[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3023 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3023
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To limit liability for certain entities storing child sexual abuse
material for law enforcement agencies, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,S 3023 - 119
Engrossed in Senate
Safe Cloud Storage Act
5
Sections
0
Dollar amounts
2
Deadlines and effective dates
May 20, 2026
Text version date
Top statutory references
34 U.S.C. 21101 1
47 U.S.C. 223 1
Public Law 110-401 1
Deadline phrases
not later than 2
Official PDF
Open official PDFStructured text
Sec. 1.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Safe Cloud Storage Act''.Sec. 2.
SEC. 2. STORAGE OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, CHILD OBSCENITY, AND INTIMATE
SEC. 2. STORAGE OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, CHILD OBSCENITY, AND INTIMATE
VISUAL DEPICTIONS OF MINORS.
(a) In General.--Title II of the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008
(34 U.S.C. 21101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 201 the
following:
``SEC. 202. MODERNIZING LAW ENFORCEMENT'S ABILITY TO STORE CHILD
PORNOGRAPHY, CHILD OBSCENITY, AND INTIMATE VISUAL
DEPICTIONS OF MINORS AND LIMITED LIABILITY FOR APPROVED
VENDORS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Approved vendor.--The term `approved vendor' means a
cloud service provider that--
``(A) complies with the security requirements
described in subsection (c); and
``(B) has been contractually retained by a covered
agency to support the duties of such agency by--
``(i) storing digital child pornography,
child obscenity, or an intimate visual
depiction of a minor;
``(ii) making such child pornography, child
obscenity, or intimate visual depiction of a
minor available to the contracting agency, or
any law enforcement or prosecutorial agency
designated by the contracting agency, upon
request; and
``(iii) providing maintenance, technical
and analytical assistance, and forensic tool
processing support upon request by the
contracting agency.
``(2) Child pornography.--The term `child pornography' has
the meaning given that term in section 2256(8) of title 18,
United States Code.
``(3) Cloud service provider.--The term `cloud service
provider' means an organization, corporation, or entity that
makes available digital storage services, including remote or
cloud-based storage, and analytical and forensic tool
processing support.
``(4) Covered agency.--The term `covered agency' means a
Federal, State, or local law enforcement or prosecutorial
agency.
``(5) Intimate visual depiction of a minor.--The term
`intimate visual depiction of a minor' means an intimate visual
depiction, as defined in section 223(h) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 223(h)), including a digital forgery, of
an identifiable individual who is a minor, as that term is
defined in such section.
``(6) Local.--The term `local' means any political
subdivision of a State.
``(7) State.--The term `State' means any of the 50 States
of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United
States, Guam, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.
``(b) Limited Liability for Approved Vendors.--
``(1) Limited liability for law enforcement approved
vendors.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a civil claim or
criminal charge may not be brought in any Federal or State
court against an approved vendor relating to the approved
vendor's performance of any contractual obligation or service
described in subsection (a)(1).
``(2) Intentional, reckless, or other misconduct.--A civil
claim or criminal charge may be brought in any Federal or State
court against an approved vendor if the approved vendor--
``(A) engaged in--
``(i) intentional misconduct; or
``(ii) negligent conduct; or
``(B) acted, or failed to act--
``(i) with actual malice;
``(ii) with reckless disregard to a
substantial risk of causing injury without
legal justification; or
``(iii) for a purpose unrelated to the
performance of any responsibility or function
described in subsection (a)(1)(B).
``(c) Vendor Cybersecurity Requirements.--With respect to any child
pornography, child obscenity, or intimate visual depiction of a minor
stored, maintained, or processed by an approved vendor, such approved
vendor shall--
``(1) secure such child pornography, child obscenity, or
intimate visual depiction of a minor in a manner that is
consistent with the most recent version of the Cybersecurity
Framework developed by the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, or any successor thereto;
``(2) only access the child pornography, child obscenity,
or intimate visual depiction of a minor upon consent of thecovered agency contracting the service and for the purpose of
providing maintenance, technical assistance, and forensic tool
processing support in the cloud;
``(3) minimize the number of employees that may be able to
obtain access to such child pornography, child obscenity, or
intimate visual depiction of a minor and maintain a list of
employees who have obtained such access;
``(4) employ end-to-end encryption for data storage and
transfer functions, or an equivalent technological standard;
``(5) undergo an independent annual cybersecurity audit to
determine whether such child pornography, child obscenity, or
intimate visual depiction of a minor is secured as required by
paragraphs (1), (3), and (4), including by assessing compliance
with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Special
Publication 800-53, Revision 5 (relating to security and
privacy controls for information systems and organizations) or
any successor documents or revisions; and
``(6) promptly address all issues identified by an audit
described in paragraph (5).
``(d) Evidence Storage.--Any covered agency that stores child
pornography, child obscenity, or an intimate visual depiction of a
minor pursuant to a contract with an approved vendor shall retain such
evidence--
``(1) in compliance with the security policy of the
Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, or any other similar and appropriate
division within the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
``(2) for a period consistent with the evidence retention
requirements applicable to the covered agency under the
relevant Federal, State, or local law, rule of criminal
procedure, or prosecutorial policy; or
``(3) in the absence of such law, rule, or policy, for a
period not less than the applicable statute of limitations or
the duration of any sentence imposed, including the period of
post-conviction review.
``(e) Additional Requirements for Approved Vendors.--
``(1) Location of data.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), each approved vendor shall ensure
that any child pornography, child obscenity, or
intimate visual depiction of a minor stored pursuant to
this section remains in the United States.
``(B) Exception.--Child pornography, child
obscenity, and intimate visual depictions of a minor
stored under this section may be transferred outside
the United States only with the express consent of the
contracting covered agency if such agency deems the
transfer necessary for investigative purposes.
``(2) Notification letter.--
``(A) In general.--Approved vendors shall file a
notification letter with the Criminal Division of the
Department of Justice not later than 30 days after
entering into a contract described in subsection
(a)(1)(B).
``(B) Contents.--The notification letter described
in subparagraph (A) shall include the entity name and
point of contact information of the approved vendor,
the name of the contracting covered agency, the period
of performance of the contract, and an acknowledgment
by the approved vendor that the approved vendor will
notify the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of
the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice of
any changes to the information in the letter.
``(3) Breach of contract.--
``(A) In general.--If a covered agency fails to
make required payment under a contract, breaches any
material term of such contract, or otherwise terminates
such contract without establishing lawful transfer of
the evidence, the approved vendor shall, not later than
30 days after the failure, breach, or termination,
notify the Criminal Division of the Department of
Justice in the case of a breach by a Federal agency, or
the appropriate State attorney general in the case of a
breach by a State or local agency.
``(B) Maintenance of evidence.--Upon making a
notification under subparagraph (A), the approved
vendor shall continue to preserve and maintain the
integrity of the evidence until a prompt and lawful
transfer of custody occurs to the Criminal Division ofthe Department of Justice or another Federal, State, or
local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction.
``(f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to limit--
``(1) bona fide use by the contracting covered agency of
child pornography, child obscenity, or intimate visual
depiction of a minor being stored by the approved vendor, which
includes providing such child pornography or child obscenity to
any other party as necessary for an investigation or
prosecution; or
``(2) the obligation of the contracting covered agency to
comply with a constitutional or statutory obligation, court
order, or request from a victim made pursuant to section
3509(m)(3) of title 18, United States Code.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--Section 1(b) of the PROTECT Our Children
Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-401; 122 Stat. 4229) is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 201 the following:
``Sec. 202. Modernizing law enforcement's ability to store child
pornography, child obscenity, and intimate
visual depictions of minors and limited
liability for approved vendors.''.
Passed the Senate May 20, 2026.
Attest:
Secretary.
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3023
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To limit liability for certain entities storing child sexual abuse
material for law enforcement agencies, and for other purposes.Cached official text analysis. This viewer uses cached official bill text and deterministic section, phrase, fiscal, agency, deadline, and statutory-reference extraction. The analysis is navigation support, not a legal interpretation; consult the official text for authoritative wording.
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