EARN IT Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8454 To establish a National Commission on Online Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 Ms. GARCIA of Texas (for herself and Mrs. WAGNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To establish a National Commission on Online Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eliminating Abusive 4 and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act of 5 2020’’ or the ‘‘EARN IT Act of 2020’’. 6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 7 In this Act: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8454 IH (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 1 means the National Commission on Online Child 2 Sexual Exploitation Prevention. 3 (2) INTERACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE.—The 4 term ‘‘interactive computer service’’ has the meaning 5 given the term in section 230(f)(2) of the Commu- 6 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f)(2)). 7 SEC. 3. NATIONAL COMMISSION ON ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL 8 EXPLOITATION PREVENTION. 9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Na- 10 tional Commission on Online Child Sexual Exploitation 11 Prevention. 12 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Commission is to 13 develop recommended best practices that providers of 14 interactive computer services may choose to implement to 15 prevent, reduce, and respond to the online sexual exploi- 16 tation of children, including the enticement, grooming, sex 17 trafficking, and sexual abuse of children and the prolifera- 18 tion of online child sexual abuse material. 19 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 20 (1) COMPOSITION.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 22 be composed of 19 members. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8454 IH (B) AGENCY HEADS.—The following Fed- 1 eral officials shall serve as members of the 2 Commission: 3 (i) The Attorney General or his or her 4 representative. 5 (ii) The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 6 rity or his or her representative. 7 (iii) The Chairman of the Federal 8 Trade Commission or his or her represent- 9 ative. 10 (C) OTHER MEMBERS.—Of the remaining 11 16 members of the Commission— 12 (i) 4 shall be appointed by the major- 13 ity leader of the Senate, of whom— 14 (I) 1 shall have the qualifications 15 required under clause (i) or (ii) of 16 paragraph (2)(A); 17 (II) 1 shall have the qualifica- 18 tions required under paragraph 19 (2)(B); 20 (III) 1 shall have the qualifica- 21 tions required under clause (i) or (ii) 22 of paragraph (2)(C); and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8454 IH (IV) 1 shall have the qualifica- 1 tions required under clause (i) or (ii) 2 of paragraph (2)(D); 3 (ii) 4 shall be appointed by the minor- 4 ity leader of the Senate, of whom— 5 (I) 1 shall have the qualifications 6 required under clause (i) or (ii) of 7 paragraph (2)(A); 8 (II) 1 shall have the qualifica- 9 tions required under paragraph 10 (2)(B); 11 (III) 1 shall have the qualifica- 12 tions required under clause (i) or (ii) 13 of paragraph (2)(C); and 14 (IV) 1 shall have the qualifica- 15 tions required under clause (i) or (ii) 16 of paragraph (2)(D); 17 (iii) 4 shall be appointed by the 18 Speaker of the House of Representatives, 19 of whom— 20 (I) 1 shall have the qualifications 21 required under clause (i) or (ii) of 22 paragraph (2)(A); 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8454 IH (II) 1 shall have the qualifica- 1 tions required under paragraph 2 (2)(B); 3 (III) 1 shall have the qualifica- 4 tions required under clause (i) or (ii) 5 of paragraph (2)(C); and 6 (IV) 1 shall have the qualifica- 7 tions required under clause (i) or (ii) 8 of paragraph (2)(D); and 9 (iv) 4 shall be appointed by the minor- 10 ity leader of the House of Representatives, 11 of whom— 12 (I) 1 shall have the qualifications 13 required under clause (i) or (ii) of 14 paragraph (2)(A); 15 (II) 1 shall have the qualifica- 16 tions required under paragraph 17 (2)(B); 18 (III) 1 shall have the qualifica- 19 tions required under clause (i) or (ii) 20 of paragraph (2)(C); and 21 (IV) 1 shall have the qualifica- 22 tions required under clause (i) or (ii) 23 of paragraph (2)(D). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8454 IH (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Of the 16 members of 1 the Commission appointed under paragraph 2 (1)(C)— 3 (A) 4 shall have current experience in in- 4 vestigating online child sexual exploitation 5 crimes, of whom— 6 (i) 2 shall have such experience in a 7 law enforcement capacity; and 8 (ii) 2 shall have such experience in a 9 prosecutorial capacity; 10 (B) 4 shall be survivors of online child sex- 11 ual exploitation, or have current experience in 12 providing services for victims of online child 13 sexual exploitation in a non-governmental ca- 14 pacity; 15 (C)(i) 2 shall have current experience in 16 matters related to consumer protection, civil lib- 17 erties, civil rights, or privacy; and 18 (ii) 2 shall have current experience in com- 19 puter science or software engineering related to 20 matters of cryptography, data security, or arti- 21 ficial intelligence in a non-governmental capac- 22 ity; and 23 (D) 4 shall be individuals who each cur- 24 rently work for an interactive computer service 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8454 IH that is unrelated to each other interactive com- 1 puter service represented under this subpara- 2 graph, representing diverse types of businesses 3 and areas of professional expertise, of whom— 4 (i) 2 shall have current experience in 5 addressing online child sexual exploitation 6 and promoting child safety at an inter- 7 active computer service with not less than 8 30,000,000 monthly users in the United 9 States; and 10 (ii) 2 shall have current experience in 11 addressing online child sexual exploitation 12 and promoting child safety at an inter- 13 active computer service with less than 14 10,000,000 monthly users in the United 15 States. 16 (3) DATE.—The initial appointments of mem- 17 bers to the Commission under paragraph (1)(C) 18 shall be made not later than 90 days after the date 19 of enactment of this Act. 20 (d) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 21 (1) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT.—A member of 22 the Commission shall be appointed for a term of 5 23 years. 24 (2) VACANCIES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8454 IH (A) EFFECT ON COMMISSION.—Any va- 1 cancy in the Commission shall not affect the 2 powers of the Commission. 3 (B) FILLING OF VACANCIES.