I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4098 
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 purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2009 
Mr. TOWNS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
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, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Secure Federal File 
Sharing Act’’. 
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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. 
(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 
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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— 
(1) direct agencies to establish or update per-
sonal use policies of the agency to be consistent with 
the guidance issued pursuant to subsection (a); 
(2) direct agencies to require any contract 
awarded by the agency to include a requirement that 
the contractor comply with the guidance issued pur-
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suant to subsection (a) in the performance of the 
contract; 
(3) direct agencies to update their information 
technology security or ethics training policies to en-
sure that all employees, including those working for 
contractors on the Government’s behalf, are aware 
of the requirements of the guidance required by sub-
section (a) and the consequences of engaging in pro-
hibited conduct; and 
(4) direct agencies to ensure that proper secu-
rity controls are in place to prevent, detect, and re-
move file sharing software that is prohibited by the 
guidance issued pursuant to subsection (a) from all 
Federal computers, computer systems, and networks, 
including those operated by contractors on the Gov-
ernment’s behalf. 
SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director 
of the Office of Management and Budget shall submit to 
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen-
ate a report on the implementation of this Act, includ-
ing— 
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(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’’— 
(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-
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