Stop Terrorism and Illicit Finance Location Exploitation Act of 2023 or the STIFLE Act of 2023
This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to report on the role location obfuscation technology (IP address manipulation that includes the use of virtual private networks [VPNs] and proxy servers) plays in U.S. sanctions evasions, money laundering, and other illicit finance activity. Treasury must also assess the degree to which a financial technology platform relies upon a user’s IP address to indicate a user’s location and a platform’s ability to use aggregated location data to indicate a user’s location in the event one or more data points have been manipulated. The report must also contain an analysis of techniques to reduce evasion of U.S. sanctions and money laundering laws and regulations.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6605 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6605
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to study the threat of digital
location obfuscation as it relates to national security and financial
technology, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 5, 2023
Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself and Mrs. Beatty) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to study the threat of digital
location obfuscation as it relates to national security and financial
technology, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Terrorism and
Illicit Finance Location Exploitation Act of 2023'' or the ``STIFLE Act
of 2023''.
(b) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) Financial sanctions are a primary national security
tool for the United States.
(2) Financial technology has created both new beneficial
financial innovations and emerging illicit finance risks,
including the evasion of sanctions.
(3) A financial technology platform must be able to
determine the precise location of an active user of the
platform to effectively implement location-based access
controls for compliance with--
(A) sanctions programs administered by the Office
of Foreign Assets Control;
(B) obligations imposed by the Anti-Money
Laundering Act of 2020, the Bank Secrecy Act, and
regulations associated with such Acts; and
(C) any other regulatory obligation.
(4) Financial technology platforms generally use an
Internet Protocol (in this Act referred to as ``IP'') address
as the primary or sole indicator of their users' precise
location.
(5) IP addresses were first created in 1974 and
standardized in 1983 as unique identification numbers
attributed to devices on an interconnected computer network and
are the foundation of the modern internet.
(6) IP addresses are assigned by Internet Service Providers
(in this Act referred to as ``ISPs'') and have become a less
accurate determinant of precise location as a result of the
proliferation of mobile devices, dynamic IP addresses,
globalized content delivery networks, and other innovations.
(7) IP addresses can be manipulated through the use of
Virtual Private Networks (in this Act referred to as ``VPNs''),
proxy servers, anonymizing darknet website browsers, and other
location obfuscation techniques for the purpose of--
(A) illicit finance;
(B) evading detection under existing sanctions; and
(C) evading requirements set forth in the Anti-
Money Laundering Act of 2020 and the Bank Secrecy Act.
(8) Global System for Mobiles triangulation, Wi-Fi
triangulation, and GPS data provide substantially more accurate
location information than IP addresses, but are individually
susceptible to similar manipulation through device tampering,
freely available downloadable software, and other obfuscation
techniques.
(9) Technology that combines enhanced data analytics with
aggregated authentic sources of location data is widely used to
effectively ensure compliance with United States sanctions, the
Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, the Bank Secrecy Act, and
other statutory and regulatory requirements.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON THE THREAT OF DIGITAL LOCATION OBFUSCATION TO
NATIONAL SECURITY AND FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY COMPLIANCE
OBLIGATIONS.
(a) Study.--The Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the
Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial
Intelligence, and in consultation with technology experts, national
security experts, and law enforcement, shall conduct a study to assess
the following:
(1) The role that location obfuscation techniques,
including VPNs, proxy servers, GPS location manipulation
applications, and device tampering plays in money laundering,
sanctions evasion, and other forms of illicit finance.
(2) The ease with which an illicit actor can manipulate and
falsify location data relevant to compliance with sanctions,
the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, the Bank Secrecy Act,
and any other statutory and regulatory obligation.
(3) The degree to which a financial technology platform
relies upon an IP address as the primary or sole indicator of
the precise location of a user of the platform.
(4) The ability of a financial technology platform to use
multiple aggregated points of location data to indicate the
precise location of a user of such platform if an illicit actor
manipulates one or more of such data points.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the
Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial
Intelligence, and in consultation with technology experts, national
security experts, and law enforcement, shall submit to the Congress a
report that contains the following:
(1) Each finding and determination made in the study
required under subsection (a).
(2) Any insufficiency in or lack of available data
inhibiting any finding and determination made in the study
required under subsection (a).
(3) A comprehensive analysis of any cost, benefit, and
potential risk associated with the modernization of precise
location standards used by a financial technology platform that
relies on an IP address as the primary or sole indicator of the
precise location of a user of the platform.
(4) A comprehensive analysis of the ways in which
technology that combines enhanced data analytics with multiple
aggregated and authenticated sources of location data may be
used to reduce evasion of United States sanctions, requirements
under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, the Bank Secrecy
Act, and any other statutory and regulatory obligation.
(c) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Anti-money laundering act of 2020.--The term ``Anti-
Money Laundering Act of 2020'' means Division F of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
(2) Bank secrecy act.--The term ``Bank Secrecy Act'' has
the meaning given the term under section 6303 of the Anti-Money
Laundering Act of 2020 (31 U.S.C. 5301 note).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
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