—A vacancy 4 in the Commission shall be filled in the same 5 manner as the original appointment under sub- 6 section (c)(1). 7 (e) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall hold 8 the first meeting of the Commission not later than 60 days 9 after the date on which a majority of the members of the 10 Commission have been appointed. 11 (f) CHAIRPERSON.—The Attorney General or his or 12 her representative shall serve as the Chairperson of the 13 Commission. 14 (g) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 15 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num- 16 ber of members may hold a meeting. 17 (h) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 18 call of the Chairperson. 19 (i) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.—The Commission 20 may, for the purpose of carrying out this section and sec- 21 tion 4, hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and 22 places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence as 23 the Commission considers appropriate. 24 (j) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8454 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may secure 1 directly from any Federal department or agency 2 such information as the Commission considers nec- 3 essary to carry out this section and section 4. 4 (2) FURNISHING INFORMATION.—Upon request 5 of the Chairperson of the Commission for informa- 6 tion under paragraph (1), the head of a Federal de- 7 partment or agency shall furnish the information to 8 the Commission, unless the information is subject to 9 an active investigation or otherwise privileged or 10 confidential. 11 (k) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the Commis- 12 sion shall serve without compensation, but shall be allowed 13 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 14 at rates authorized for employees of agencies under sub- 15 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, 16 while away from the home or regular places of business 17 of the member in the performance of services for the Com- 18 mission. 19 (l) DURATION.—Section 14 of the Federal Advisory 20 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 21 Commission. 22 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION. 23 (a) RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES.— 24 (1) INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8454 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 1 months after the date on which a majority of 2 the members of the Commission required to be 3 appointed under section 3(c)(1)(C) have been so 4 appointed, the Commission shall develop and 5 submit to the Attorney General recommended 6 best practices that providers of interactive com- 7 puter services may choose to engage in to pre- 8 vent, reduce, and respond to the online sexual 9 exploitation of children, including the entice- 10 ment, grooming, sex trafficking, and sexual 11 abuse of children and the proliferation of online 12 child sexual abuse material. 13 (B) REQUIREMENTS.— 14 (i) ALTERNATIVE BEST PRACTICES.— 15 The best practices required to be developed 16 and submitted under subparagraph (A) 17 shall include alternatives that take into 18 consideration— 19 (I) the size, type of product, and 20 business model of a provider of an 21 interactive computer service; 22 (II) whether an interactive com- 23 puter service— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8454 IH (aa) is made available to the 1 public; 2 (bb) is primarily responsible 3 for hosting, storage, display, and 4 retrieval of information on behalf 5 of third parties, including pro- 6 viders of other interactive com- 7 puter services; or 8 (cc) provides the capability 9 to transmit data to and receive 10 data from all or substantially all 11 internet endpoints on behalf of a 12 consumer; and 13 (III) whether a type of product, 14 business model, product design, or 15 other factors related to the provision 16 of an interactive computer service 17 could make a product or service sus- 18 ceptible to the use and facilitation of 19 online child sexual exploitation. 20 (ii) SCOPE.—Notwithstanding para- 21 graph (3), the alternatives described in 22 clause (i) of this subparagraph may ex- 23 clude certain matters required to be ad- 24 dressed under paragraph (3), as the Com- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8454 IH mission determines appropriate based on 1 the nature of particular products or serv- 2 ices, the factors described in such clause 3 (i), or other factors relevant to the pur- 4 poses of this Act. 5 (2) SUPPORT REQUIREMENT.—The Commission 6 may only recommend the best practices under para- 7 graph (1) if not fewer than 14 members of the Com- 8 mission support the best practices. 9 (3) MATTERS ADDRESSED.—The matters ad- 10 dressed by the recommended best practices devel- 11 oped and submitted by the Commission under para- 12 graph (1) shall include— 13 (A) preventing, identifying, disrupting, and 14 reporting online child sexual exploitation; 15 (B) coordinating with non-profit organiza- 16 tions and other providers of interactive com- 17 puter services to preserve, remove from view, 18 and report online child sexual exploitation; 19 (C) retaining child sexual exploitation con- 20 tent and related user identification and location 21 data; 22 (D) receiving and triaging reports of online 23 child sexual exploitation by users of interactive 24 computer services, including self-reporting; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8454.IH H8454 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8454 IH (E) implementing a standard rating and 1 categorization system to identify the type and 2 severity of child sexual abuse material; 3 (F) training and supporting content mod- 4 erators who review child sexual exploitation con- 5 tent for the purposes of preventing and dis- 6 rupting online child sexual exploitation; 7 (G) preparing and issuing transparency re- 8 ports, including disclosures in terms of service, 9 relating to identifying, categorizing, and report- 10 ing online child sexual exploitation and efforts 11 to prevent and disrupt online child sexual ex- 12 ploitation; 13 (H) coordinating with voluntary initiatives 14 offered among and to providers of interactive 15 computer services relating to identifying, cat- 16 egorizing, and reporting online child sexual ex- 17 ploitation; 18 (I) employing age rating and age gating 19 systems to reduce online child sexual exploi- 20 tation; 21 (J) offering parental control products that 22 enable customers to limit the types of websites, 23 social media platforms, and internet content 24 that are accessible to children; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:13 Oct [Text truncated for display. 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