U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) on July 31 unveiled bipartisan legislation to tighten the information-sharing relationship between law enforcement and social media companies regarding imminent threats of violence.
The proposed bill was spurred by the Aug. 3, 2019, El Paso mass shooting, according to the congressman, that occurred at a Walmart store when a gunman shot and killed 23 people and injured 23 others. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a possible hate crime.
“Directly after the El Paso shooting, I started to work with stakeholders on a solution to prevent such violence,” Rep. McCaul said on Monday. “Many incidents of violence over the past several years – including the El Paso shooting – could have been prevented if there was an efficient way to flag social media postings with the appropriate law enforcement agency, be it federal, state, or local.”
Rep. McCaul sponsored the Protecting America through Information Sharing Act, H.R. 7915, with lead cosponsor U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R), which would task the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with designating a clearinghouse responsible for receiving online threats of imminent violence from social media companies and then disseminating them to appropriate law enforcement to proactively stop violent attacks, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. McCaul’s office.
“With this enhanced capability, our nation will be better equipped to not only thwart cowardice acts of terror but also save lives,” said Rep. McCaul. “By solidifying a stronger partnership between social media companies and law enforcement, we can expedite the sharing of information to intercept at-risk individuals before an attempt on one’s own life or another devastating act of domestic terrorism or like El Paso occurs again.”
If enacted, H.R. 7915 also would protect civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy by requiring DHS to consult with social media companies, civil rights, and civil liberties groups to create a guiding framework that would ensure the protection of people’s inherent rights prior to the establishment of the program, according to the bill summary.