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Committee advances Safe Cloud Storage Act to give vetted vendors limited liability for storing CSAM evidence
Summary
The Judiciary Committee reported HR 7834 after adopting non-substantive amendments; sponsors said the bill lets vetted, law‑enforcement‑approved cloud vendors store and process child sexual abuse material (CSAM) evidence without facing civil or criminal exposure, while maintaining cybersecurity and misconduct exceptions.
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday advanced HR 7834, the Safe Cloud Storage Act, a bipartisan measure intended to let vetted third‑party vendors securely store and process digital evidence in child sexual exploitation investigations without facing civil or criminal liability for authorized activities.
Representative Lee (speaker 11), the bill’s lead in committee, said investigators are overwhelmed by rapidly growing volumes of CSAM and that current storage practices — thumb drives and local servers — are slow and unreliable. "Many investigators are still forced to rely on outdated methods to store and preserve digital evidence," she said, arguing limited liability for vetted vendors would speed identification of victims and prosecution of perpetrators.
Ranking Member Raskin (speaker 2) also voiced support, saying the bill builds on the 2024 Report Act and expands narrow liability protections while requiring compliance with cybersecurity standards. Sponsors stressed the liability shield would not apply to intentional misconduct or negligence; vendors must notify DOJ within 30 days of new contracts with law enforcement and meet NIST-consistent cybersecurity standards.
Committee members offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute and a technical construction clarifying the audit framework applies to third‑party vendors; sponsors described these changes as non‑substantive. The amendment was adopted and the committee ordered the bill reported favorably; a recorded vote (reported in committee) showed the ayes prevailed and the bill was reported with staff authorized to make technical and conforming changes.
The bill’s proponents said the change would allow for modern cloud-based forensic tools to analyze large data sets quickly; opponents did not offer a sustained floor of opposition at markup. Committee action now moves the bill toward full committee report and potential House floor consideration.
