TITLE 42 - US CODE - SUBCHAPTER IV - REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

42 USC 13031 - Child abuse reporting

(a) In general
A person who, while engaged in a professional capacity or activity described in subsection (b) of this section on Federal land or in a federally operated (or contracted) facility, learns of facts that give reason to suspect that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse, shall as soon as possible make a report of the suspected abuse to the agency designated under subsection (d) of this section.

(b) Covered professionals
Persons engaged in the following professions and activities are subject to the requirements of subsection (a) of this section:

(1) Physicians, dentists, medical residents or interns, hospital personnel and administrators, nurses, health care practitioners, chiropractors, osteopaths, pharmacists, optometrists, podiatrists, emergency medical technicians, ambulance drivers, undertakers, coroners, medical examiners, alcohol or drug treatment personnel, and persons performing a healing role or practicing the healing arts.

(2) Psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental health professionals.

(3) Social workers, licensed or unlicensed marriage, family, and individual counselors.

(4) Teachers, teachers aides or assistants, school counselors and guidance personnel, school officials, and school administrators.

(5) Child care workers and administrators.

(6) Law enforcement personnel, probation officers, criminal prosecutors, and juvenile rehabilitation or detention facility employees.

(7) Foster parents.

(8) Commercial film and photo processors.

(1) the term child abuse means the physical or mental injury, sexual abuse or exploitation, or negligent treatment of a child;

(2) the term physical injury includes but is not limited to lacerations, fractured bones, burns, internal injuries, severe bruising or serious bodily harm;

(3) the term mental injury means harm to a childs psychological or intellectual functioning which may be exhibited by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal or outward aggressive behavior, or a combination of those behaviors, which may be demonstrated by a change in behavior, emotional response or cognition;

(4) the term sexual abuse includes the employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enticement, or coercion of a child to engage in, or assist another person to engage in, sexually explicit conduct or the rape, molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation of children, or incest with children;

(5) the term sexually explicit conduct means actual or simulated

(A) sexual intercourse, including sexual contact in the manner of genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal contact, whether between persons of the same or of opposite sex; sexual contact means the intentional touching, either directly or through clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify sexual desire of any person;

(B) bestiality;

(D) lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a person or animal; or

(E) sadistic or masochistic abuse;

(6) the term exploitation means child pornography or child prostitution;

(7) the term negligent treatment means the failure to provide, for reasons other than poverty, adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care so as to seriously endanger the physical health of the child; and

(8) the term child abuse shall not include discipline administered by a parent or legal guardian to his or her child provided it is reasonable in manner and moderate in degree and otherwise does not constitute cruelty.

(d) Agency designated to receive report and action to be taken
For all Federal lands and all federally operated (or contracted) facilities in which children are cared for or reside, the Attorney General shall designate an agency to receive and investigate the reports described in subsection (a) of this section. By formal written agreement, the designated agency may be a non-Federal agency. When such reports are received by social services or health care agencies, and involve allegations of sexual abuse, serious physical injury, or life-threatening neglect of a child, there shall be an immediate referral of the report to a law enforcement agency with authority to take emergency action to protect the child. All reports received shall be promptly investigated, and whenever appropriate, investigations shall be conducted jointly by social services and law enforcement personnel, with a view toward avoiding unnecessary multiple interviews with the child.

(e) Reporting form
In every federally operated (or contracted) facility, and on all Federal lands, a standard written reporting form, with instructions, shall be disseminated to all mandated reporter groups. Use of the form shall be encouraged, but its use shall not take the place of the immediate making of oral reports, telephonically or otherwise, when circumstances dictate.

(f) Immunity for good faith reporting and associated actions
All persons who, acting in good faith, make a report by subsection (a) of this section, or otherwise provide information or assistance in connection with a report, investigation, or legal intervention pursuant to a report, shall be immune from civil and criminal liability arising out of such actions. There shall be a presumption that any such persons acted in good faith. If a person is sued because of the persons performance of one of the above functions, and the defendant prevails in the litigation, the court may order that the plaintiff pay the defendants legal expenses. Immunity shall not be accorded to persons acting in bad faith.

