Combating Cartels on Social Media Act of 2023

II Calendar No. 267 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 61 [Report No. 118–123] To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement a strategy to combat the efforts of transnational criminal organizations to recruit individuals in the United States via social media platforms and other online services and assess their use of such platforms and services for illicit activities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 24 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2023 Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. KELLY, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. TESTER, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern- mental Affairs DECEMBER 11, 2023 Reported by Mr. PETERS, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement a strategy to combat the efforts of transnational criminal organizations to recruit individuals in the United States via social media platforms and other online services and assess their use of such platforms and services for illicit activities, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 61 RS Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combating Cartels on 4 Social Media Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 9 mittees’’ means— 10 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 11 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 12 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 13 of the House of Representatives. 14 (2) COVERED OPERATOR.—The term ‘‘covered 15 operator’’ means the operator, developer, or pub- 16 lisher of a covered service. 17 (3) COVERED SERVICE.—The term ‘‘covered 18 service’’ means— 19 (A) a social media platform; 20 (B) a mobile or desktop service with direct 21 or group messaging capabilities, but not includ- 22 ing text messaging services without other sub- 23 stantial social functionalities or electronic mail 24 services, that the Secretary determines is, has 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 61 RS been, or will be used by transnational criminal 1 organizations in connection with matters de- 2 scribed in section 3; and 3 (C) a digital platform, or an electronic ap- 4 plication utilizing the digital platform, involving 5 real-time interactive communication between 6 multiple individuals, including multi-player 7 gaming services and immersive technology plat- 8 forms or applications, that the Secretary deter- 9 mines is, has been, or will be used by 10 transnational criminal organizations in connec- 11 tion with matters described in section 3. 12 (4) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 13 means the Department of Homeland Security. 14 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 15 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 16 SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF ILLICIT USAGE. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 19 to the appropriate congressional committees an assess- 20 ment describing— 21 (1) the use of covered services by transnational 22 criminal organizations or criminal enterprises acting 23 on their behalf to engage in recruitment efforts, in- 24 cluding the recruitment of individuals, including in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 61 RS dividuals under the age of 18, located in the United 1 States to engage in or provide support with respect 2 to illicit activities occurring in the United States, 3 Mexico, or otherwise in proximity to an international 4 boundary of the United States; 5 (2) the use of covered services by transnational 6 criminal organizations to engage in other illicit ac- 7 tivities or other conduct in support of illicit activi- 8 ties, including— 9 (A) smuggling or trafficking involving nar- 10 cotics, other controlled substances, precursors 11 thereof, or other items prohibited under the 12 laws of the United States, Mexico, or another 13 relevant jurisdiction, including firearms; and 14 (B) human smuggling or trafficking; 15 (3) the existing efforts of the Secretary and rel- 16 evant government and law enforcement entities to 17 counter, monitor, or otherwise respond to the usage 18 of covered services described in paragraphs (1) and 19 (2); 20 (4) the existing efforts of covered operators to 21 counter, monitor, or otherwise respond to the usage 22 of covered services described in paragraphs (1) and 23 (2); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 61 RS (5) the existing cooperative efforts between the 1 Secretary, other relevant government entities, and 2 covered operators with respect to the matters de- 3 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 4 SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO COMBAT CARTEL RECRUITMENT ON 5 SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE PLATFORMS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 8 to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy, to 9 be known as the National Strategy to Combat Illicit Re- 10 cruitment Activity by Transnational Criminal Organiza- 11 tions on Social Media and Online Platforms, to combat 12 the use of covered services by transnational criminal orga- 13 nizations or criminal enterprises acting on their behalf to 14 recruit individuals located in the United States to engage 15 in or provide support with respect to illicit activities occur- 16 ring in the United States, Mexico, or otherwise in prox- 17 imity to an international boundary of the United States. 18 (b) ELEMENTS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The strategy required under 20 subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, include the fol- 21 lowing: 22 (A) A proposal to improve cooperation and 23 thereafter maintain cooperation between the 24 Secretary, relevant law enforcement entities, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 61 RS and appropriate covered operators with respect 1 to the matters described in subsection (a). 2 (B) Recommendations to implement the re- 3 quirement under section 5(a)(2) to establish a 4 centralized mechanism for reporting informa- 5 tion regarding the United States recruitment 6 efforts of transnational criminal organizations 7 involving covered services. 8 (C) A proposal to improve 9 intragovernmental coordination with respect to 10 the matters described in subsection (a), includ- 11 ing between the Department and State, Tribal, 12 and local governments. 13 (D) A proposal to improve coordination 14 within the Department and between the compo- 15 nents of the Department with respect to the 16 matters described in subsection (a). 17 (E) Activities to facilitate increased intel- 18 ligence analysis for law enforcement purposes of 19 efforts of transnational criminal organizations 20 to utilize covered services for recruitment pur- 21 poses. 