References in Text
The 21st Century IDEA Act, referred to in subsec. (d)(3), is [Pub. L. 115–336], Dec. 20, 2018, [132 Stat. 5025], also known as the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act, which is set out as a note under section 3501 of Title 44, Public Printing and Documents.
Codification
Other sections 2215 of [Pub. L. 107–296] were renumbered sections 2216, 2217, and 2218 and are classified, respectively, to sections 665b, 665c, and 665d of this title.
Amendments
2022—[Pub. L. 117–263] made amendment identical to that made by [Pub. L. 117–81, § 1547(b)(1)(B)]. See 2021 Amendment note below.
2021—[Pub. L. 117–81, § 1547(b)(1)(B)], made technical amendment to the directory language of [section 904(b)(1) of Pub. L. 116–260].
[Pub. L. 117–81, § 1547(b)(1)(A)(ii)], reenacted section catchline.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023.
Effective Date of 2022 Amendment
Amendment by [Pub. L. 117–263] effective as if enacted as part of title IX of div. U of [Pub. L. 116–260], see [section 7143(a)(2) of Pub. L. 117–263], set out as a note under section 652 of this title.
Findings
[Pub. L. 116–260, div. U, title IX, § 902], Dec. 27, 2020, [134 Stat. 2297], provided that: “Congress finds that—“(1)
the .gov internet domain reflects the work of United States innovators in inventing the internet and the role that the Federal Government played in guiding the development and success of the early internet;
“(2)
the .gov internet domain is a unique resource of the United States that reflects the history of innovation and global leadership of the United States;
“(3)
when online public services and official communications from any level and branch of government use the .gov internet domain, they are easily recognized as official and difficult to impersonate;
“(4)
the citizens of the United States deserve online public services that are safe, recognizable, and trustworthy;
“(5)
the .gov internet domain should be available at no cost or a negligible cost to any Federal, State, local, or territorial government-operated or publicly controlled entity, including any Tribal government recognized by the Federal Government or a State government, for use in their official services, operations, and communications;
“(6)
the .gov internet domain provides a critical service to those Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments; and
“(7)
the .gov internet domain should be operated transparently and in the spirit of public accessibility, privacy, and security.”
[For definition of “State” as used in [section 902 of Pub. L. 116–260], set out above, see [section 903 of Pub. L. 116–260], set out as a note below.]
Purpose of .gov Internet Domain Program
[Pub. L. 116–260, div. U, title IX, § 904(a)], Dec. 27, 2020, [134 Stat. 2298], provided that: “The purpose of the .gov internet domain program is to—“(1)
legitimize and enhance public trust in government entities and their online services;
“(2)
facilitate trusted electronic communication and connections to and from government entities;
“(3)
provide simple and secure registration of .gov internet domains;
“(4)
improve the security of the services hosted within these .gov internet domains, and of the .gov namespace in general; and
“(5)
enable the discoverability of government services to the public and to domain registrants.”
[For definition of “online service” as used in [section 904(a) of Pub. L. 116–260], set out above, see [section 903 of Pub. L. 116–260], set out as a note below.]
Reference Guide
[Pub. L. 116–260, div. U, title IX, § 904(b)(2)(B)], Dec. 27, 2020, [134 Stat. 2301], provided that: “Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 27, 2020], the Director, in consultation with the Administrator and entities representing State, local, Tribal, or territorial governments, shall develop and publish on a publicly available website a reference guide for migrating online services to the .gov internet domain, which shall include—“(i)
process and technical information on how to carry out a migration of common categories of online services, such as web and email services;
“(ii)
best practices for cybersecurity pertaining to registration and operation of a .gov internet domain; and
“(iii)
references to contract vehicles and other private sector resources vetted by the Director that may assist in performing the migration.”
[For definitions of terms used in [section 904(b)(2)(B) of Pub. L. 116–260], set out above, see [section 903 of Pub. L. 116–260], set out as a note below.]
Transition
[Pub. L. 116–260, div. U, title IX, § 907], Dec. 27, 2020, [134 Stat. 2303], provided that:“(a)
There shall be transferred to the Director the .gov internet domain program, as operated by the General Services Administration under title 41, Code of Federal Regulations, on the date on which the Director begins operational administration of the .gov internet domain program, in accordance with subsection (c).
“(b)
Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act [probably means “this title”, approved Dec. 27, 2020], the Director shall submit a plan for the operational and contractual transition of the .gov internet domain program to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security, the Committee on Oversight and Reform [now Committee on Oversight and Accountability], and the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives.
“(c)
Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall begin operationally administering the .gov internet domain program, and shall publish on a publicly available website the requirements for domain registrants as described in section 2215(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 [
6 U.S.C. 665(b)], as added by section 904(b) of this Act.
“(d)
On the date on which the Director begins operational administration of the .gov internet domain program, in accordance with subsection (c), the Administrator shall rescind the requirements in part 102–173 of title 41, Code of Federal Regulations.
“(e)
During the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 27, 2020], any fee charged to entities that are not agencies for new .gov internet domain registrants or annual renewals of .gov internet domains shall be not more than the amount of the fee charged for such registration or renewal as of October 1, 2019.”
[For definition of “Director” as used in [section 907 of Pub. L. 116–260], set out above, see [section 903 of Pub. L. 116–260], set out as a note below.]
Definitions
[Pub. L. 116–260, div. U, title IX, § 903], Dec. 27, 2020, [134 Stat. 2298], provided that: “In this Act [probably means “this title”, see Short Title of 2020 Amendment note set out under section 101 of this title]—“(1)
the term ‘Administrator’ means the Administrator of General Services;
“(3)
the term ‘Director’ means the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency;
“(4)
the term ‘online service’ means any internet-facing service, including a website, email, a virtual private network, or a custom application; and
“(5)
the term ‘State’ means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the United States.”