Sec. 701. Lawful access training program
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In this section: The term cooperative agreement means a legal instrument of financial assistance between a Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity and a non-Federal entity, consistent with sections 6302 and 6305 of title 31, United States Code. The term provider means— a device manufacturer, an operating system provider, and a provider of remote computing service, as those terms are defined in section 3119 of title 18, United States Code, as added by title I of this Act; and a provider of electronic communication service, as defined in section 2510 of title 18, United States Code.
The term Training Program means the lawful access training and assistance program established under subsection (b). The Attorney General shall establish a lawful access training and real-time assistance program that draws upon the resources of the National Domestic Communications Center (commonly known as the NDCAC ) and other relevant components of the Department of Justice as appropriate. The primary purpose of the Training Program shall be to provide training and assistance for law enforcement personnel, with a particular emphasis on State and local personnel, on relevant technology and communications platforms, including how to submit appropriately tailored applications for digital evidence, consistent with existing legal requirements and protections for privacy and civil liberties.
The Attorney General may consult with providers regarding the training and assistance under subparagraph (A). Training and assistance under the Training Program shall include— designing and providing training to distribute knowledge and expertise, including— consulting with the most qualified experts in law enforcement and the technology industry to assist in the development of all Training Program materials; identifying current effective law enforcement training programs and tools; identifying gaps in current law enforcement training programs and tools; producing and maintaining training materials and curricula that will be used in classroom training sessions as well as for distribution to law enforcement agencies for reference; in coordination with providers, delivering information and guidance on accessing digital evidence from specific providers to improve outcomes with regard to particular technology devices, platforms, or systems; and establishing and promoting the use of a consistent set of clear standards for securing and minimizing data collected by law enforcement; serving as a centralized repository of knowledge and expertise about provider systems and procedures for submitting requests for data; coordinating with Federal, State, and international training programs, as well as any private-sector and nonprofit initiatives; building and maintaining analytic and forensic tools to assist law enforcement agencies in interpreting data that has been obtained from service providers and devices; hiring and employing technical specialists that can help develop and maintain analytic and forensic tools; conducting relevant research and analysis to identify the greatest challenges with respect to the ability of law enforcement agencies to access and analyze digital evidence; and providing a call center for law enforcement officials to seek advice and assistance regarding accessing and analyzing digital evidence.
In carrying out the Training Program, the Attorney General shall develop and coordinate additional functions to improve lawful access to digital evidence, including the following: The Attorney General shall— work with the Office of Justice Programs to identify grants and other grant-making bodies to support law enforcement access to digital evidence; and include programs in the training activities that inform law enforcement agencies of the grants described in clause
(i)and other resources that support— training programs; development and distribution of analytical tools; and maintenance of crime labs. The Attorney General shall work with providers and law enforcement agencies from Federal, State, and local systems to identify options for, and develop, a system for verifying that an individual requesting data from a provider is a law enforcement official entitled to such access pursuant to lawful authority. The Attorney General shall coordinate with international partners to— help set baseline standards and practices to lawfully access digital evidence; promote standards to ensure the protection of privacy and civil liberties, and to the extent practical and helpful, harmonize efforts across borders. The Attorney General shall— develop a master database to track investigations in the United States in which a law enforcement agency secured the legal authority to access digital data but otherwise cannot gain access to that data in an intelligible format due to encryption; and through the training activities described in paragraph (1), encourage the robust participation from State and local authorities that is necessary to populate the database described in clause
(i)of this subparagraph. The Attorney General, in carrying out the Training Program, shall provide any additional activities and services determined appropriate by the Attorney General. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General to carry out this section $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, which shall remain available until expended. Not more than 5 percent of the amount appropriated under paragraph
(1)may be used to carry out activities under subsection (e)(2). The Attorney General may enter into a cooperative agreement with providers or other persons to— provide regular training to law enforcement agencies through the Training Program on information that is potentially available from devices, operating systems, remote computing services, or electronic communication services, and on provider policies, in order to facilitate tailored and specific applications from law enforcement agencies; maintain up-to-date and comprehensive guidance for law enforcement agencies regarding accessing information from providers; develop or maintain online mechanisms to— receive law enforcement requests for data; and provide dated, electronic confirmation of receipt of a request described in clause (i); and assist with other tasks as determined necessary by the NDCAC. The NDCAC may solicit and accept donations for the Training Program from providers or other persons to be used to carry out this section. The NDCAC may not carry out the Training Program during a fiscal year, including fiscal year 2020, unless and until the NDCAC has received funding for that fiscal year under subparagraph
(A)in an amount equal to the amount authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2020 under subsection (d)(1). Not later than 1 year after the effective date in section 801 of this Act, and once thereafter not later than 2 years after that effective date, the NDCAC shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on the Training Program. The report submitted under paragraph
(1)shall include— ongoing efforts to identify and respond to gaps in training and distribution of technical tools; the state of cooperation with providers; novel uses of legal authorities; any new policies and best practices being seriously considered or adopted; and funding contributed by private individuals, organizations, and entities.