22 (F) Activities to foster international part- 23 nerships and enhance collaboration with foreign 24 governments and, as applicable, multilateral in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 61 RS stitutions with respect to the matters described 1 in subsection (a). 2 (G) Activities to facilitate proactive law en- 3 forcement and other governmental efforts relat- 4 ing to the efforts of transnational criminal or- 5 ganizations to utilize covered services for re- 6 cruitment purposes, including activities in- 7 tended to preempt through outreach and en- 8 gagement the commission of criminal offenses 9 by individuals located in the United States who 10 are targeted for recruitment by those 11 transnational criminal organizations. 12 (H) Activities to specifically increase en- 13 gagement and outreach with youth in border 14 communities, including regarding the recruit- 15 ment tactics of transnational criminal organiza- 16 tions and the consequences of participation in 17 illicit activities. 18 (2) LIMITATION.—The strategy required under 19 subsection (a) shall not include legislative rec- 20 ommendations or elements predicated on the passage 21 of legislation that is not enacted as of the date on 22 which the strategy is submitted under subsection 23 (a), including with respect to encryption policies or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 61 RS reforms to section 230 of the Communications Act 1 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230). 2 (c) CONSULTATION.—In drafting and implementing 3 the strategy required under subsection (a), the Secretary 4 shall, at a minimum, consult and engage with— 5 (1) the heads of relevant components of the De- 6 partment, including— 7 (A) the Commissioner of U.S. Customs 8 and Border Protection; 9 (B) the Under Secretary for Intelligence 10 and Analysis; 11 (C) the Under Secretary for Science and 12 Technology; 13 (D) the Director of U.S. Immigration and 14 Customs Enforcement; 15 (E) the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil 16 Liberties; and 17 (F) the Privacy Officer; 18 (2) the Secretary of State; 19 (3) the Director of the Federal Bureau of In- 20 vestigation; 21 (4) the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement 22 Agency; 23 (5) representatives of border communities, in- 24 cluding representatives of— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 61 RS (A) State, Tribal, and local governments, 1 including school districts and local law enforce- 2 ment; and 3 (B) nongovernmental organizations; 4 (6) covered operators, including representatives 5 of— 6 (A) social media platforms, including oper- 7 ators of platforms or applications— 8 (i) displaying short-form videos cre- 9 ated by users or third parties; 10 (ii) providing ephemeral content 11 transmission services; or 12 (iii) using algorithms or other means 13 of content prioritization to display a feed 14 of content or advertisements created by 15 users or third parties to other users; 16 (B) interactive entertainment platforms 17 and publishers; and 18 (C) companies developing immersive tech- 19 nology platforms and applications on those plat- 20 forms; and 21 (7) nongovernmental experts in the fields of— 22 (A) civil rights and civil liberties; 23 (B) online privacy; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 61 RS (C) humanitarian assistance for migrants; 1 and 2 (D) youth outreach and rehabilitation. 3 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 5 the date on which the strategy required under sub- 6 section (a) is submitted to the appropriate congres- 7 sional committees, the Secretary shall commence im- 8 plementation of the strategy. 9 (2) REPORT.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 11 days after the date on which the strategy re- 12 quired under subsection (a) is implemented 13 under paragraph (1), and semiannually there- 14 after for 5 years, the Secretary shall submit to 15 the appropriate congressional committees a re- 16 port describing the efforts of the Secretary to 17 implement the strategy required under sub- 18 section (a) and the progress of those efforts, 19 which shall include a description of— 20 (i) the recommendations, and cor- 21 responding implementation of those rec- 22 ommendations, with respect to the matters 23 described in subsection (b)(1)(B) relating 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 61 RS to the mechanism required under section 1 5(a)(2); 2 (ii) the interagency posture with re- 3 spect to the matters covered by the strat- 4 egy required under subsection (a), which 5 shall include a description of collaboration 6 between the Secretary, other Federal enti- 7 ties, State, local, and Tribal entities, and 8 foreign governments; 9 (iii) actions taken pursuant to sub- 10 section (c) that occurred between the Sec- 11 retary and the entities described in para- 12 graphs (5) through (7) of that subsection, 13 provided that such summaries are provided 14 only in a classified or other non-public 15 manner; and 16 (iv) the threat landscape, including 17 new developments related to the United 18 States recruitment efforts of transnational 19 criminal organizations and the use by 20 those organizations of new or emergent 21 covered services and recruitment methods. 22 (B) FORM.—Each report required under 23 subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclas- 24 sified form, but may contain a classified annex. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Dec 12, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S61.RS S61 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 61 RS SEC. 5. INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 2 date on which the strategy required under section 4(a) is 3 required to be submitted to the appropriate congressional 4 committees, the Secretary shall identify a designee— 5 (1) to receive, process, and disseminate infor- 6 mation and communications involving the use of cov- 7 ered services by transnational criminal organizations 8 or criminal enterprises acting on their behalf to re- 9 cruit individuals located in the United States to en- 10 gage in or provide support with respect to illicit ac- 11 tivities occurring in the United States, Mexico, or 12 otherwise in proximity to an international boundary 13 of the United States; and 14 (2) to establish a mechanism, or if the designee 15 determines appropriate, multiple mechanisms, for 16 covered operators to voluntarily report relevant in- 17 formation or communications described in paragraph 18 (1). 19 (b) PROCEDURE.—Upon the identification of the des- 20 ignee and the establishment of the voluntary reporting 21 mechanism required under subsection (a)(2), the Sec- 22 retary shall notify appropriate covered oper [Text truncated for display. 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