I
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4290
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 5, 2004
Mr. McDermott (for himself and Mr. Clay) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform
A BILL
To provide for data-mining reports to Congress.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the &short-title1;
.
Definitions
In this Act:
Data-Mining
The term data-mining means a query or search or other analysis of 1 or more electronic databases, where—
at least 1 of the databases was obtained from or remains under the control of a non-Federal entity, or the information was acquired initially by another department or agency of the Federal Government for purposes other than intelligence or law enforcement;
the search does not use a specific individual’s personal identifiers to acquire information concerning that individual; and
a department or agency of the Federal Government is conducting the query or search or other analysis to find a pattern indicating terrorist or other criminal activity.
Database
The term database does not include telephone directories, information publicly available via the Internet or available by any other means to any member of the public without payment of a fee, or databases of judicial and administrative opinions.
Reports on Data-Mining activities
Requirement for report
The head of each department or agency of the Federal Government that is engaged in any activity to use or develop data-mining technology shall each submit a public report to Congress on all such activities of the department or agency under the jurisdiction of that official.
Content of report
A report submitted under subsection (a) shall include, for each activity to use or develop data-mining technology that is required to be covered by the report, the following information:
A thorough description of the data-mining technology and the data that will be used.
A thorough discussion of the plans for the use of such technology and the target dates for the deployment of the data-mining technology.
An assessment of the likely efficacy of the data-mining technology in providing accurate and valuable information consistent with the stated plans for the use of the technology.
An assessment of the likely impact of the implementation of the data-mining technology on privacy and civil liberties.
A list and analysis of the laws and regulations that govern the information to be collected, reviewed, gathered, and analyzed with the data-mining technology and a description of any modifications of such laws that will be required to use the information in the manner proposed under such program.
A thorough discussion of the policies, procedures, and guidelines that are to be developed and applied in the use of such technology for data-mining in order to—
protect the privacy and due process rights of individuals; and
ensure that only accurate information is collected and used.
A thorough discussion of the procedures allowing individuals whose personal information will be used in the data-mining technology to be informed of the use of their personal information and what procedures are in place to allow for individuals to opt out of the technology. If no such procedures are in place, a thorough explanation as to why not.
Any necessary classified information in an annex that shall be available to the Committee on Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
Time for report
Each report required under subsection (a) shall be—
submitted not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
updated once a year and include any new data-mining technologies.