Online services would report certain drug crimes to federal authorities

Covered online communication and computing services would report known crimes involving specified drugs to the U.S. Attorney General. Covered crimes involve making, distributing, or dispensing fentanyl, methamphetamine, or counterfeit drugs, or possessing them with that intent. Unauthorized dealings in actual or purported prescription painkillers or stimulants also qualify. Providers would be exempt when acting as broadband internet access or text messaging services. Providers would report as soon as reasonably possible, no later than 60 days after gaining actual knowledge of facts establishing a covered crime.

Providers could choose to include private messages and other content related to covered drug crimes in reports. Providers would not have to monitor users or their messages, search for crimes, or decrypt encrypted messages. Providers could continue using end-to-end encryption.

Providers would securely save material from required reports and reasonably accessible related records. Providers could notify users about the preservation request only after telling the Attorney General and waiting 45 business days. The Attorney General could seek longer storage under the referenced records law only for an active or pending investigation involving the account; other law enforcement agencies could still seek extensions. Providers would limit employee access to what is needed to meet these duties. The 90-day period would begin when the provider submits the required report.

Providers could face criminal and civil fines for knowingly violating reporting rules. Knowingly failing to submit a required report could bring criminal fines up to $190,000 for a first violation and $380,000 for later violations. Knowingly submitting materially false or fraudulent information, or omitting reasonably available required account details, could bring civil fines of $50,000 to $100,000.

The Attorney General would limit stored report data, and law enforcement officers could not submit reports to providers under this system. The Attorney General would take reasonable steps to keep only needed report data and delete it when no longer reasonably needed for investigation or sharing with investigating agencies, unless it has future value as evidence. Officers acting officially could not submit reports to providers or arrange for others to submit them. Provider reports resulting from that prohibited conduct, and evidence derived from them, could not be used in legal proceedings.