program is in-
stalled to search files on one or more other 
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computers using the same or a compatible 
program, application, or software, and 
copy such files to such owner or user’s 
computer; and 
(B) does not include a program, applica-
tion, or software designed primarily— 
(i) to operate as a server that is ac-
cessible over the Internet using the Inter-
net Domain Name system; 
(ii) to transmit or receive email mes-
sages, instant messaging, real-time audio 
or video communications, or real-time voice 
communications; or 
(iii) to provide network or computer 
security (including the detection or preven-
tion of fraudulent activities), network man-
agement, 
maintenance, 
diagnostics, 
or 
technical support or repair. 
(4) 
CONTRACTOR.—The 
term 
‘‘contractor’’ 
means a prime contractor or a subcontractor, as de-
fined by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 
SEC. 5. BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF PAYGO LEGISLATION FOR 
THIS ACT. 
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 
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shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 
titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 
Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 
by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro-
vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 
vote on passage. 
Passed the House of Representatives March 24, 
2010. 
Attest: 
LORRAINE C. MILLER, 
Clerk. 
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