(g) Omitted

(h) Training of prospective reporters
All individuals in the occupations listed in subsection (b)(1) of this section who work on Federal lands, or are employed in federally operated (or contracted) facilities, shall receive periodic training in the obligation to report, as well as in the identification of abused and neglected children.

42 USC 13032 - Reporting of child pornography by electronic communication service providers

(a) Definitions
In this section

(1) the term electronic communication service has the meaning given the term in section 2510 of title 18; and

(2) the term remote computing service has the meaning given the term in section 2711 of title 18.

(b) Requirements

(1) Duty to report.—
Whoever, while engaged in providing an electronic communication service or a remote computing service to the public, through a facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce, obtains knowledge of facts or circumstances from which a violation of section 2251, 2251A, 2252, 2252A, 2252B, or 2260 of title 18, involving child pornography (as defined in section 2256 of that title), or a violation of section 1466A of that title, is apparent, shall, as soon as reasonably possible, make a report of such facts or circumstances to the Cyber Tip Line^[1] at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which shall forward that report to a law enforcement agency or agencies designated by the Attorney General.

(2) Designation of agencies.—
Not later than 180 days after October 30, 1998, the Attorney General shall designate the law enforcement agency or agencies to which a report shall be forwarded under paragraph (1).

(3) In addition to forwarding such reports to those agencies designated in subsection (b)(2) of this section, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is authorized to forward any such report to an appropriate official of a state or subdivision of a state for the purpose of enforcing state criminal law.

(4) Failure to report.—
A provider of electronic communication services or remote computing services described in paragraph (1) who knowingly and willfully fails to make a report under that paragraph shall be fined

(A) in the case of an initial failure to make a report, not more than $50,000; and

(B) in the case of any second or subsequent failure to make a report, not more than $100,000.

(c) Civil liability
No provider or user of an electronic communication service or a remote computing service to the public shall be held liable on account of any action taken in good faith to comply with or pursuant to this section.

(d) Limitation of information or material required in report
A report under subsection (b)(1) of this section may include additional information or material developed by an electronic communication service or remote computing service, except that the Federal Government may not require the production of such information or material in that report.

(e) Monitoring not required
Nothing in this section may be construed to require a provider of electronic communication services or remote computing services to engage in the monitoring of any user, subscriber, or customer of that provider, or the content of any communication of any such person.

(f) Conditions of disclosure of information contained within report

(1) In general
No law enforcement agency that receives a report under subsection (b)(1) of this section shall disclose any information contained in that report, except that disclosure of such information may be made

(A) to an attorney for the government for use in the performance of the official duties of the attorney;

(B) to such officers and employees of the law enforcement agency, as may be necessary in the performance of their investigative and recordkeeping functions;

(C) to such other government personnel (including personnel of a State or subdivision of a State) as are determined to be necessary by an attorney for the government to assist the attorney in the performance of the official duties of the attorney in enforcing Federal criminal law; or

(D) where the report discloses a violation of State criminal law, to an appropriate official of a State or subdivision of a State for the purpose of enforcing such State law.

(2) Definitions
In this subsection, the terms attorney for the government and State have the meanings given those terms in Rule 54 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

(g) Limitation on liability

(1) In general
Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, including any of its directors, officers, employees, or agents, is not liable in any civil or criminal action arising from the performance of its CyberTipline responsibilities and functions, as defined by this section, or from its efforts to identify child victims.

(2) Intentional, reckless, or other misconduct
Paragraph (1) does not apply in an action in which a party proves that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, or its officer, employee, or agent as the case may be, engaged in intentional misconduct or acted, or failed to act, with actual malice, with reckless disregard to a substantial risk of causing injury without legal justification, or for a purpose unrelated to the performance of responsibilities or functions under this section.

(3) Ordinary business activities
Paragraph (1) does not apply to an act or omission related to an ordinary business activity, such as an activity involving general administration or operations, the use of motor vehicles, or personnel management.

[1] So in original. Probably should be “CyberTipline”.