Swatting Registry Best Practices Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9887 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9887

  To establish a registry to reduce swatting, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 22, 2026

  Mr. Walkinshaw (for himself and Ms. Lee of Florida) introduced the
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To establish a registry to reduce swatting, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Swatting Registry Best Practices
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEVELOPMENT AND ISSUANCE OF GUIDANCE ON SWATTING REGISTRIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the
Secretary of Homeland Security, shall develop and issue guidance, which
shall include best practices for State, Tribal, territorial, and local
governments and public safety agencies regarding the establishment,
operation, and oversight of voluntary swatting registries and related
public safety protocols.
    (b) Consultation.--In developing the guidance under subsection (a),
the Attorney General shall consult with--
            (1) State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement
        agencies and public safety answering points, including those
        serving large, mid-sized, and rural jurisdictions;
            (2) public safety, emergency communications, and 9-1-1
        system experts with experience in call-taking, dispatch,
        computer-aided dispatch systems, and incident response
        protocols;
            (3) privacy, cybersecurity, data governance, and civil
        liberties experts with demonstrated technical expertise in the
        secure design, operation, oversight, and auditing of sensitive
        public safety databases;
            (4) disability access, language access, and victim services
        experts with demonstrated expertise in ensuring voluntary
        registry programs are accessible to individuals who may face
        elevated risks of swatting or targeting harassment;
            (5) technology providers and 9-1-1 system vendors with
        relevant expertise in secure database design, caller
        authentication, and call-handling protocols; and
            (6) individuals and households who have been victims of
        swatting incidents.
    (c) Guidance.--
            (1) Contents.--The guidance required under subsection (a)
        shall include, at a minimum, the following:
                    (A) Program design and eligibility.--The best
                practices for designing voluntary swatting registries
                that--
                            (i) allow voluntary opt-in by residents;
                            (ii) identify categories of higher-risk
                        registrants, including individuals reasonably
                        believed to face an elevated risk of swatting
                        or targeting harassment;
                            (iii) provide clear criteria and procedures
                        for registration, renewal, and removal; and
                            (iv) ensure equitable access for
                        communities with limited English proficiency,
                        persons with disabilities, and other
                        underserved groups.
                    (B) Data elements and data minimization.--The best
                practices regarding the necessary data elements to be
                collected and stored, which may include--
                            (i) the address and, where applicable, unit
                        or apartment number;
                            (ii) primary and secondary telephone
                        numbers;
                            (iii) additional contact methods such as
                        email addresses or other secure, verifiable
                        communication channels;
                            (iv) optional verification mechanisms, such
                        as pre-agreed code words or phrases, and
                        contact information for multiple household
                        members; and
                            (v) associated time frames or conditions
                        (such as expected periods of heightened risk),
                        where applicable, while minimizing the
                        collection and retention of personally
                        identifiable information.
                    (C) Incident response integration.--The best
                practices for integrating registry information into
                call-taking and dispatch workflows, including--
                            (i) automated dispatch flags or alerts when
                        a call originates from, or concerns, a
                        registered address;
                            (ii) guidance for tactical response
                        adjustments when verification suggests a likely
                        hoax, including options for lower-escalation
                        approaches such as staged responses,
                        announcements, or requests for occupants to
                        meet officers outside when safe to do so; and
                            (iii) protocols for documentation and
                        after-action review of incidents involving
                        registered addresses.
                    (D) Officer safety and training.--Recommendations
                for training call-takers, dispatch personnel, and
                responding officers on--
                            (i) the nature and risks of swatting;
                            (ii) appropriate use of swatting registry
                        information in assessing risk and selecting
                        tactics; and
                            (iii) avoiding overreliance on unverified
                        registry data while using such data to reduce
                        unnecessary risk.
                    (E) Privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties
                protections.--The best practices to--
                            (i) ensure participation is voluntary and
                        based on informed consent;
                            (ii) restrict access to registry data to
                        authorized personnel, with role-based access
                        controls;
                            (iii) require encryption of records at rest
                        and in transit, and other appropriate
                        cybersecurity safeguards;
                            (iv) provide full audit logging of access
                        and use;
                            (v) prevent misuse of registry information
                        for discriminatory or retaliatory purposes; and
                            (vi) provide notice, redress, and complaint
                        mechanisms for registrants and the public.
                    (F) Data retention, accuracy, and governance.--The
                best practices regarding--
                            (i) reasonable limits on data retention;
                            (ii) procedures for registrants to update
                        or delete their information at any time;
                            (iii) periodic review and renewal
                        mechanisms, including annual prompts or other
                        methods to ensure accuracy; and
                            (iv) appropriate governance, including
                        designation of responsible officers, policy
                        review cycles, and community engagement.
                    (G) Technology, interoperability, and funding
                considerations.--Recommendations regarding--
                            (i) technical approaches for integrating
                        swatting registries with existing 9-1-1 and
                        computer-aided dispatch systems;
                            (ii) secure online portals or mechanisms
                        for registration and updates;
                            (iii) scalability for small and resource-
                        constrained jurisdictions; and
                            (iv) potential Federal resources, including
                        existing grant programs, that may support
                        implementation.
                    (H) Metrics and evaluation.--Recommended metrics
                and methodologies to evaluate--
                            (i) impact on safety outcomes for
                        residents, pets, and officers;
                            (ii) impact on property damage, use-of-
                        force incidents, and traumatic forced entries;
                            (iii) impact on litigation exposure and
                        settlement costs; and
                            (iv) impact on operational efficiency and
                        deterrence of swatting.
                    (I) Use beyond swatting.--Considerations for how
                registry information, if appropriately designed and
                consented to, may safely assist in other types of
                emergencies (such as medical crises or wellness
                checks), while maintaining clear limitations and
                safeguards to prevent overcollection or misuse.
    (d) Public Availability.--The Attorney General shall make the
guidance issued under this subsection publicly available on the website
of the Department of Justice, except for any material that would
disclose information that is sensitive or classified.
    (e) Updates.--The Attorney General may periodically update the
guidance issued under this subsection as appropriate, including to
reflect technological developments, emerging threats, and lessons
learned from State, Tribal, territorial, and local implementation.

