H.R. 7834 · Passed House · Crime and Law Enforcement

Safe Cloud Storage Act

Sponsor: Laurel M. Lee (R-FL)

What it does

• Limit civil and criminal liability of cloud storage vendors that contract with law enforcement to store and process child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in investigations.
• Establish liability protections conditional on vendors not engaging in intentional misconduct, negligence, malice, reckless disregard, or acting outside contractual duties.
• Require vendors to comply with cybersecurity requirements for CSAM stored, maintained, or processed under contract with law enforcement.

Official summary

Safe Cloud Storage Act This bill limits the civil and criminal liability of vendors that contract with law enforcement agencies to provide digital storage services (e.g., cloud-based storage) for storing, maintaining, and processing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in investigations of online child sexual exploitation. Under current law, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) receives reports of online child sexual exploitation via its CyberTipline, evaluates and prioritizes the reports, and refers the reports to law enforcement agencies to investigate. Currently, federal law limits the liability of vendors that contract directly with the NCMEC to store and transfer CSAM. However, federal law does not limit the liability of vendors that contract with law enforcement agencies to assist in investigations. This bill establishes liability protections for vendors that contract with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to store, maintain, and process CSAM in investigations of online child sexual exploitation. Specifically, the bill prohibits a civil claim or criminal charge in federal or state court against such a vendor, so long as the vendor has…

Latest action

Sep 17, 2026: Received in the Senate.

Committee: House Judiciary