Countering Human Trafficking Act of 2021, Section 4 ("Specialized Initiatives")

• Authority: United States Congress
• Parent authority: Federal government
• Jurisdiction: United States
• Collections: U.S. federal laws
• Most recent activity: Enacted
• Most recent activity date: 2022-12-27

Risk subdomain coverage

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the risk subdomain are described.

• Compromise of privacy
• AI system security vulnerabilities
• AI possessing dangerous capabilities
• Lack of capability or robustness

All other risk subdomains had no coverage in this document.

Risk Coverage Summary

The document has minimal coverage of risk domains, with brief mentions of privacy/security (2.1, 2.2) related to protecting sensitive information, and AI system capabilities (7.2, 7.3) related to machine learning and analytics systems. Coverage is limited to high-level references without detailed risk mitigation measures.

Sector coverage

Good coverage — Comprehensive governance measures or mitigations with clear procedures relating to the sector are explicitly described.

• Public Administration (excl. National Security)
• National Security

Minimal coverage — Brief mention but no specific mitigations, recommendations or governance measures relating to the sector are described.

• Scientific Research & Development Services
• Health Care & Social Assistance

All other sectors had no coverage in this document.

Sectors Summary

This document primarily governs AI use within Public Administration (excluding National Security) and National Security sectors, as it directs Department of Homeland Security agencies to develop and deploy AI/ML systems for counter-human trafficking operations. The governance is internal to government operations rather than regulating private sector activities.

Legislative Status

Hard Law

Legislative Status Summary

This is a binding legislative act from the United States Congress with mandatory language requiring the CCHT Director to develop a strategy and the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit reports to Congressional committees.

Actors

Proposer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: United States Congress
• Summary: The document is identified as being from the United States Congress, which is the legislative body that proposed and enacted this legislation.

Target

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor, AI_Developer
• Entities: CCHT Director; Science and Technology Directorate Office of Science and Engineering; Department of Homeland Security
• Summary: The legislation targets the CCHT Director and Science and Technology Directorate to develop AI/ML systems and modify DHS processes. These entities are both governance actors (government agencies) and will be developing/deploying AI systems.

Enforcer

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives
• Summary: The Congressional committees serve as enforcement bodies through oversight, receiving mandatory reports on strategy implementation.

Monitor

• Entity Types: AI_Governance_Actor
• Entities: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives
• Summary: The same Congressional committees that enforce also monitor implementation through the required submission of strategy summaries and execution plans.

AI Lifecycle Stages

Lifecycle stages covered by the documents, as defined in the OECD Framework for the Classification of AI Systems

• Plan and Design
• Collect and Process Data
• Build and Use Model
• Verify and Validate
• Deploy
• Operate and Monitor

AI Lifecycle Summary

The document covers multiple AI lifecycle stages with primary focus on Plan and Design (developing strategy and proposal for AI/ML systems), Build and Use Model (applying analytics, AI and machine learning), and Deploy (modifying systems throughout DHS). It also implicitly covers Operate and Monitor through requirements for enhanced data availability and system capabilities.

Technical Scope

Terms relating to technical scope that are mentioned or implicitly referenced in the document

• AI Models
• AI Systems

Technical Scope Summary

The document explicitly mentions artificial intelligence and machine learning as technologies to be applied. It does not specify particular AI model types (frontier, general purpose, task-specific, etc.) or technical thresholds. The focus is on applying AI/ML to enhance DHS counter-human trafficking systems.