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DISSEMINATION.

    (a) Technical Assistance.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Attorney General may provide technical assistance
to State, Tribal, territorial, and local public safety agencies seeking
to--
            (1) establish voluntary swatting registries consistent with
        the guidance issued under section 4; or
            (2) integrate swatting-related verification and response
        protocols into existing 9-1-1 and dispatch operations.
    (b) Use of Existing Programs.--The Attorney General shall, to the
maximum extent practicable, use existing grant and assistance programs
administered by the Department of Justice to disseminate the guidance
issued under this Act and to support eligible jurisdictions that choose
to design or implement swatting registries consistent with such
guidance.

SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed to--
            (1) authorize the creation or maintenance of a Federal
        swatting registry;
            (2) require any State, Tribal, territorial, or local
        government to establish a swatting registry; and
            (3) limit the discretion of responding law enforcement
        officers to take actions reasonably necessary to protect life
        and public safety.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Swatting.--The term ``swatting'' means the knowing and
        intentional making of a false or misleading report to a public
        safety answering point, law enforcement agency, or emergency
        service, concerning an alleged ongoing emergency or threat,
        with the reasonably foreseeable result of prompting an armed or
        otherwise heightened law enforcement response to a person or
        address.
            (2) Swatting registry.--The term ``swatting registry''
        means a voluntary program or database maintained by a State,
        Tribal, territorial, or local public safety or law enforcement
        agency that--
                    (A) allows individuals at an elevated risk of
                swatting to register an address and associated contact
                information;
                    (B) stores such information in a secure, access-
                controlled system available to authorized dispatchers
                and supervisory personnel; and
                    (C) is designed to support verification and
                response protocols when an emergency call is received
                for a registered address.
            (3) Public safety answering point.--The term ``public
        safety answering point'' has the meaning given that term in
        section 222(h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
        222(h)).
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