Disclose Government Censorship Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1672 To require officers and employees of the legislative and executive branches to make certain disclosures related to communications with information content providers and interactive computer services regarding restricting speech. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. HAGERTY (for himself, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. MARSHALL, Ms. LUMMIS, and Mr. JOHNSON) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern- mental Affairs A BILL To require officers and employees of the legislative and exec- utive branches to make certain disclosures related to communications with information content providers and interactive computer services regarding restricting speech. 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 ‘‘Disclose Government 4 Censorship Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1672 IS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) INFORMATION CONTENT PROVIDER; INTER- 3 ACTIVE COMPUTER SERVICE.—The terms ‘‘informa- 4 tion content provider’’ and ‘‘interactive computer 5 service’’ have the meanings given the terms in sec- 6 tion 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 7 U.S.C. 230). 8 (2) LEGITIMATE LAW ENFORCEMENT PUR- 9 POSE.—The term ‘‘legitimate law enforcement pur- 10 pose’’ means for the purpose of investigating a 11 criminal offense by a law enforcement agency that is 12 within the lawful authority of that agency. 13 (3) NATIONAL SECURITY PURPOSE.—The term 14 ‘‘national security purpose’’ means a purpose that 15 relates to— 16 (A) intelligence activities; 17 (B) cryptologic activities related to na- 18 tional security; 19 (C) command and control of military 20 forces; 21 (D) equipment that is an integral part of 22 a weapon or weapons system; or 23 (E) the direct fulfillment of military or in- 24 telligence missions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1672 IS SEC. 3. DISCLOSURES. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 2 (c), any officer or employee in the executive or legislative 3 branch shall disclose and, in the case of a written commu- 4 nication, make available for public inspection, on a public 5 website in accordance with subsection (d), any commu- 6 nication by that officer or employee with a provider or op- 7 erator of an interactive computer service regarding action 8 or potential action by the provider or operator to restrict 9 access to or the availability of, bar or limit access to, or 10 decrease the dissemination or visibility to users of, mate- 11 rial posted by another information content provider, 12 whether the action is or would be carried out manually 13 or through use of an algorithm or other automated or 14 semi-automated process. 15 (b) TIMING.—The disclosure required under sub- 16 section (a) shall be made not later than 7 days after the 17 date on which the communication is made. 18 (c) LEGITIMATE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND NATIONAL 19 SECURITY PURPOSES.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any communication for a le- 21 gitimate law enforcement purpose or national secu- 22 rity purpose shall be disclosed and, in the case of a 23 written communication, made available for inspec- 24 tion, to each House of Congress. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1672 IS (2) TIMING.—The disclosure required under 1 paragraph (1) shall be made not later than 60 days 2 after the date on which the communication is made. 3 (3) RECEIPT.—Upon receipt of a disclosure 4 made under paragraph (1), each House of Congress 5 shall provide copies to the chairman and ranking 6 member of each standing committee with jurisdiction 7 under the rules of the House of Representatives or 8 the Senate regarding the subject matter to which the 9 communication pertains. Such information shall be 10 deemed the property of such committee and may not 11 be disclosed except— 12 (A) in accordance with the rules of the 13 committee; 14 (B) in accordance with the rules of the 15 House of Representatives and the Senate; and 16 (C) as permitted by law. 17 (d) WEBSITE.— 18 (1) LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.—The Sergeant at 19 Arms of the Senate and the Sergeant at Arms of the 20 House of Representatives shall designate a single lo- 21 cation on an internet website where the disclosures 22 and communications of employees and officers in the 23 legislative branch shall be published in accordance 24 with subsection (a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1672 IS (2) EXECUTIVE BRANCH.—The Director of the 1 Office of Management and Budget shall designate a 2 single location on an internet website where the dis- 3 closures and communications of employees and offi- 4 cers in the executive branch shall be published in ac- 5 cordance with subsection (a). 6 (e) NOTICE.—The Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, 7 the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives, 8 and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 9 shall take reasonable steps to ensure that each officer and 10 employee of the legislative branch and executive branch, 11 as applicable, are informed of the duties imposed by this 12 section. 13 (f) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Any person who is a 14 former officer or employee of the executive branch of the 15 United States (including any independent agency) or any 16 person who is a former officer or employee of the legisla- 17 tive branch or a former Member of Congress, who person- 18 ally and substantially participated in any communication 19 under subsection (a) while serving as an officer, employee, 20 or Member of Congress, shall not, within 2 years after 21 any such communication under subsection (a) or 1 year 22 after termination of his or her service as an officer, em- 23 ployee, or Member of Congress, whichever is later, know- 24 ingly make, with the intent to influence, any communica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1672 IS tion to or appearance before any officer or employee of 1 any department, agency, court, or court-martial of the 2 United States, on behalf of any person with which the 3 former officer or employee personally and substantially 4 participated in such communication under subsection (a). 5 (g) PENALTIES.—Any person who violates subsection 6 (a), (b), (c), or (f) shall be punished as provided in section 7 216 of title 18, United States Code. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jun 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS