119-hr1212

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1212 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1212

 To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct annual 
 assessments on terrorism threats to the United States posed by 
terrorist organizations utilizing foreign cloud-based mobile or desktop 
 messaging applications, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 11, 2025

 Mr. Pfluger (for himself, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Weber of Texas, and Mr. 
Evans of Colorado) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
 the Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct annual 
 assessments on terrorism threats to the United States posed by 
terrorist organizations utilizing foreign cloud-based mobile or desktop 
 messaging applications, 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 ``Countering Online Radicalization and 
Terrorism Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE USE OF FOREIGN CLOUD-BASED 
 MOBILE AND DESKTOP MESSAGING APPLICATIONS FOR TERRORIST 
 ACTIVITY.

 It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) the heightened terrorism threat landscape and the 
 increasing utilization of foreign cloud-based mobile and 
 desktop messaging applications by terrorist organizations 
 represent a national security threat, and the challenges posed 
 by such threat are not well understood; and

    (2) the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation 
 with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, must 
 take steps to recognize, assess, and address such threat, 
 thereby reducing risks to the people of the United States.

SEC. 3. ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS ON TERRORISM THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES 
 POSED BY TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS UTILIZING FOREIGN CLOUD-
 BASED MOBILE AND DESKTOP MESSAGING APPLICATIONS.

    (a) Assessments.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
 the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for five 
 years, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 
 the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the 
 appropriate congressional committees an assessment of terrorism 
 threats to the United States posed by terrorist organizations 
 utilizing foreign cloud-based mobile or desktop messaging 
 applications.

    (2) Contents.--The terrorism threat assessments under 
 paragraph

    (1) shall address the following:
        (A) In the first such assessment, an analysis of 
 incidents in which terrorist organizations have 
 utilized foreign cloud-based mobile and desktop 
 messaging applications to facilitate the ability to 
 radicalize and recruit individuals.
        (B) Information related to online payment features 
 of foreign cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging 
 applications, and how such features provide monetary 
 support to terrorist organizations.
            (C) Recommendations on appropriate measures to 
 address terrorism threats to the United States posed by 
 terrorist organizations utilizing foreign cloud-based 
 mobile or desktop messaging applications.

    (3) Coordination.--Each terrorism threat assessment under 
 paragraph

    (1) --
        (A) shall be coordinated with the Office of the 
 General Counsel, the Privacy Office, and the Office of 
 for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the Department 
 of Homeland Security prior to release outside the 
 Department to ensure each such assessment complies with 
 applicable law and protects individuals' privacy, civil 
 rights, and civil liberties, and
        (B) may be informed by existing products, as 
 appropriate.

    (4) Form.--Each terrorism threat assessment under paragraph

    (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 
 classified annex only for the protection of intelligence 
 sources and methods relating to the matters contained in such 
 assessment. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall post on a 
 publicly available website of the Department of Homeland 
 Security the unclassified portion of each such assessment.

    (5) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the submission 
 of each terrorism threat assessment under paragraph

    (1) , the 
 Secretary of Homeland Security shall brief the appropriate 
 congressional committees regarding each such assessment. The 
 head of any other relevant Federal department or agency shall 
 join the Secretary for any such briefing if any such committee, 
 in consultation with the Secretary, determines such is 
 appropriate.

    (6) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this 
 subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
 means the Committee on Homeland Security and the Permanent 
 Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
 Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
 Governmental Affairs and the Select Committee on Intelligence 
 of the Senate.

    (b) Information Sharing.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
review information relating to terrorism threats to the United States 
posed by terrorist organizations utilizing foreign cloud-based mobile 
or desktop messaging applications that is gathered by State and local 
fusion centers and the National Network of Fusion Centers, and 
incorporate such information, as appropriate, into the Department of 
Homeland Security's own information relating to such. The Secretary 
shall ensure the dissemination to State and local fusion centers and 
the National Network of Fusion Centers of such information.
            (c) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Foreign cloud-based mobile or desktop messaging 
 applications.--
        (A) In general.--The term ``foreign cloud-based 
 mobile or desktop messaging applications'' includes any 
 application specified in subparagraph
        (B) that has a 
 connection, relationship, or other association with or 
 to any of the following:
            (i) A foreign adversary (as such term is 
 defined in 

section 7.2 of subpart A of part 7 
 of subtitle A of title 15, Code of Federal 
 Regulations).
            (ii) A person owned by, controlled by, or 
 subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a 
 foreign adversary.
            (iii) A terrorist organization.
        (B) Applications specified.--An application 
 specified in this subparagraph includes the following:
            (i) An application owned or operated, in 
 whole or in part, by ByteDance.
            (ii) Tamtam.
            (iii) Telegram.
            (iv) Vkontakte.
            (v) WeChat.
            (vi) Weibo.
            (vii) RedNote.
            (viii) Any other application the Secretary 
 of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 
 Director of National Intelligence, determines 
 appropriate.

    (2) Fusion center.--The term ``fusion center'' has the 
 meaning given such term in subsection

    (k) of 

section 210A of 
 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h).

    (3) National network of fusion centers.--The term 
 ``National Network of Fusion Centers'' means a decentralized 
 arrangement of fusion centers intended to enhance the ability 
 of individual State and local fusion centers to leverage the 
 capabilities and expertise of all such fusion centers for the 
 purpose of enhancing analysis and homeland security information 
 sharing nationally.

    (4) Terrorist organization.--The term ``terrorist 
 organization'' means--
        (A) any entity designated as a foreign terrorist 
 organization pursuant to 

section 219 of the Immigration 
 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); or
        (B) any entity engaged in terrorism, as such term 
 is defined in 

section 2

    (18) of the Homeland Security 
 Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101

    (18) ).
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