Title: END Network Abuse Act of 2019
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
End National Defense Network Abuse Act of 2019 or the END Network Abuse Act of 2019
This bill directs the Department of Defense to establish (1) an initiative to improve the capacity of military criminal-investigative organizations to prevent child sexual exploitation, and (2) partnerships with various governmental and outside entities to improve practices and outcomes related to the prevention of child sexual exploitation.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3588 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3588

   To require the Secretary of Defense to establish an initiative on 
improving the capacity of military criminal investigative organizations 
     to prevent child sexual exploitation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2019

 Ms. Spanberger (for herself, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Cox of California, and 
  Ms. Eshoo) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of Defense to establish an initiative on 
improving the capacity of military criminal investigative organizations 
     to prevent child sexual exploitation, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``End National Defense Network Abuse 
Act of 2019'' or the ``END Network Abuse Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In a survey of online peer-to-peer networks, there is 
        an alarming amount of traffic related to the online trading and 
        sharing of child sexual exploitation material.
            (2) Child sexual exploitation, which includes child 
        pornography, child sexual abuse, and child sex trafficking is a 
        complex and growing problem that requires a coordinated, 
        multifaceted response.
            (3) Victims of child sexual exploitation are less likely to 
        self-report or be identified by outside sources because of 
        their age and the nature of the crimes committed against them.
            (4) Individuals participating in the possession and trade 
        of child pornography are significantly more likely to also 
        participate in other forms of child sexual exploitation, 
        including child sexual abuse and child trafficking.
            (5) The detection of online peer-to-peer trading of child 
        pornography focuses on images of children under age 12. 
        Approximately 20 percent of the total number of child sexual 
        exploitation images discovered feature children ages 0 to 4.
            (6) The Internet Crimes Against Children Child Online 
        Protective Services (ICACCOPS) program has been used to 
        identify and collect evidence for the purpose of prosecuting 
        offenders online. The program also catalogues images and 
        creates a digital library for the purpose of identifying 
        victims of child sexual exploitation through these images.
            (7) In 2017, using such program, which scans the Internet 
        for peer-to-peer trading of child pornography, law enforcement 
        officials identified 663,853 unique Internet Protocol (IP) 
        addresses associated with the possession or trading of child 
        pornography. Each unique Internet Protocol address is 
        associated with possessing or trading a range of images, with 
        some possessing more than 50,000 images that depict the sexual 
        abuse of children.
            (8) Training military criminal investigative organizations 
        on advanced tools is integral to the protection of both 
        military and civilian children.
            (9) Continued training on advanced technological tools will 
        allow military criminal investigative organizations to acquire, 
        adapt, and maintain the technical skills and knowledge needed 
        to keep up with the landscape of online child sexual 
        exploitation, which is constantly changing as perpetrators take 
        new steps to avoid detection.
            (10) There are existing best practices and models that the 
        Department of Defense should leverage, including online 
        technologies that can simplify the investigative process.

SEC. 3. INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE THE CAPACITY OF MILITARY CRIMINAL 
              INVESTIGATIVE ORGANIZATIONS TO PREVENT CHILD SEXUAL 
              EXPLOITATION.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall establish an 
initiative on improving the capacity of military criminal investigative 
organizations to prevent child sexual exploitation. Under the 
initiative, the Secretary shall work with an external partner to train 
military criminal investigative organization officials at Department of 
Defense installations from all military departments regarding--
            (1) online investigative technology, tools, and techniques;
            (2) computer forensics;
            (3) complex evidentiary issues;
            (4) child victim identification;
            (5) child victim referral for comprehensive investigation 
        and treatment services; and
            (6) related instruction.
    (b) Partnerships and Agreements.--Under the initiative, the 
Secretary shall develop partnerships and establish collaborative 
agreements with the following:
            (1) The Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney 
        General, in better coordinating the investigative jurisdictions 
        and law enforcement authorities of the military criminal 
        investigative organizations, and in improving the justice 
        community's understanding of those law enforcement authorities 
        to enforce Federal criminal statutes.
            (2) Federal criminal investigative organizations 
        responsible for enforcement of Federal criminal statutes 
        related to combatting child sexual exploitation, in order to 
        ensure a streamlined process for transferring criminal 
        investigations into child exploitation to other jurisdictions, 
        while maintaining the integrity of the evidence already 
        collected.
            (3) A highly qualified national child protection 
        organization or law enforcement training center with 
        demonstrated expertise in the delivery of law enforcement 
        training--
                    (A) to detect, identify, investigate, and prosecute 
                individuals engaged in the trading or production of 
                child pornography and the online solicitation of 
                children; and
                    (B) to train military criminal investigative 
                organization officials at Department of Defense 
                installations from all military departments.
            (4) A highly qualified national child protection 
        organization with demonstrated expertise in the development and 
        delivery of multidisciplinary intervention training including 
        evidence-based forensic interviewing, victim advocacy, trauma-
        informed mental health services, medical services, and 
        multidisciplinary coordination between the Department of 
        Defense and civilian experts to improve outcomes for victims of 
        child sexual exploitation.
            (5) Children's Advocacy Centers located in the same 
        communities as military installations that coordinate the 
        multidisciplinary team response and child-friendly approach to 
        identifying, investigating, prosecuting, and intervening in 
        child sexual exploitation cases that can partner with military 
        installations on law enforcement, child protection, 
        prosecution, mental health, medical, and victim advocacy to 
        investigate sexual exploitation, help children heal from sexual 
        exploitation, and hold offenders accountable.
            (6) State and local authorities to address law enforcement 
        capacity in communities where military installations are 
        located, and to prevent lapses in jurisdiction that would 
        undercut the Department's efforts to prevent child sexual 
        exploitation.
            (7) The National Association to Protect Children and the 
        United States Special Operations Command Care Coalition to 
        replicate successful outcomes of the Human Exploitation Rescue 
        Operative (HERO) Child Rescue Corps, as established by section 
        890A of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 473), 
        within military criminal investigative organizations and other 
        Department components to combat child sexual exploitation.
    (c) Locations.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out the 
        initiative--
                    (A) in at least two States where there is a high 
                density of Department network users in comparison to 
                the overall population of the States;
                    (B) in at least two States where there is a high 
                population of Department network users;
                    (C) in at least two States where there is a large 
                percentage of Indian children, including children who 
                are Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian;
                    (D) in at least one State with a population with 
                fewer than 2,000,000 people;
                    (E) in at least one State with a population with 
                fewer than 5,000,000 people, but not fewer than 
                2,000,000 people;
                    (F) in at least one State with a population with 
                fewer than 10,000,000 people, but not fewer than 
                5,000,000; and
                    (G) in at least one State with a population with 
                10,000,000 or more people.
            (2) Geographic distribution.--The Secretary shall ensure 
        that the locations at which the initiative is carried out are 
        distributed across different regions.
    (d) Additional Requirements.--In carrying out the initiative, the 
Secretary shall--
            (1) participate in multi-jurisdictional task forces;
            (2) establish cooperative agreements to facilitate co-
        training and collaboration with Federal, State, and local law 
        enforcement; and
            (3) develop a streamlined process to refer child sexual 
        abuse cases to other jurisdictions.
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